Flames open final Saddledome season against Kraken

The Calgary Flames open the 2026-27 season tonight, their final campaign at the Scotiabank Saddledome, when the Seattle Kraken visit for a 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET puck drop on Sportsnet West.

Calgary's 23-man opening-night roster, announced Monday, leans into the young core. Dustin Wolf gets the start in goal, with Devin Cooley backing up.

The projected lines, via Pat Steinberg:

Matvei Gridin - Morgan Frost - Matt Coronato

Sam Honzek - Mikael Backlund - Joel Farabee

Connor Zary - Ryan Strome - Yegor Sharangovich

Maxim Tsyplakov - Martin Pospisil - Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl - Simon Nemec

Yan Kuznetsov - Zach Whitecloud

Jake Middleton - Zayne Parekh

Notably absent: Jonathan Huberdeau, who opens the season on injured reserve as he recovers from hip resurfacing surgery in March. GM Craig Conroy has put the prognosis at seven to nine months, which puts October at the optimistic end of the range. Prospect Aydar Suniev was assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers after an impressive camp.

The blue line is the story: Zayne Parekh pairs with Jake Middleton while Simon Nemec skates with Kevin Bahl on the top pair.

Seattle took last season's series two games to one. Calgary won 4-2 on Dec. 18 before the Kraken answered 5-1 on Jan. 5 and 4-1 on Apr. 11. The clubs also met twice in the preseason, on Sept. 20 and 24. They will see plenty of each other early: the Kraken host the Flames in their own home opener Sunday in Seattle.

This preview is brought to you in part by Animas Painting — interior and exterior painting in Calgary. Reach Rafael at 403-604-5529.

Next
Next

Team CHL names staff for 2026 USA Prospects Challenge