The future is bright.
And the Flames have set a foundation.
That was the resounding message from exit meetings Saturday, as a disappointed Calgary group packed up their belongings and broke away for the summer, just days after their push for the post-season fell agonizingly short.
The team exceeded outside expectations in 2024-25. Pegged as a lottery team by the outside world, the Flames scratched and clawed their way to a 96-point campaign, playing meaningful hockey right up until the bitter end.
But they played for each other. And laid the groundwork - the standard - for 2025-26 and beyond.
Captain Mikael Backlund has missed the playoffs before. But he admitted Saturday that this miss has a different feel to it.
One that’s ushering on a new era, as opposed to clinging to the last vestiges of a bygone core.
"I see it differently today than then,” he said. “I feel like the future here is really bright. Management has done a great job selecting some really good young players, signing some good players. Having the arena being close here, it’s gonna (make guys want) to come here, it’s just that extra attraction for guys to come here and play.
“I think the future looks really good here in Calgary."
Both he and Jonathan Huberdeau were key voices in the dressing room, part of the group of six or seven leaders that led the way all season long.
And for Huberdeau, who enjoyed his best season as a Flame with 28 goals, there’s further room to grow.
For veterans, and future stars alike.
“I think there’s going to be some opportunities for young guys to come in as well. Some young guys that stepped up - Zars, Matty - they’ve been playing really well for us,” he said. “And some guys like Zayne, they’re going to have their chance next year.
“The youth, the skills, we’re going to add some more people, we’re just going to grow. But I think it starts with the leaders we had. We can welcome the kids and kinda show them that identity that we built this year.”
Look at Coronato, for example.
He started the season on the AHL roster, but parlayed that into a 24-goal, 47-point campaign that left fans frothing at the mouth for more.
You could point to that two-goal performance in Montreal Nov. 5 as a real 'I'm here' moment, but Coronato admitted his breakout performance was the sum of its parts.
"I don’t think there’s one point, maybe. I think over the course of the year, I tried to learn as much as I can from a lot of great players," he said. "Playing with Backs and Colesy for most of the year, I feel like I learned a lot from them.
"They really taught me well. I’m really appreciative of that."
Head Coach Ryan Huska admitted the sting of missing the playoffs is palpable, a goal left unachieved.
But he too glowed about the work being done to rebuild the team culture, from the leadership group on down.
“Identity, for me - which I think they built and which is something that I like - if that’s the way people think of our team, is people know that there is no easy game when you play our team,” he said. “When you leave here, or when we’re on the road and they say ‘man, that team is hard to play against,’ that’s the identity you want your team to have, and I feel like we do have that now. Teams know that when they play us, there’s no nights off, and our players like playing that way.
“When it comes to culture - that’s a funny word sometimes - but I look at it as, for me, culture is the feel around your room. Culture is the way your players treat each other, it’s the way they approach meetings, it’s how they come to the rink in the morning, it’s the attitude they have, it’s what the guys sitting beside them means to the other guy, that to me, is culture. So when you have people that want to be around each other, whether you’re on the road or you’re at work - tough times, good times - you’re on the right track because you’re really building team.
“I want our team to be really, really hard to play against - like to the point where people are like ‘we do not want to play that team’ - and I want to continue to see what we’re doing in our room continue to grow, because I think we have a lot of players that are going to start to flourish.”
As the players head home for the summer, with goals in mind for personal growth, there’s excitement abound about where this team could go.
Which young players - be it Matt Coronato, Zayne Parekh, or Calder Trophy candidate Dustin Wolf between the pipes - will arrive in town in August ready to take the next step.
For Huberdeau, that infusion of youth is encouraging.
The reality of the new NHL is of a league where the kids can really play.
And he’s eager to see how Calgary’s young charges come along under his - and the other leaders’ - wing, as General Manager Craig Conroy, Huska, and the front office continue their attempt to craft a champion.
“They have a plan, we want to get a little younger, but we can compete as well,” said Huberdeau. “This year, we got some younger guys and it worked out.
“I think it’s on the leaders to show the way. I think next year, we’ll do the same thing. But obviously the expectation is to make the playoffs next year.”
