Wilson: No, The Flames Aren’t This Bad

Through the first five games of the season, the Calgary Flames are the only team in the NHL without a point. They have the worst record (0-5-0), the worst save percentage (81.1 per cent) and the worst goal differential (-19).

On one hand, this is all according to plan. It was clear heading into 2026-27 that the club was facing a bottom-out year. With most of the veterans and stars of the previous regime now gone and the majority of reinforcements still too young to drink in the US, the Flames are poised to draft inside the top-three for the first time in franchise history. It’s an outcome they desperately need to increase the chances of long-term success.

But the nature of the losses so far has been out of character for this team under Ryan Huska. The club didn’t make a habit of being routinely blown out last year, even en route to a 29th overall finish. Until recently, Flames fans and coaches could depend on a good effort, decent defensive structure, and strong goaltending to keep it close (despite often facing a steep talent disparity).

The disparity has deepened since the sell-off last March. But are the Flames really as bad as the first five games suggest?

The first clue that this is a blip rather than a new normal is the club’s terrible save percentage. Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley were one of the best netminding duos in the league last year if you take into account the quality of shots they faced on a nightly basis.

The Flames finished with a 90.59 SV per cent at five-on-five, good for 13th in the league. The worst save rate in the NHL was the Edmonton Oilers, at 88.88 per cent. In 2024-25, it was the Flyers bringing up the rear with a 88.94 SV per cent.

Not only are Wolf and Cooley about 10 points back of their own work from last season, they’re not even close to the typical threshold of “bottom of the NHL” save rate so far. To add further context, the Flames goalies managed an 87.36 per cent save rate while shorthanded last year. In fact, only two teams in the league were below 81 per cent on the PK in 2025-26 (Vancouver and Seattle). Meaning right now Calgary’s goalies are stopping the puck at the same rate as the two worst teams in 2025-26…while down a man.

In short, Calgary’s puck stopping won’t be this bad indefinitely. The team’s defense is likely to be worse this year, to be sure, but Wolf has two seasons of above average netminding under his belt as well as a long resume as a highly talented goaltender. At some point this will turn around.

The dry spell hasn’t just been in the crease, though. Calgary also sports the worst team-wide shooting percentage as well, at 5.71 per cent. Only five clubs are below eight percent so far this season, with the Flyers the only other organization below six percent.

Again, we should expect the Flames to struggle to score given the roster. But even as the lowest-scoring team in the NHL last season, they finished with a 9.02 per cent rate in all situations. The year before, the Predators were last at 8.88 per cent, while the Blackhawks hit rock bottom in 2024-25 with an 8.28 shooting percentage. You have to go back to the 2019-20 season to find a club that shot less than eight percent over the course of a season.

Right now, Calgary is about three points below the typical line for worst shooting in the NHL. Combined with their 10-point save percentage deficit, it puts them squarely in the “lose every game by three or more goals” territory.

No modern NHL team is truly this bad. The more egregiously awful clubs in recent memory (the San Jose Sharks in 2023-24 and 2024-25) finished with goal differentials of -150 and -105, respectively. The Flames are on pace to finish at -311. If we plumb the depths of league history, we find that -265 is the worst goal differential of all time, a number set by the 1974-75 expansion Washington Capitals.

At some point, the save percentage and shooting percentage will regress upwards. While this roster is not that of a contender, it certainly isn’t ‘75 Capitals bad, either.

For fans looking for a silver lining, this is the ideal season for the team to suffer through a terrible dry spell in the early going. What would normally be a catastrophic start to the season will actually be beneficial given the current rebuild phase.

It hasn’t been pretty. And they won’t be contenders any time soon. But it will get better.

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