Calgary’s center situation might finally allow the team to properly bottom out after multiple years of straddling the fence. For Flames fans, that might be a welcome change after four years of yo-yo hockey. That’s the reality they’ll have to deal with following a quiet off-season, at least according to Harman Dayal of The Athletic. The Calgary Flames center situation may be the worst in the NHL, per his analysis.
Dayal analyzed every top-six center situation in the NHL. While he left room for nuance in some situations, he definitively ranked Calgary last in the exercise. Dayal even placed Calgary in their own tier, writing that the team had no top-six centers on its NHL roster.
That might actually be music to the ears of Flames fans.
Flames Directionless at Times
For a few seasons now, the Flames straddled the fence. Calgary’s roster was, generally, not good enough to legitimately compete but too good to tank. In the era after Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames made some critical mistakes. Acquiring and extending winger Jonathan Huberdeau will likely be seen as the predominant error of this period.
The other mistake, perhaps only true after the Huberdeau acquisition went south, is Calgary’s inability to pick a direction. The Flames often prioritized stability, not wanting to rock the boat after a tumultuous summer in 2022 that saw major changes to the roster. It resulted in the organization taking longer to accept reality. The team took some shots, but ultimately the Calgary Flames’ center situation never materialized in this era.
Admittedly, Calgary also believed it had an x-factor few other teams possessed. Goaltender Dustin Wolf’s brilliant 2024-25 season helped power the Flames to a 96-point season, which would have been good enough for the postseason in any other year under this playoff format. Instead, Calgary missed the playoffs while Wolf finished as the runner-up in Calder Trophy voting.
With a goaltender as talented and young as Wolf, perhaps Calgary’s future would look more like a retool than a rebuild.
Dustin Wolf’s Disastrous Season
Dustin Wolf’s brilliant 2024-25 campaign didn’t get the encore many hoped for in Calgary. His 2025-26 was among the worst in the NHL, finishing 23-29-3 with an .899 save percentage, 3.01 goals-against average and a sub-zero goals saved above expected rating. Wolf finished 22nd of 103 goalies in GSAx in 2024-25. He fell to 58th of 98 last season.
Calgary floundered in the wake of Wolf’s struggles. The Flames were among the better shot and chance generators in the league, but they struggled to suppress opposition chances. The Flames finished 28th in high-danger chances allowed per 60 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
That became particularly troublesome after the Flames traded center Nazem Kadri at the deadline to Colorado. Though the Flames managed to scrape a respectable 10-9-2 record together after the deadline, their process metrics collapsed. After March 6, Calgary finished 29th in Corsi For percentage, 27th in high-danger chances for percentage and 30th in expected goals percentage, all according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Flames still won at a prorated 85.9 point-per-82-game pace in that stretch. Still, if the process looks like that in 2026-27, the Flames almost certainly will be worse.
Calgary Flames’ Center Situation Looks Rough Post-Kadri
Dayal projects a top-six center duo of captain Mikael Backlund and Morgan Frost. Backlund is 37. He doesn’t offer much offensively, though he remains one of the league’s best defensive centers. Frost is the opposite, an offense-first center whose all-world junior production never quite translated to the NHL.
There is help coming in the pipeline. Calgary’s farm system is generally ranked near the top of most prospect rankings. Many of their best prospects are on display at the World Junior Summer Showcase, including a rising center in former first-round pick Cole Reschny.
Notably, as Dayal also remarks, the Flames appear to be turning the page towards the future. Pickings are slim in Calgary at center by design.
The Wolf in the Ointment
Calgary will enter the season with many expecting them to be among the worst teams in the NHL. Hockeystats.com projects them to finish with the second-worst record in the NHL. Betting markets don’t much like Calgary either, as the Flames have the second-worst odds (+560) to make the playoffs, according to FanDuel.
As with any struggling team, the goaltending is always the fly in the ointment. Dustin Wolf bouncing back to his 2024-25 form could certainly make Calgary more competitive. Wolf was 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage, 2.64 GAA and was a plus player in goals saved above expected. Notably, Devin Cooley played extremely well in a backup role for the Flames last season. In only 31 games, Cooley was seventh in the NHL in goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck. If Cooley and Wolf play well simultaneously, the Flames may not be elite, but they won’t be a bottom-feeder.
Still, this is the one reason Flames fans might not mind finishing a little higher than projected. Calgary’s franchise goalie returning to form would be a welcome sight in Alberta.
Calgary Flames Center Situation Could Improve with Bad Year
It’s still very early in the 2027 NHL Draft process, so no one should get carried away. Still, center-needy teams like the Flames should be salivating. NHL.com took an early look at some of the favored players of NHL Central Scouting, which includes centers Alexis Joseph, Milan Sundstrom and Max Calce.
The reward on the other side of a bad season in 2027 may very well be one of the hardest things to acquire — a future top-line center. That could make a massive difference in whatever the Flames are calling this, whether a rebuild, retool, strategic retreat or something else entirely.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Analyst Gives Flames Brutal Grade at Critical Position appeared first on HEAVY.