'Terribly Disappointing': Flames president addresses disastrous start to the 2025-26 season
The Calgary Flames are currently last in the NHL standings, and now their President has revealed the front office's disappointment behind the slow start.
Last season, the Calgary Flames were one of the NHL's biggest surprises, taking the season all the way down to the final week as they were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoffs contention due to a tiebreaker.
Without elite talent beyond goaltender Dustin Wolf however, they were expected to take a major step back this season by everyone around the NHL, seemingly everyone except for the front office.
Don Maloney expresses disappointment in the Flames start
During their Wednesday night tilt with the Buffalo Sabres, President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney was interviewed, and among many topics covered, he addressed the disappointing start for the team.
Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney joined Brendan Parker during the first intermission of Calgary's Wednesday win in Buffalo. On the John Beecher waiver claim: «We need more speed in our lineup. It's clear from the first 20 games, we need to be quicker.» Overall, Maloney called the season start «terribly disappointing,» adding they weren't giving up.
«We're just determined not to throw young players in before they are ready,» he said. «It doesn't work, it's not good for your culture. We go into the season, we want to win hockey games. We expect to be a playoff team. That's how we have to enter in our minds, every season We want a team people will want to watch and be proud of this identity we established (last year) as a hard out, a hard-working team, that's who we are. When (our young players) are ready, they are going to get a chance.»
«We're just determined not to throw young players in before they are ready,» he said. «It doesn't work, it's not good for your culture. We go into the season, we want to win hockey games. We expect to be a playoff team. That's how we have to enter in our minds, every season We want a team people will want to watch and be proud of this identity we established (last year) as a hard out, a hard-working team, that's who we are. When (our young players) are ready, they are going to get a chance.»
This season, the Flames have been surrounded by trade rumours around their biggest veterans, but to this point in time, the team have shown little desire to make a move, with the front office clearly delusional over their current roster.
Simply put, there's no elite talent and very little goal scoring ability on this roster, and until that gets sorted out, this is a team that just doesn't have a chance, with fans willing their team on as they look to secure the No. 1 overall pick, rather than pushing for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot.
Ultimately though, with these comments, it's clear that this season could go many different ways depending on how they play it, but for now, the team are struggling, and that's not going to change anytime soon.
Previously on House Of Hockey
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 20 | 496 ANSWERS 'Terribly Disappointing': Flames president addresses disastrous start to the 2025-26 season Will the Flames finish the season 32nd in the standings? | ||
| Yes | 236 | 47.6 % |
| No | 260 | 52.4 % |
| List of polls | ||