For several years now, Mikael Backlund, who will surpass Jarome Iginla as the Calgary Flames franchise leader in games played this season has been the leader of the team, and in their final year at the Scotiabank Saddledome, that won't be changing.
With two more years left on his current contract, Backlund will likely see out his lengthy Flames tenure, and although the team are rebuilding, he's in a perfect spot to lead them through this period in their history.
Beyond Backlund, this is a team that's still got plenty of veterans, and on the eve of the 2026/27 season beginning, the team have officially named the leadership group that will be around No. 11 in the upcoming campaign.
Calgary Flames Name Three-Man Leadership Group
Over the past few years, the Flames have had players like Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar all wear an 'A' alongside Backlund, but ahead of the new season, all of them are gone, with the Flames dealing them away for future assets.
This season, there are still some veterans, and unsurprisingly, the team have named Jonathan Huberdeau, one of the Flames other most tenured players alongside newly acquired Zach Whitecloud as the two other big pieces of the Flames leadership group.
Introducing your 2026-27 #Flames leadership group! https://t.co/96q7YJKZ5j
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 30, 2026
In recent years, they've also had a much larger leadership group, but with the team hoping to build around their young core, they've kept it small this year, but with Huberdeau out to start the year, there's others that will play a role.
Who Will Wear an 'A' in the Absence of Jonathan Huberdeau?
As we know, Huberdeau will miss some time to start the year, and with little clarity on a return, the team have formulated a plan in his absence. According to the Flames, it will be the trio of Ryan Strome, Jake Middleton and Joel Farabee that will rotate through the second 'A' with Huberdeau out.
#Flames leadership group this year:
— Pat Steinberg (@SteinbergYYC) September 30, 2026
Captain Mikael Backlund. Alternates Zach Whitecloud and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Per team: With Huberdeau currently sidelined, the team will rotate the alternate captaincy among Joel Farabee, Jake Middleton and Ryan Strome during his absence.
What this means is that the Flames have plenty of leaders to guide their young group forward into the future, and even with Huberdeau out, they've still got some very capable leaders. One day in the near future, those young players will grow into leaders themselves, and when Backlund departs the organization, potentially after the 2027/28 campaign, they will make up this group, but for now, it's a very veteran heavy group in Calgary.
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