A fantasy hockey breakdown for the Calgary Flames

With the 2025–26 NHL season on the horizon, it means fantasy hockey is also kicking off. The Calgary Flames weren’t exactly a goldmine of fantasy value last season, finishing 29th in the NHL in goals with only two players posting over 60 points. The Flames hope this year is different, with multiple young players looking to make big jumps.

Here’s the fantasy outlook for the Flames in 2025–26, from MVP to potential bust.

MVP – Dustin Wolf

NHL.com rank: Goalie (14), Overall (103)

If any Flame is going to be a must-own player in fantasy next year, it’s Wolf. The 24-year-old is fresh off a tremendous rookie season and is set to take on an even heavier workload in 2025–26. Last season, Wolf finished the year ranked 11th in the NHL for wins despite playing in just 53 games. He also ranked 11th for save percentage and 16th for GAA. In other words, he was already one of the top goalies in fantasy last year, and he should only be better in 2025–26.

Barring an injury or a sophomore slump, Wolf should be in line for at least 60 starts in 2025–26. If he can replicate last season’s performance, he’ll be close to reaching top-five goalie status in fantasy. No other player on the Flames is anywhere close to being top five at their position in fantasy.

Sleeper – Matthew Coronato

NHL.com rank: Forward (110), Overall (161)

Matt Coronato’s ranking on NHL.com suggests massive sleeper potential. The 22-year-old had a nice rookie season with 24 goals and 47 points, yet he ranks near the bottom of NHL.com’s top 200 players. If there’s anyone on the Flames who could take a huge step this year, it’s Coronato.

For context, the rookie finished 125th among forwards for points last season and 91st for goals. Despite this, NHL.com still has him as the 110th best forward in fantasy, behind the likes of Michael Misa, Kiefer Sherwood, Frank Vatrano and Morgan Geekie. That just seems wrong. Coronato was a top 15 pick in the 2022 draft for a reason and has legitimate 30-goal, 60-point potential, if not more. I’d gladly take him near the end of my draft in the hopes of a breakout.

Deep Sleeper – Connor Zary

NHL.com rank: Forward (Unranked), Overall (Unranked)

Connor Zary is flying completely under the radar in fantasy this year. In fact, he’s not even being drafted, and understandably so. After an injury-riddled 27-point season, Zary’s draft value isn’t exactly jumping off the page. For that reason, I think he has massive sleeper upside. It’s easy to forget that when healthy, Zary is one of the more dynamic players in the Flames’ lineup.

After posting back-to-back seasons right around 0.5 points per game, Zary could be in line for a breakout year if he can stay in the lineup and earn a top-six role. He’s certainly worth a flyer as I think he has very real 60-point potential. You won’t find many players with Zary’s upside in the last round of the draft, or on the waiver wire.

Bust – Nazem Kadri

NHL.com rank: Forward (62), Overall (88)

To be honest, it’s hard to find a bust pick for Calgary because they don’t have anyone on their roster who ranks that high going into fantasy drafts. They have just two players in NHL.com’s top 100 in Nazem Kadri at 88 and MacKenzie Weegar at 80. To me, Kadri has much higher bust potential, so he’s the pick here.

Despite a career-best 35-goal season in 2024–25, I think there’s a real chance Kadri sees a big step back in 2025–26. For one, he’ll be 35 by the time the season starts. Secondly, Kadri shot 12.5% last year, his highest such total since the 2019–20 season. For context, he was a 9.75% shooter his first two seasons in Calgary. With no reinforcements coming to Calgary, I think Kadri could be in tough to match last season’s output.

I’d feel much more comfortable drafting players like Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Strome, and Travis Konecny, who rank below Kadri currently. There’s just too many question marks surrounding Kadri and the Flames this year.