The Calgary Flames’ rebuilt penalty kill will not get much time to find its footing. One bad stick angle can open the seam. One late rotation can leave Dustin Wolf searching through traffic while a Seattle forward waits at the back post. When Calgary opens the 2026-27 season against the Seattle Kraken at the Scotiabank Saddledome on October 1, those details will matter immediately.
Three nights later, the teams meet again at Climate Pledge Arena. That quick rematch turns Calgary’s special-teams overhaul into one of opening week’s most revealing tests. The Flames killed 80.4 percent of opposing power plays last season, finishing 12th in the NHL, but much of the personnel behind that number has changed.
Ryan Huska does not need to invent a new penalty-killing identity. He needs a reshaped roster to reproduce the habits that made the old one work.
Calgary’s Safety Net Is Gone
Blake Coleman’s departure may prove the hardest adjustment.
For years, Coleman gave Calgary a dependable first layer of pressure alongside Mikael Backlund. He read breakouts early, angled puck carriers toward the boards and understood when an aggressive pursuit threatened the structure behind him. Calgary sent Coleman and Olli Maatta to Minnesota in July for Jake Middleton and three draft picks, removing another experienced forward from a penalty kill already reshaped by the departures of MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson.
By the end of 2025-26, Calgary had started transferring responsibility to players such as Joel Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich and Sam Honzek up front. Kevin Bahl, Zach Whitecloud and Yan Kuznetsov also took on defensive work. Now those experiments become part of the permanent plan.
That transition matters because penalty killing depends less on four individual defenders than on four players reading the same sequence. When one defenseman closes the half wall, his partner protects the crease. The low forward has to deny the dangerous pass without sinking too far, while the second forward decides whether to pressure the puck or preserve the middle.
A fraction of hesitation can distort the entire formation.
That is where Calgary’s offseason addition of Jake Middleton starts to connect with the broader rebuild.
Middleton Must Settle the Crease
Craig Conroy specifically identified penalty killing as an area where Middleton could contribute after arriving from Minnesota, and his style fits what Calgary needs around Wolf.
Middleton does not have to chase spectacular blocked shots. His larger job involves controlling the space that makes those desperate plays necessary. When Seattle sends a forward below the goal line, Middleton can protect the inside shoulder and keep bodies away from Wolf. When the puck moves toward the flank, he must judge whether to close on the shooter or remain attached to the net-front threat.
Those decisions become even more important when younger players surround him.
Calgary’s defensive group includes Middleton, Bahl, Whitecloud, Kuznetsov, Simon Nemec and Zayne Parekh among its primary options. Nemec and Parekh bring obvious puck-moving ability and offensive upside, while Middleton, Bahl and Whitecloud appear better suited to absorbing the heavier defensive work.
That balance could work. It also means Calgary’s veteran defenders must create enough stability for the younger pieces to play without hesitation.
Seattle will test exactly that.
Seattle Can Stretch Calgary Apart
The Kraken’s power play converted only 19.5 percent of its opportunities last season, ranking 21st in the NHL. On paper, that hardly looks like an overwhelming matchup.
Watch how Seattle can move the puck, though, and Calgary’s challenge becomes clearer.
Jared McCann remains one of the Kraken’s most dangerous finishers. Matty Beniers can work through the middle, while Jordan Eberle has spent much of his career finding quiet pockets around the circles and goal line. Behind them, Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour give Seattle two defensemen capable of changing shooting angles without slowing possession.
Montour finished last season with 99 long-range shots on goal, while Dunn produced 96. Seattle also ranked fifth in the NHL in shot attempts measured at least 90 mph.
Those point shots do not have to beat Wolf cleanly.
A Montour blast through two bodies can drop a rebound below the hash marks. Dunn can slide laterally until Calgary’s high forward moves a few feet too far, opening the passing lane underneath. Once the Flames start reacting to the shot rather than anticipating the next pass, Seattle has already won part of the possession.
That pressure also explains why Calgary’s penalty kill cannot simply collapse around the crease. Protect Wolf too aggressively, and Seattle gets room above the circles. Stretch too high and the Kraken can attack underneath.
Now they have another player capable of exploiting either mistake.
Samoskevich Adds Another Trigger
The Kraken acquired Mackie Samoskevich from the Florida Panthers on June 21, sending Florida a first-round pick in the 2026 draft and a conditional 2027 second-round selection. The 23-year-old recorded 32 points in 77 NHL games last season and produced at least 10 power-play points in consecutive NHL seasons with Florida.
His arrival does not require Seattle to redesign its power play. That may be what makes him dangerous.
Samoskevich can simply add another shooting threat to a unit that already forces defenders to account for McCann, Dunn and Montour. If Calgary’s weak-side killer cheats toward McCann, Samoskevich may find room elsewhere. Close on him too quickly, and Beniers can attack the opening underneath.
For the Flames, defending those rotations will require more than Middleton winning battles around the crease. The forwards above him have to arrive on time, and that brings the story back to the veteran who has spent years organizing Calgary’s defensive details.
Backlund Holds the Unit Together
At 37, Mikael Backlund remains the natural connection between Calgary’s established penalty-killing habits and the younger players being asked to inherit them.
His influence starts before Seattle can begin moving the puck.
