Calgary Flames News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

What the Flames are getting in Victor Olofsson

Originally posted on Flamesnation | By Flash Stevens | Last updated Mar 8, 2026 2:00 PM ET

The 2026 NHL trade deadline may have felt like a dud in other markets, but general manager Craig Conroy made sure to give Flames fans something to talk about. In the final minutes the Flames pulled off a Nazem Kadri trade, sending the player back to where he won his Stanley Cup in Colorado. Coming back to Calgary is a 2028 conditional 1st round pick, a 2027 conditional 2nd round pick, centre prospect Max Curran of the Edmonton Oil Kings, and veteran scoring winger – Victor Olofsson.

Victor Olofsson, of Swedish descent, is in his seventh full NHL season. Calgary will be his third team in the last two seasons after he spent the first five years playing with the Buffalo Sabres. Those Sabres were the ones that selected him seventh round, 181st overall, in the 2014 draft.

Let’s take a look at what Victor Olofsson – whose contract expires at the end of the current season – can bring to the Calgary Flames.

Offence

There was a fundamental shift to Olofsson’s game after he escaped Buffalo (I mean, at least they’re doing all right now, but it’s been rough over there). One that saw him forgo some offensive ability to improve his commitment to defence. That doesn’t change the fact this is a player whose number one skill is being able to put the puck in the net.

The following chart shows shooting proficiency. Grey means you’re scoring more goals relative to the amount/quality of shots you take, red means you score less than you should. As we can see, so far over his career Olofsson has been an excellent finisher.

Via The Nation Network

Next comes one of the most fascinating things – to me anyways. He is an excellent shooter, but he struggles to get quality shots from in tight. He either pulls up or tries to shoot from distance rather than getting into the crease and bang one home.

Via The Nation Network

I feel as if someone really worked with him on how to operate more low in the zone – or even finding better ways of getting to the slot – he could become a really viable piece, but as of right now he’s coming in as a gifted distance shooter that is not able to drive play by himself and needs a quality centre to cover up the inefficiencies.

Defence

After leaving Buffalo, Olofsson’s defensive metrics spiked – to impressive levels too. The benefit of going to two perennial contenders in Vegas and Colorado, no doubt. The Calgary Flames are not that skilled, but as long as Ryan Huska is the head coach they will still play a very defence first system. Honestly, I believe simply getting out of a bad situation allowed Olofsson to showcase that he knew how to be a competent defensive winger. The fact that he was able to switch teams and still provide a similar defensive impact supports that train of thought.

Via The Nation Network

Via The Nation Network

While his lack of ability to drive offensive play limits his top 6 potential, the ability to be consistently defensively shows that he can be plugged into the bottom 6 with not much to worry about.

Metrics

(via Evolving-Hockey.com)

Year	CF%	xGF%
2020-21(BUF)	46.7	42.43
2021-22 (BUF)	49.46	44.63
2022-23 (BUF)	49.9	43.03
2023-24 (BUF)	46.25	42.47
2024-25 (BUF)	54.61	56.82
2025-26 (COL)	60.17	58.04

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of NHL bodies in Calgary right now, with some younger players (Stromgren, Brzustewicz) pressing to play sooner rather than later. I’m sure Olofsson will get some playing time – and when in the lineup some power play minutes – but I’m unsure if it will be every game or if he’ll be part of the rotation.

Coronato, Zary, Farabee, Coleman, Lomberg, Klapka, Sharangovich, Olofsson, and Pospisil. Not to mention next year the return of Huberdeau and Honzek. This doesn’t lead me to believe he will stay in the long term plans. You never know, as Calgary kicks off their rebuild, what other moves could be made during the draft and free agency.

As for Olofsson, when playing he should provide a good defensive base with the ability to tack on some more goals than the Flames usually get from their bottom 6. It’s a contract stretch run for a pending UFA – I expect he’ll be motivated to showcase his stuff.

This article first appeared on Flamesnation and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: