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Simulating the Calgary Flames’ season with NHL 26

Originally posted on The Win Column
By Mackenzie Grafton | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 12:27 PM ET

With the launch of early access to EA NHL 26, let’s see how the upcoming Calgary Flames season would unfold in Franchise mode. I used the roster as constructed by Craig Conroy, making no trades or additional free agent signings, and only adding in Connor Zary’s new contract.

The Flames would start the season with a 4–2 loss to their provincial rivals—the Edmonton Oilers—on the road. Calgary would bounce back the next night with a win against the Vancouver Canucks before heading home to win their home opener against the St. Louis Blues.

Next, the Flames would win the following two games, improving to a 4–1–0 record before falling in their next six games in an early-season losing streak.

Just over 0.500 at American Thanksgiving

Moving ahead to American Thanksgiving, the Flames sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a 12–10–3 record. In their next 16 games, Calgary would pick up seven more wins by the midway mark of the season, just slightly improving to a 19–16–7 record.

The Flames would then start to roll and move into fourth in the division, finding themselves in a playoff spot with a 33–21–8 record at the trade deadline. They would hold onto the fourth spot in the Pacific, finishing the season with 98 points and a 45–29–8 record.

Heading into the playoffs

Facing the Winnipeg Jets in round one of the playoffs, the series would take all seven games. The Flames took out the powerhouse Jets on the back of a Dustin Wolf shutout in a 4–0 win.

The Flames would once again face a tough match-up, taking on the Colorado Avalanche in round two. Once again, they would be in another seven-game series. However, this time, they would fall short and be eliminated from the playoffs.

A few surprising things caught my eye. First up, the Vegas Golden Knights not only missed the playoffs, but they also finished with the fourth-best lottery odds. You can see where this is going… The Flames, who hold the Knights’ 2026 first-round pick, lucked their way into the first overall pick.

The second thing: Ryan Huska wins the Jack Adams Trophy.

Alright, you can wake me up from this dream now.

Looking at player stats

Top ten players

Player	Goals	Assists	Points
Nazem Kadri	28	53	81
Jonathan Huberdeau	27	44	71
Matt Coronato	25	38	63
Yegor Sharangovich	24	36	60
Morgan Frost	16	43	59
Connor Zary	17	31	48
MacKenzie Weegar	5	41	46
Rasmus Andersson	14	28	42
Mikael Backlund	15	26	41
Blake Coleman	18	17	35

Nazem Kadri once again leads the team in points and goals, this time with 28 goals and 81 points.

According to this sim, Flames will have no 30-goal players, with the next highest scorers being Jonathan Huberdeau at 27 goals and Matt Coronato with 25.

After signing his brand new contract, Connor Zary had a full, healthy season, scoring 17 goals and 48 points.

Now, let’s take a look at Dustin Wolf. He appears to have no sophomore slump, picking up 35 wins with a 0.910 save percentage, a 2.95 goals against average, and two shutouts.

Rookie Zayne Parekh scored 11 goals and 31 points, but unfortunately, it was not enough to be in the Calder Trophy talks.

Parekh would grow from an 80 overall up to an 84 overall by the end of the season.

Closing thoughts

I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility for this Flames team to make the playoffs, building off just missing it last season by one point.

However, I think it would take more than just a fourth-place division finish for Huska to take home Coach of the Year.

Now, here are a few things that I think the sim got wrong.

I believe the Flames do have a few 30-goal players in them. Kadri still has it in him to score 30-plus after scoring a career high last season. Coronato has the tools to take himself to the next level, too, after a 24-goal campaign.

My next thought: if Parekh makes the team and plays a full season with the Flames, I can see him recording more points than how he sims. He has the talent to score into the 40–50 mark and could be in talks for the Calder.

What are your thoughts on how the game simmed? Let us know how you think the season will go.

This article first appeared on The Win Column and was syndicated with permission.

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