Imagine Calgary taking a hooking penalty early in the second period. Backlund leans over the defensive-zone faceoff against Beniers or Chandler Stephenson. Win the draw cleanly, and Calgary can send the puck 180 feet, change two players, and remove valuable time from Seattle’s advantage.
Lose it cleanly, and everything accelerates.
Dunn moves across the blue line. Montour prepares on the opposite side. McCann drifts toward shooting space while another Kraken forward settles in front of Wolf. Calgary suddenly has four defenders trying to establish their positions after Seattle has already established possession.
Backlund has seen those sequences thousands of times. The larger issue is who joins him.
Conroy has indicated that Calgary wants younger players to absorb some of the minutes Coleman once handled. Sam Honzek, Martin Pospisil and Yegor Sharangovich provide different options, while Tyson Gross could strengthen his roster case by proving he can survive difficult defensive-zone assignments.
The Flames do not need those forwards to imitate Coleman shift for shift. They need them to understand why his pressure worked.
Speed only matters if a player chooses the correct route. Aggression only helps when the three teammates behind the puck know what comes next. That shared recognition will determine whether Calgary can keep Seattle on the perimeter or force Wolf to rescue repeated breakdowns.
Wolf Cannot Be the System
Wolf will make difficult saves. Calgary expects that from him.
The Flames cannot make it their penalty-killing system.
Calgary averaged 3.98 penalties per game last season, creating plenty of short-handed work even while the unit produced respectable results. Against Seattle, the Flames have to separate useful physical pressure from preventable penalties.
A strong neutral-zone stick can force Beniers toward the boards. A clean hit can delay a retrieval and break Seattle’s rhythm. Reaching after getting beaten wide does the opposite, while retaliation after a whistle gives the Kraken a free opportunity to place their best offensive players exactly where they want them.
Those mistakes carry extra weight because Calgary scored only 2.54 goals per game last season, the lowest rate in the NHL. This may not be a team built to surrender an unnecessary power-play goal and simply score its way back into the game.
Instead, Calgary has to make Wolf’s work manageable. Protect the seam before the pass arrives. Move the screen before Montour shoots. Find the rebound before Seattle gets a second touch.
Once those pieces are secure, the Flames can begin looking for something more aggressive.
Structure Can Create Offense
The transition from defending to attacking should happen naturally rather than through gambling.
Coleman and Backlund understood that distinction. They could turn a loose puck near the blue line into 10 or 15 seconds spent at the opposite end. Sometimes that produced a scoring chance. More often, it forced the power play to retreat, retrieve the puck, and rebuild its entry.
Calgary’s younger killers should preserve that mentality.
If Honzek or Pospisil recognizes a vulnerable pass at the point, pressure can turn defense into open ice. When Backlund wins possession along the wall with room ahead, carrying the puck instead of immediately dumping it can burn valuable seconds.
Yet the opportunity must come from sound positioning first. Sending two players after a short-handed chance while abandoning the middle would erase everything Calgary worked to protect.
That connection between structure and aggression may become one of Huska’s most important teaching points. Calgary does not have to choose between conservative penalty killing and attacking hockey. The first can create the second.
Opening Week Will Expose the Truth
October 1 carries more weight than the usual season opener.
It begins the final Flames season at the Scotiabank Saddledome, introduces a rebuilt roster to its home crowd, and immediately forces Calgary’s new penalty-kill personnel to solve a divisional opponent with several different offensive looks.
The October 4 rematch makes the examination even sharper. If Seattle opens a cross-ice seam in Calgary, Lane Lambert can hunt it again three nights later. If McCann repeatedly finds room from the flank, Huska must change his pressure. Should Middleton and Bahl consistently control the crease, the Kraken will look elsewhere.
Those adjustments will tell Calgary far more than a single percentage on the scoreboard.
Last season’s 80.4 percent penalty kill gives the Flames a standard to chase, but the veteran safety net has thinned. Middleton must stabilize the defensive layer. Backlund has to connect the old habits to the new personnel. Younger forwards must learn that a five-foot positioning mistake can matter more than a 100-foot burst of speed.
Wolf will stop some of what gets through.
Calgary’s season will look much healthier if he rarely has to.
A stick in the correct lane, inside position on a screen, and one clean faceoff win may never make the opening-night highlight package. Put enough of those details together, though, and Calgary can turn a major offseason uncertainty into one of its first genuine strengths.
Against Seattle, that process begins immediately.
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FAQs
Q1. What is the biggest concern with the Calgary Flames penalty kill?
A. The biggest concern is replacing veteran short-handed players while keeping the same defensive structure and communication.
Q2. Why is Jake Middleton important for Calgary?
A. Middleton gives Calgary a physical defender who can protect the crease and handle difficult defensive-zone minutes.
Q3. How strong was Calgary’s penalty kill last season?
A. The Flames killed 80.4 percent of opposing power plays last season, ranking 12th in the NHL.
Q4. Who leads Calgary’s penalty kill now?
A. Mikael Backlund remains the veteran leader, while younger players like Sam Honzek and Martin Pospisil could take on larger roles.
Q5. Why is Seattle a difficult opening opponent?
A. Seattle has multiple power-play threats, including Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, and Mackie Samoskevich.
