It’s already become very expected to see a loss when looking up a box score from a Calgary Flames game on any given night. They have been struggling right from the get go to begin the 2025-26 season, and things didn’t get any better for them on Thursday night versus the Ottawa Senators.
Sure, they were able to pick up a single point in what was a 4-3 shootout loss, but with where the standings sit, single points aren’t anything for this group to get excited about. They have just one regulation win through their first 12 games of the season, giving them an NHL-worst 2-8-2 record.
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Many expected this team to regress after an impressive 2024-25 season, but that wasn’t the feeling from within the Flames dressing room. This team had their sights set on getting into the playoffs after coming very close a season ago, and they are all seemingly puzzled as to what’s transpired through the first 12 games of 2025-26.
Management and coaching staff both fall into that category, as well. They were both quite optimistic heading into the season and had liked the overall direction this team was heading. That was a big part as to why head coach Ryan Huska received a two-year contract extension in early October. Had management waited a bit longer to make that decision, the extension may not have been offered.
Huska Could Be in Trouble
It isn’t too often that you would see a head coach fired so shortly after signing an extension, but as we have come to know all too well in the NHL, coaches don’t often tend to stick around for very long. There’s real reason to believe that had Huska not signed his extension, he may already have been fired given how ugly this start has been.
Though plenty of the fan base is okay with these struggles in order to pick high at the 2026 draft, that isn’t the mindset this organization, and in particular, the management group, had. They were fully expecting even bigger steps for this team, and evidently, that has not taken place.
The Flames have taken a step backward in nearly every category this season. Their goal scoring is down even more than it was a season ago, their defensive play has been questionable at best, they aren’t battling for an entire 60 minutes as fans became accustomed to, and their special teams have been horrid. Not helping matters is that Dustin Wolf has struggled, posting a 3.44 goals against average (GAA) along with a .887 save percentage (SV%) through 10 starts.
Meanwhile, players that took big steps in 2024-25, most notably Matt Coronato, have regressed. The 22-year-old Coronato, who signed a seven-year, $45.5 million deal in the offseason, has just three goals and four points through 11 games. He’s looked far from the version of himself who scored 24 goals a season ago, and has even spent a game in the press box as a healthy scratch.
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As much as management did hope to see this team get into the playoffs this season, what was even more important was seeing the continued improvement from their young players who are expected to be part of the long-term solution. To this point, Huska has failed to help them take that next step.
Rough November Could Seal Huska’s Fate
Huska agreeing to his contract extension when he did may have been the best decision he could have made, as it will certainly give him some additional time to help his team work out of this funk. That said, if they continue on at this same horrific pace throughout the month of November, it may be too much for Conroy to overlook. Another month of struggles similar to what we’ve seen in October should, at the very least, have many questioning Huska’s future behind the Flames bench.
