Projecting the Calgary Flames’ Opening Night Forward Lines

Keep Huberdeau and Kadri Together

Throughout their time together as Flames, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri have proven themselves the Flames’ two best forwards – Kadri leads the Flames in points over the past three years with 198, while Huberdeau is not far behind him in second place with 169. Most of this success has come as linemates. While Kadri is not the sort of player a Stanley Cup contender would prefer to have as their first-line centre, by no means is he a bad player; Huberdeau is the same on the wing. 

The main issue over their past seasons has been finding a third player to fit into that spot. Not every player can keep up with two near-elite top-line players, even if those players are past their prime. Martin Pospisil managed it, and the three spent 31 games together as linemates during the 2024-25 season. Pospisil is a young winger entering his third NHL season. Over the past two seasons, he scored less than 30 points total – but an extended period of time riding with his two most prolific teammates may lead to a breakout season. If not, then Coronato is always available to step up to the first line.

Second Line With Chemistry

While Huberdeau and Kadri have spent a lot of time together as a pair, the trio of Coleman, Backlund, and Coronato have been the most stable Flames triad through the entirety of the season, spending 41 games together – again, the Flames’ lineup was constantly in flux – and remained solidly in charge of their opposition, outscoring them 24-13 at even strength. That goal rate is about as good as you can hope for in a second line, especially one with two players well into their 30s and one player at 21.

While Backlund is an aging player in the final year of his contract, his age provides little incentive to trade him, unless a desperate contender is in real need of a third-line centre. This suggests that he will be available through this season as the Flames’ second-line centre and as a potential guide for the young up-and-coming Coronato, who recently signed a seven-year contract extension worth $6.5 million annually.

Coronato’s rise and Backlund’s (and to a lesser extent Coleman’s) aging guarantee that this line has an expiration date – at some point, Coronato is likely to move up and create a powerful first line with Kadri and Huberdeau, and Backlund may take a step back to allow younger players to rise.

Zary’s Presence Isn’t a Guarantee

Connor Zary has proven himself a worthy NHL player at 23 – but he’s currently a restricted free agent (RFA) without a contract extension, so any line combination involving him as a Flame is optimistic.

That being said, while he only played 54 games in the 2024-25 season due to a knee injury suffered during a game against the Anaheim Ducks, Zary’s on-ice results were commendable. He finished the season with 27 points in 54 games, a 41-point pace over a full season in third-line minutes. He improved every teammate he spent time with, especially Sharangovich (who also missed time due to injury). For this reason, the two should play together.

Meanwhile, Joel Farabee is a relatively versatile forward without a whole lot of pop, and would do well riding with the two of them rather than on a line that would demand too much of him, like the Kadri-Huberdeau duo would.

Checking Fourth Line

The Flames are rich with fourth-liners, and finding the exact trio of personnel to shore up the final line is a complex task. Longtime fourth-line centre, Kevin Rooney, is currently an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and is not likely to return to the Flames. Morgan Frost, a centre and the Flames’ best forward without a line, should take his place. Frost is a young player, but has never really shone outside of a limited role at the NHL level – and he should remain in a limited role until he can prove otherwise.

Ryan Lomberg is steady in that role, and the young Adam Klapka, who signed a two-year extension this offseason worth $1.25 million annually has grown into a worthy, big and physical fourth-liner. Justin Kirkland and Dryden Hunt remain solid options in case of injury or to shake up the lineup.

A Wrench in the Gears

One player remains something of a wild-card: Samuel Honzek, the Flames’ first-round pick in 2023. Last season, he played five games with the Flames before being sent down to the Wranglers, allowing his entry-level contract to slide for a year. As a Wrangler, he earned 21 points in 54 games. While he’s unlikely to start the 2025-26 season as a member of the Flames, there’s always a chance that he shows significant offseason improvement in training camp and impresses – and then he will have to find a place in the lineup to stay.

The personnel in the Flames’ forward group may not have changed all that much from last season, but that doesn’t mean that the lineup is cemented, because the Flames are a versatile team with a lot of previous line changes and middle-six forwards.