Penalty Kill
The Calgary Flames penalty kill once again did their job in 2025/26, and with the duo of Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund once again running their PK1 unit, they were dangerous once again with 11 shorthanded goals, just one back of the NHL's leading Carolina Hurricanes. On top of that, the PK% ranked the Flames 12th in the NHL, with this unit giving them plenty of optimism heading into the new season.
With Coleman gone however, things will look different in 2026/27, but with so much experience on this current roster around the young, exciting talent, let's take a look at the top penalty kill unit.
Player | Games | TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mikael Backlund | 82 | 17:57 | 17 | 26 | 43 | +7 |
Joel Farabee | 82 | 16:55 | 20 | 18 | 38 | -9 |
Kevin Bahl | 76 | 21:57 | 4 | 14 | 18 | +2 |
Zach Whitecloud | 31 | 22:40 | 0 | 10 | 10 | +2 |
This first group is a very familiar one and features the Flames four best shutdown players including Backlund, who has long led the Flames penalty kill, and with Farabee as the obvious replacement for Blake Coleman, this is a group that already feels familiar for the Flames.
All four players have experience on the PK and are incredibly responsible, and while the Flames have limited upside this season, this penalty kill unit should again be amongst the best in the National Hockey League.
Player | Games | TOI | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jonathan Huberdeau | 50 | 18:08 | 10 | 15 | 25 | -9 |
Yegor Sharangovich | 78 | 16:03 | 15 | 14 | 29 | -20 |
Yan Kuznetsov | 57 | 20:05 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -8 |
Jake Middleton | 75 | 17:30 | 2 | 14 | 16 | +2 |
This is a group that features some new names to the PK, as Yan Kuznetsov takes up a bigger role with the Flames while new acquisition Jake Middleton will also take up a key role as he takes over from Olli Maatta, who also went to Minnesota in the trade.
As for the two forwards on this group, both have great offensive potential as well, giving the Flames the option to leak out and continue putting up impressive short-handed goal numbers, so this is certainly a group with high end potential as well.
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