Left-wing is an area of strength for the Calgary Flames. At the NHL level, they’ve got established NHL veterans. Their prospect pool is deep, too, with guys who should be pushing for call-ups currently with the Calgary Wranglers and a few more recent draftees with big potential who are on the way. As we go
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Left-wing is an area of strength for the Calgary Flames.
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At the NHL level, they’ve got established NHL veterans. Their prospect pool is deep, too, with guys who should be pushing for call-ups currently with the Calgary Wranglers and a few more recent draftees with big potential who are on the way.
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As we go through our position-by-position evaluations of the state of the Flames roster, left-wing was always highlighted as one of the most exciting areas of the ice. There’s versatility, a bright future and lots of options.
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So let’s take a look at where the Flames stand:
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Noon News Roundup
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THE SURE THINGS
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Jonathan Huberdeau is probably never again going to be the 115-point player he was with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, but his play last season nonetheless earned him a lot of goodwill. It wasn’t just that he scored 28 goals, he also improved his play along the boards and in the defensive end and even played penalty-kill minutes. The $10.5-million he’s getting paid annually until the end of the 2030-31 season is a lot and it means he’s going to be a core piece for the Flames organization for the foreseeable future. The improvement of his game last season makes you feel a lot better about that.
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Blake Coleman played on the right-side for large stretches of the season, but spent lots of time at left-wing, too. He’s as reliable a performer as the Flames have. Ryan Lomberg, meanwhile, did exactly what the Flames wanted him to do after re-signing with the team in free-agency last year. He was a leader in the locker-room, a positive voice around the Saddledome and in the community and brought energy to the fourth-line night after night.
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Martin Pospisil needs to be included here, too. He’s a leftie, although he primarily played on his off-wing down the stretch this season.
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SOMETHING TO PROVE
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We’ve written a fair bit about why it might be smart to continue auditioning Connor Zary at centre, but the 23-year-old has made his mark mostly at left-wing through his first two seasons in the NHL. He’s brimming with potential despite some bad luck with injuries so far in 2025, and if his future does wind up being on the left, that’s not a bad thing at all.
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In Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee, though, the Flames have two players who are going to be looking for bounce back years in 2025-26. They’re both at the age where they should be just entering their primes, but saw their numbers decline last year. After being acquired in the trade that sent Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko to the Philadelphia Flyers, Farabee scored only three times and added three helpers in 31 games for the Flames. Sharangovich, meanwhile, scored 17 goals and added 15 assists last season after scoring 31 and assisting on 28 the previous year. He played centre and right-wing this season, too. If either or both of them can have bounce back seasons, it could be huge for the Flames.