5 Things - Flames vs. Hurricanes

1. Onward

The week brought foundational change to the Flames. 

Two veterans sent to new homes, a wealth of assets brought back, and a new-look roster for the final 21 games of the 2025-26 regular season, beginning tonight as Calgary wraps a three-game homestand versus Carolina. GET TICKETS

A total of six new faces are being welcomed into the organization. One - defenceman Olli Määtta - acquainted himself with Scotiabank Saddledome's playing surface Friday while two more NHL veterans - forwards Ryan Strome and Victor Olofsson - are expected to make their way north in the wake of trades with Anaheim and Colorado, respectively. 

CLICK TO READ MORE ON STROME

Tonight against the Hurricanes, it's a chance to make first impressions, but for the incumbents on the Flames roster, it's also upon them to continue working, to continue building a culture that will lay the foundation for that promising future. Because it was that future - one that falls in concert with the opening of Scotia Place next year - that has everyone thinking big.

The group of half-dozen leaders that were instrumental in Calgary's success last season has been whittled down. Captain Mikael Backlund and linemate Blake Coleman remain, with fellow veterans Ryan Lomberg and Zach Whitecloud both more than able to help show the way,

And if they didn't realize it already, the younger players in the fold - Matt Coronato, Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh to name a few - are being prepped to take the reins left behind by the likes of MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri. Their time is now, and their ascendency begins in earnest this evening.

On the national stage.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Hurricanes land in Calgary having scored a 6-3 win over the Oilers Friday in the front half of their Alberta back-to-back set. Jackson Blake scored twice in the third period, but his goal 7:32 into the final stanza stood up as the game-winner as the Eastern Conference leaders won for the 12th time in their last 15 games.

Defenceman K'Andre Miller led all scorers with three assists Friday, and the defensively stingy Hurricanes held Edmonton to just 16 shots on goal.

Canadian Olympian Seth Jarvis leads the squad with 26 goals this season, and Blake is one tally away from becoming the fifth 20-goal man on the roster (Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers are the others).

27-year-old rookie Brandon Bussi has been a revelation in goal. He holds a 25-3-1 record and two shutouts, one of which came against Calgary in November.

The post-season is top of mind, though, in Carolina. The Hurricanes' 86 points are the most of any Eastern club, six better than both Tampa Bay and Buffalo, and the group heads down the stretch looking to build on a run that's seen them win at least one playoff round in each of their last five playoff appearances, including Conference Finals berths in 2023 and 2025.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

This evening's game marks the second and final meeting of the regular season between Calgary and Carolina, with the Hurricanes holding the edge in the season set by virtue of a 1-0 overtime victory in Raleigh Nov. 30.

The Flames have won two of the last three meetings to take place at the Scotiabank Saddledome dating back to the 2022-23 season.

Did You Know?

New Flames defenceman Olli Määtta and Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho were teammates on the Finnish squad that captured a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Aho led the Finns with four goals in the tournament, while Määtta had one assist and a +2 rating over six games played.

4. The New Guys

In Olli Määtta, Ryan Strome and Victor Olofsson, the Flames added 2,110 games of NHL experience to their lineup.

That's a lot of experience, and leadership, for a club that ranks as one of the youngest across the NHL.

Määtta, picked up from Utah Wednesday, has two Stanley Cup rings to his name. The Finnish defenceman was part of Pittsburgh's championship squads in 2016 and 2017.

Strome joins the Flames from the Anaheim Ducks and arrives in Calgary three appearances shy of 900 for his NHL career. The 32-year-old was the Islanders' No. 5 pick - two spots after Jonathan Huberdeau - in the 2011 NHL Draft. 

Olofsson comes to town, coincidentally, having just played against the Ducks in Anaheim (with Colorado) March 3. A member of the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 2020, the Swedish winger scored 28 goals with Buffalo during the 2022-23 season and has also spent time with Vegas before signing a one-year deal with the Avalanche this past summer.

For jersey enthusiasts, Määtta will sport No. 3, Strome will rock No. 22 while Olofsson has been assigned No. 95.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Martin Pospisil

Pospisil had the lone Flames goal Thursday against the Senators, his first of the season and first in the NHL since February of 2025 and a point that marked the 50th of his NHL career.

The 11:29 of ice-time he earned against Ottawa was his highest total since before he left for Milan to represent Slovakia at the Olympics.

Pospisil is averaging 3.1 hits per game since returning to the Calgary lineup Jan. 21.

Hurricanes - Nikolaj Ehlers

Ehlers scored the overtime winner in the first meeting with the Flames this season and earlier this week, he recorded a hat-trick in a Carolina victory at Vancouver.

He got his 20th goal of the campaign Friday in Edmonton, giving him six tallies over his last five games.

The Dane is in his first season with the Hurricanes after spending the first decade of his NHL career with the Jets.