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The NHL schedule for the 2025-26 season is out, even though the season itself is still months away. Looking ahead at the Calgary Flames’ calendar can give fans a preliminary picture of what the season might look like, even before puck drops on opening night. Let’s take a look at what the Flames’ 54th NHL season has in store.
Opening Against Familiar Opponents
The Flames’ season opens with one of the best rivalries in all of hockey: a Battle of Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton. It continues with a second game the day after against the Vancouver Canucks, another Pacific Division opponent and storied rival. Over the past five years, the Flames are 9-15 against the Oilers and 15-11 against the Canucks.
Related: Flames’ Potential Defensive Pairs On Opening Night
The first two games of the season being played on the road in rivals’ barns are sure to bring the Flames a lot of adversity right off the bat, which should be exciting.
Battle of Alberta at Important Moments
The Flames play four games against the Oilers this season, each of them at pivotal times on the schedule. The first Battle of Alberta is on Oct. 8 and is their season opener. The second and third are on Dec. 23 and 27, a “home and home” series that bookends the NHL’s Christmas break. The final Battle of Alberta is on Feb. 4, the Flames’ last game before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. While no one likes a break from the NHL, it’s good to have some of these “event” games right before and after the breaks – these teams never play a boring game against each other!
Not a Lot of Long Rest
While the Flames only play in nine back-to-back sets this season, the fewest among all NHL teams, they still need to play the full 82 games. That means that, unlike almost all other teams, they very rarely have significant gaps between two games. That will be nice for the fans who like to sit down and watch their favourite team play as consistently as possible, but it might pose some challenges to the Flames, who will frequently have to play a team on more rest than they have.
That also goes the other way – just as many times, they’ll also get to play more games against teams that have just come off a back-to-back without the same challenges. However, outside of the break in February for the Olympics, there are only two gaps in the season where the Flames will be playing an opponent on three days’ rest: the Christmas break and a three-day gap in the last week of January. Their March schedule is especially packed, with 16 games.
Return to Columbus on an Auspicious Date
The Flames’ away game against the Columbus Blue Jackets occurs at the end of a five-game road trip in January, on the 13th of the month. The No. 13 was famously worn by the late former Flame Johnny Gaudreau, who tragically passed away while a member of the Blue Jackets. It has been suggested that this game might be the date when Gaudreau’s number is retired in Nationwide Arena.
Tough End of the Season
Starting with the final game of their 16-game March with a visit to the Colorado Avalanche on March 20, 2026, the Flames will end up going on a road trip that will see them away from the Saddledome for two full weeks. The road trip brings them through the Central Division and some of the Pacific, with two games in Colorado, one in Vegas, one in Anaheim, one in Dallas, and one in Seattle. It will finish with a back-to-back with travel against Seattle on the road and welcoming the Utah Mammoth at home on April 12, before finally ending the season with a three-game homestand.
The Flames’ season will be long and tiring, and this long road trip right at the end of it will be a real challenge, especially if this season goes the way of the last, and they’re in the running for a wild card spot again. Sometimes, though, the challenge is the fun part.
