Flames ‘not impatient,’ Coronato says, even as rebuild hits rock bottom
Every day, Matt Coronato drives by Scotia Place, the Calgary Flames’ state-of-the-art new arena, and feels a pang of excitement. It’s double the square footage of the storied Scotiabank Saddledome and will seat 18,400 fans for NHL games beginning next season.
He hadn’t been inside his future digs yet when he spoke to Daily Faceoff in early September, but he said he’d get to see them soon. In the meantime, he’d have to make do with the Saddledome, the weary but lovable and cozy old barn, the NHL’s second-oldest active arena, known among the media for its terrifyingly rickety press-box catwalk. By the time its final season ends this April, only six venues will have hosted more games in NHL history. And yet: it hasn’t hosted a Flames playoff game since 2021-22 and likely never will again.
The symbolism is pretty obvious here, isn’t it?
Coronato is trying to live in the moment and soak in the final year of the Saddledome. At the same time, Scotia Place represents the team’s next era, which, in theory, should include a return to winning ways. And it can’t be easy waiting for that time to arrive.
Coronato, 23, is a first-line right winger for what might be the NHL’s worst team. Its general manager, Craig Conroy, has pretty openly engineered it that way since taking over in 2023, trading high-impact veterans Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman. The Flames have made seven first-round picks in their past four drafts alone and have begun building around a new generation led by Coronato, blueliner Zayne Parekh, left winger Matvei Gridin, goaltender Dustin Wolf and freshly acquired defenseman Simon Nemec, with plenty more prospects on the way, from defenseman Carson Carels to center Cole Reschny.
The tanked-out version of the Flames scored the fewest goals in the NHL last season, with no player topping Coronato’s 45 points, marking the franchise’s lowest leading point total in a non-shortened season.
Given how many key leaders and straight-up good hockey players Calgary has jettisoned in recent seasons, it has to be hard for the remaining survivors to stay positive. How can the mind not drift from the sad final days of the Saddledome to the new beginnings of Scotia Place, armed with what should be another top draft pick? Isn’t it difficult to stay patient with all the losing?
“Definitely all of us, we want to taste [playoff hockey],” Coronato told Daily Faceoff in September at the NHL Player Media Tour. “We want to get there. The Flames want to be back in the playoffs. We lost a couple of great guys, great locker room guys, too, great players. But we have a great room. We have great leadership presence. Even guys we brought in last year, they bring that element. And I think there’s a feeling in the room, a sense that the playoffs are…we’re getting there. So I think it just adds to the excitement. But I definitely wouldn’t say that guys are impatient. We know it’s coming, and we’re excited for it.”
It’s debatable how soon it’s coming, though. Expectations, at least outside the organization, were low for 2026-27, and the team looks just as bad if not worse than expected. Through three games, the Flames have been outscored 16-3 – by the lottery contender Vancouver Canucks and middling-at-best Seattle Kraken (twice) – and seem well on their way to a bottom-two finish in the Pacific Division and a bushel of lottery balls. And if we’re being honest: a top-two draft pick would be a wonderful housewarming gift for Scotia Place. In 55 drafts, the franchise has never picked first overall and has selected inside the top three just twice – when the Atlanta Flames took Jacques Richard and Tom Lysiak second overall in 1972 and 1973. Since the franchise relocated to Calgary for 1980-81, it has never selected earlier than fourth overall, where it landed Sam Bennett in 2014.
Bagging someone like Landon DuPont could accelerate the franchise’s trajectory like Matthew Schaefer did the New York Islanders’ last season. But the active Flames players can’t battle through the season with that thought in mind.
“I understand that there’s two parts to it, of course, but for us in the room, for the coaching staff, all we can do and think about is trying to go out and win and get better and hope all our guys take steps,” Coronato said. “[The draft is] for management and them to worry about.”
Coronato said before the season started that he was confident the team would improve based on its stretch-run play last season, specifically the final 15 games, when they went 8-5-2. And if he’s trying to keep his thinking glass-half-full this season so far: the Flames haven’t been as bad as their results indicate. They actually have a positive expected goal share at 5-on-5, their power play sits at 40 percent and their penalty kill is at 90 percent. So maybe there’s still something to build on, especially if Parekh is ready to take over as a real offensive weapon.
“We’re definitely going in the right direction,” Coronato said at the Player Media Tour. “There’s definitely good teams in the division. I think San Jose is a good team. Anaheim, Edmonton, Vegas, there are a lot of good teams. But I think we’re going to be right there with them. The more time that goes by, the better we’re going to continue to get. We have a lot of young guys that are going to take a step and keep developing. So it’s an exciting time for us.”
If there’s a word to describe Coronato’s mindset, it’s present. He’s trying to grow as a player, having plateaued somewhat last season coming off a breakout 24-goal effort in 2024-25. And even as we seemingly hear more noise daily about American players wanting to leave Canadian markets – confirmed by actual trades and trade requests happening – he couldn’t be happier where he is in Calgary.
“I can only speak for myself in saying that I love it,” he said. “I love living there. I’m happy to be there. I know there’s history of guys leaving, and it’s happening now. I can only speak for what I want and what I like, and I’m good there.
“I just love the city. There’s great neighborhoods. I’m just outside the city. It takes me 12 minutes to get to the rink, living in a nice neighborhood, which I love. The downtown is great. A lot of the boys are living down there, so we’re there a lot. The city’s clean. I come from Long Island, where there’s a lot of traffic. Not much traffic [in Calgary], which is a nice perk. The fan base is great. They love the team. They’re respectful. It’s awesome to play in a market where it’s all about hockey. I love that part of it. It’s all been great for me.”
It doesn’t appear that Coronato, in season 2 of a seven-year deal, will end up the latest Yankee player to ask out with half a decade remaining on his deal. He isn’t in a huge hurry to explore another market. Nor is he feeling rushed to get to what will clearly be an exciting 2027-28 season. He still has hope for this season, even if few others do. Besides, he has “mixed feelings,” he says, about saying goodbye to the Saddledome and wants to soak in this farewell campaign.
And maybe, if Calgary follows Coronato’s lead and focuses as much as possible on 2026-27, it’ll be a better hockey team by the time Scotia Place opens its doors a year from now – with or without DuPont.
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DAILY FACEOFF NEWSLETTER
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