As the NHL’s offseason tolls on, fans are stuck daydreaming of what the upcoming 2024-25 season will have to offer them. The Calgary Flames have given their faithful “C of Red” plenty to fantasize about: the rebuilding franchise had an outstanding 2024 NHL Entry Draft where they made 10 picks, have affordably added talented players during this year’s free agency frenzy, and recently displayed plans for their new arena, Scotia Place. While the 2024-25 squad is surely set to once again be on the outside of the NHL playoff picture looking in, what lies ahead is seemingly getting brighter by the day. Today’s Flames are a competitive mix of veterans and youngsters who share a common goal focused on individual and team growth over immediate on-ice success.
Related: Calgary Flames’ 2024-25 Bounce Back Candidates
Keeping things on a positive note for the Flames, no new season buildup is complete without looking at what new accomplishments will be celebrated. We’re going to peruse the imminent Flames player milestones within reach during the 2024-25 season. This campaign will be a tad different; the team notably traded an abundance of veterans, thus fielding a younger roster this year (average age of 28.8, T-20th league-wide). Therefore, there are fewer big, snazzy number accomplishments on the horizon but a respectable handful nonetheless.
Games Played Achievements
We start our analysis with some looming games played achievements. As the oldest player on the roster and longest-tenured Flame, captain Mikael Backlund has lots on the horizon this season. None will be bigger than when he hits 1,000 games played, as “Backs” is only ten games shy of this feat. He will be just the second Flame in history to reach 1,000 games, after Jarome Iginla. The Flames’ 24th overall draft pick back in 2007 has climbed his way into the second-most games played in a Flames uniform, but is still a ways away from catching Iginla’s 1,219.
Forward Blake Coleman is just 58 games shy from 600 for his career. The Flames also have three players that should hit the 500 mark in 2024-25; Rasmus Andersson (45 games away), MacKenzie Weegar (31 away), and newly-acquired Flame Anthony Mantha (six away). Andersson, the next-longest serving Flame, could work his way into the top 20 and past legendary goalie Mike Vernon if he can suit up for 73 games this season.
Moving down the list, two Flames players are closing in on 300 NHL contests. Last season’s leading goalscorer Yegor Sharangovich is a mere 13 games from the nice round number, and recent free agent signing Ryan Lomberg will hit the mark after 43 matches. Very fitting that Lomberg does so as a member of the team that he made his NHL debut with back in 2018. Elsewhere, fan favourite and last season’s feel-good story Andrei Kuzmenko is 47 games away from 200 for his career. Defenders Joel Hanley and Jake Bean are close as well; Hanley is seven games back and Bean only three. Three others are in line to get past the century mark as backup goaltender Dan Vladar can get there with 25 appearances, and last season’s rookie sensations Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil are both 37 away from 100.
Goals, Assists, Points, etc.
Next comes the exciting stuff: the three main offensive statistics that everyone loves. Backlund had a historic 2023-24 campaign, scoring both his 200th career goal and 500th career point. The 35-year-old did take a step back offensively, but not enough to create too much of a worry. Two things within his reach this season are passing Gary Suter for sixth all-time in franchise points (33 points back) and dethroning the legendary Lanny McDonald for fifth place in goals by a Flame (15 away). Struggling former NHL All-Star Jonathan Huberdeau may not be piling up the points like he used to, but the 31-year-old is still a crafty playmaker and is just five assists from reaching 500 career helpers. Last season’s team leader in points, Nazem Kadri, is 29 assists shy from 400 himself and needs 28 goals to get to 300.
Coleman is just 49 points away from reaching 300, which he should hit given how he is aging like a fine wine. The 32-year-old set his career-highs in goals and points in 2023-24. Mantha will also accomplish the same feat, being that he needs only four points to do so. Sharangovich is in line to reach both 100 goals and 100 assists for his young career, as he is just 16 snipes and 19 apples shy. In addition, with just 35 points this season he will surpass 200. The young guns Zary and Pospisil require 26 and 36 points, respectively, to each get to 50 total. Both young men are more than talented enough and will have plenty of opportunity with this roster to do so this season.
Everything Else
Some other, less prominent but interesting milestones available in 2024-25 were uncovered during our research. For example, Huberdeau is a mere 123 minutes played away from having been on the ice for a whopping 15,000 throughout his 12-year career. His fellow ex-Panther Weegar needs 429 minutes to have 10,000 of his own. With 111 shots on goal, Weegar would hit 1,000, and he is eight hits away from the same figure in that category. Should he accumulate another 200 or more blocked shots this season, his all-time Flames total would land him in seventh place, passing the freshly departed Noah Hanifin. Andersson will also reach a nice round 700 career blocks after recording just seven more. Acquired in the Jacob Markstrom trade, young defensive defenseman Kevin Bahl is already just 38 blocks shy from 200 for his career, and also needs only 39 hits to reach 300.
Keeping with hits, the hard-nosed Coleman will easily surpass 1,200 after throwing 10 more this season. Despite being known as a scorer, Mantha needs just 25 to get to 500. The hulking forward is also only five takeaways from having 200 all-time. The defensively underrated Kadri is eight takeaways from 500 as well. On offence, the former Stanley Cup winner requires just five more shots on goal to reach 2,500. Netminder-wise, Vladar can get to 50 career wins with 13 this season, and will overcome 2,000 saves after stopping 215 more. Both are within reach for the soon-to-be 27-year-old, especially since he will be tasked with alleviating the load placed on rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf in 2024-25.
To conclude, just because the Flames won’t be succeeding as a team this season does not mean successes won’t be had altogether. Though they aren’t the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup, personal statistical achievements do mean something to fans, media, and players alike. Many of these accomplishments are a fun thing for people to be a part of, and will give Flames faithful a reason to tune in. Particularly in today’s NHL, where staying in the league is as difficult as it has ever been, it’s nice to have little things to hang your hat on.
