4. Matt Coronato
Matt Coronato is a potential under-the-radar candidate to be the next Flames captain, and after signing a seven-year, $45 million deal ahead of the 2025/26 season, he's locked into the Flames for a long time to come. The former first-round pick has shown the ability to be a top goalscorer in the NHL, and while he hasn't shown over-the-top leadership qualities early in the NHL, he's good with the media and a very likeable player, and with another two years of growth, he could be a solid pick if that continues.
Last year, Coronato was the Flames leading scorer, and while that didn't mean much at just 45 points following up a 47 point campaign, he showed those flashes of a potential 30 goal scorer when he was paired with Morgan Frost and Matvei Gridin late in the year. Right now, this is definitely a pick that the Flames wouldn't be making, but Coronato has plenty of fans within the Flames organization, and they could do a lot worse than a player like him to lead the team for years to come, especially with fans not truly knowing how things occur behind the scenes.
3. Kevin Bahl
At this point, the Flames next captain likely comes down to a decision between a seasoned veteran or a young, rising player, and in defenseman Kevin Bahl, the organization could somewhat get the best of both worlds. Right now, Bahl is 26-years-old, so he'll be 28 when Backlund likely departs, but as a solid, safe blue liner who leads in a style similar to the Flames current captain, he would be a natural successor to Backlund.
Regardless of whether he's named captain or not in the future, Bahl is set to be a leader of a blue line that will feature Carson Carels and Zayne Parekh in the coming years, and as a result, he has a key role to play. Next season, with the departure of Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar in the past six months, Bahl will likely be a prime candidate to wear an 'A' alongside Backlund and potentially Whitecloud, and while the team may want a younger captain when it comes to naming one, Bahl would not be a bad option at all.
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