Best 10 seasons by Calgary Flames players since 2007–08

The Flames’ 10 best seasons

Johnny Hockey’s legacy in Calgary

The late Johnny Gaudreau’s incredible 2021–22 season starts us off. Not only was it the best Flames season in this data, but it also ranked seventh among all NHL players, boasting a 30.5 net rating, led in large part by an impressive 24.8 offensive rating. He was just behind Nathan MacKinnon’s 2023–24 140-point season that earned a 30.6 net rating. Very impressive!

Gaudreau also posted the Flames’ fifth-best season in 2018–19 with a 20.2 net rating, and their 10th-best season in 2017–18 with a 15.3 net rating. His 2018–19 season tied with the likes of Evgeni Malkin’s 2007–08, Leon Draisaitl’s 2023–24, and David Pastrnak’s 2019–20. His 2017–18 season was comparable to Jonathan Huberdeau’s 2018–19 and Erik Karlsson’s 2011–12 seasons.

Leading by example

Former captains Jarome Iginla and Mark Giordano have put together some of the Flames’ best seasons of the last 18 years. Iginla, for starters, posted the Flames’ third, seventh, and eighth-best seasons over that span with net ratings of 24.1, 18.8, and 16.5. His best season came in 2007–08, tying him with Draisaitl’s 128-point 2022–23 season and Henrik Zetterberg’s 2007–08 season. Iggy’s 18.8 came in 2010–11, tying with Sebastian Aho’s 2018–19 and Josh Morrissey’s 2024–25. Finally, in 2008–09, Iginla had a 16.5, which is on par with Joe Thornton’s 2009–10 and Steven Stamkos’ 2018–19.

Giordano’s Norris Trophy-winning 2018–19 season was the Flames’ sixth-best, earning a net rating of 19.4. This season stacks up to Mattias Ekholm’s 2023–24 season and John Klingberg’s 2017–18 season. It’s also just 0.1 shy of Patrick Kane’s 110-point 2018–19 season.

The rest of the best

Naturally, Johnny’s 2021–22 linemates—Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm—round out the Flames’ top-five best seasons at second and fourth, respectively. Tkachuk’s season ranks ninth among all NHL players over this span, boasting a 28.9 net rating, just ahead of his own 2022–23 season with the Florida Panthers, which earned a 28.8.

Lindholm fed off playing with two of the NHL’s best players, finishing with a 20.9 net rating. It was far and away his best season to date, tying with Thornton’s 2015–16 and Kirill Kaprizov’s 2023–24. Impressive company for the now-Boston Bruins centre!

Last but not least, current Flame Rasmus Andersson tied Iginla with the Flames’ eighth-best season, posting a 16.5 net rating in 2021–22. I’ve already mentioned some of the forwards they tied with across the NHL, but there are also Evan Bouchard’s 2024–25, Miro Heiskanen’s 2023–24, and Alex Pietrangelo’s 2013–14 seasons.

Looking at the point production

This table further illustrates that Dom’s data heavily weighs defensive contributions in addition to the point scoring. For instance, Gaudreau’s incredible 99-point season in 2018–19 ranks behind Lindholm’s career-best 2021–22, despite outscoring it by 17 points.

At the lower end, Andersson appears with the only sub-70-point season, and he just barely reached 50 points in 2021–22. His 5v5 defence and shorthanded ratings resulted in a 5.3 defensive rating, which really helped boost his otherwise solid season into the top 10. That’s a stark contrast to this year, when he posted negatives across the board and finished with a -3.0 net rating. This year, he is on par with the likes of Roman Cervenka in 2012–13 and Brett Ritchie in 2022–23.

Unsurprisingly, two of the Flames’ best seasons of all time—2021–22 (second) and 2018–19 (third)—produced six of their players’ 10 best seasons over the last 18 years. It’s also no surprise to see Gaudreau and Iginla account for six. And one last reminder: not only did Gaudreau and Tkachuk post the Flames’ two best seasons in 2021–22, but two of the best seasons among all NHLers of the last 18 years. Boy, did we have it good for a minute, there!