The 2026/27 NHL season kicks off less than 10 days from now for the Calgary Flames, but on Sunday, we got our first look at the team as they began pre-season against the division rival Seattle Kraken.
While there were some ups and downs from the 4-2 defeat, there were plenty of positives for the Flames, but outside of a few young names looking to get another opportunity, there wasn't many NHL regulars in the lineup.
That was expected to change throughout the pre-season with just four games before the regular season begins, and on Tuesday ahead of a clash with the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames have named their potential opening night lineup.
Flames Lineup Features NHL Ready Unit
In that 4-2 loss, the Flames had Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin and some veterans on the roster, but for their first pre-season matchup, they didn't send a very NHL ready lineup. That was expected to change between the regular season, and thanks to Pat Steinberg, we now know that the Flames lineup against Vancouver is likely to be their opening night setup.
#Flames lineup for preseason game number two vs. Vancouver:
— Pat Steinberg (@SteinbergYYC) September 22, 2026
Gridin-Frost-Coronato
Honzek-Backlund-Farabee
Zary-Strome-Sharangovich
Tsyplakov-Pospisil-Klapka
Bahl-Nemec
Middleton-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Whitecloud
Wolf
Zarubuin
Without Jonathan Huberdeau, it's Connor Zary that takes up a spot on the third line with Ryan Strome and Yegor Sharangovich, and after a standout performance against Seattle, Samuel Honzek appears to be getting the first shot at playing on the Flames second line this season.
Will This be the Flames Opening Night Lineup?
As we predicted early in the off-season, this was always going to be how the Flames lined up, and while Huberdeau returning could force some changes, for the most part, this is the best the team can put on the ice.
With this group, the organization is showing its commitment to the future, with Zary and Honzek both in top-nine roles along with a top-line that features two of the franchises most important players for the future in Matt Coronato and Matvei Gridin.
On the blue line, both Zayne Parekh and Simon Nemec have been placed with steady veterans, and given that they'll both see significant powerplay time, both are in prime positions to break out this season. As of right now, the Flames haven't confirmed their opening night group, but with this being the first appearance of their entire NHL group in the pre-season, don't be shocked if this is the exact unit we see on October 1st against the Kraken.
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