The Calgary Flames‘ 2025-26 season has gotten off to nearly as bad a start as possible, as they have lost five straight and are dead last in the NHL with a 1-5-0 record. It’s been an abysmal beginning for a team that proved many detractors wrong in 2024-25 and missed the playoffs by just a single point.
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The biggest reason for the Flames’ struggles this season is a lack of goal scoring. They’ve managed just 10 goals through six games, and have only two forwards in Matt Coronato and Blake Coleman who have found the back of the net on more than one occasion.
One forward who has yet to find the back of the net is Yegor Sharangovich. The 27-year-old has managed just one assist through the first six games of the season, and is struggling to make an impact in any sort of way. Such was the issue last season, where he had a disappointing 17 goals and 32 points. He’s looked nothing like the player who scored 31 goals in his first season with the organization.
Making matters all the worse is that following his 31-goal output, the Flames rewarded Sharangovich with a five-year, $28.75 million extension. That extension just began this season, and is looking like a worse contract by the day.
The issue with Sharangovich is that when he isn’t putting up offence, he provides nothing else whatsoever. His lack of tenacity and physicality has been driving the fan base crazy, and on Saturday night, he got torn into by a well-respected NHL analyst for his lack of effort.
Bieksa Tears into Sharangovich
During an intermission of last night’s game between the Flames and Vegas Golden Knights, Sportsnet’s Kevin Bieksa took issue with the lack of intensity from Sharangovich. It came on a play where the Russian forward had a chance to lay a hit at centre ice, and instead completely opted out. It was a ridiculously soft play, and was one that was deserving of the criticism it received.
“The concern is if you’re losing games and guys are not giving it their all,” Bieksa said. “That’s what I would be worried about. The culture of the team. It’s one thing to lose, but it’s the way you lose. This is a 6-1 game, I’m going to pick on Sharangovich. Watch this effort right here. Down 6-1, I think he apologized. I think he literally apologized for almost running into [William] Karlsson there.
“I would absolutely lose my mind on the bench if I saw that. I don’t even know if the coaches saw that because there’s so much going on. If you watch that in the video, that’s a culture thing to me. I would show that clip in practice, and I would say, ‘Where are my guys that care? Where are my guys that care about losing? I’ll play [Ryan] Lomberg. I’ll double shift Lomberg the rest of the game if that’s the way guys are going to compete … If you’re going to get an effort like that from a guy, get rid of him. You’re disgracing the NHL with an effort like that. Down 6-1, be a little mad.”
Sharangovich Needs to Come Out of Lineup
Bieksa was completely right in this assessment, as, like mentioned, it’s been an ongoing issue for Sharangovich dating not only back to the 2024-25 season, but also during his tenure with the New Jersey Devils. That specific effort we saw on Saturday night is one that head coach Ryan Huska needs to set an example on.
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In order to do so, Sharangovich needs to take a seat in the press box. Whether it will get him going remains to be seen, but, at the very least, it shows the rest of the group that taking the easy way out is not going to be accepted by this group. While nobody expects Sharangovich to be a bruiser, he needs to begin playing a meaner game, and perhaps taking a seat in the press box will deliver that message.
