Posted on April 20, 2026 (Season 14)

The Flames finish in the bottom five and turn toward the draft. We recap the final games, revisit our preseason predictions, and look at what comes next for Calgary.

Posted on March 4, 2026 (Season 14)

The Flames return from the Olympic break and head toward the NHL trade deadline. We recap the California road trip and debate whether the Calgary Flames should sell now or wait until the offseason.

Posted on January 20, 2026 (Season 14)

We recorded this week’s episode of the podcast just hours before the Rasmus Andersson trade was made official, and as such we didn’t get to give our immediate reactions. Kevin Olenick of the Shifts and Pucks Podcast had us join him Monday morning to discuss the blockbuster trade. This is the audio from that show.

Posted on January 18, 2026 (Season 14)

Trade rumors take center stage this week as the Flames weigh a significant offer from the Boston Bruins for defenseman Rasmus Andersson. We break down the reported return pieces and look back at a successful week on the ice that saw the team find their footing.

Posted on January 11, 2026 (Season 14)

A narrow victory in Pittsburgh can’t mask the shifting reality for the Calgary Flames as they slide further from playoff contention. This week, we discuss why it’s time to embrace a full-scale rebuild, break down recent roster debuts, and analyze the intensifying trade rumors surrounding the team’s veteran core.

Posted on January 4, 2026 (Season 14)

Dan and Matt recap a busy holiday homestand as the Calgary Flames officially hit the 41-game midpoint of the season. With two own goals scored in one week, the guys have plenty to discuss regarding the last three games, as well as Devin Cooley’s new contract and Andrew Basha’s return to the WHL. To wrap things up, the guys partake in their annual tradition of revisiting their preseason predictions to see how their “hot takes” are holding up at the halfway mark.

Posted on December 30, 2025 (Season 14)

Dan and Matt recap a huge Battle of Alberta win and celebrate Dustin Wolf’s 100th NHL game. The hosts dive into the rumored contract standoff with Rasmus Andersson and the latest on prospects Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz. They wrap up with a look at the daunting January schedule and their weekly predictions.

Posted on November 24, 2025 (Season 14)

The Flames string together an unexpected three-game winning streak, but the momentum quickly collides with the chaos surrounding Don Maloney’s now-infamous interview. Dan and Matt break down the week’s highs, the roster shuffles, and what Maloney’s comments might mean for the Calgary Flames’ direction moving forward.

Posted on September 23, 2025 (Season 14)

The Calgary Flames went 1-1 in the split-squad Battle of Alberta games this week. Our hosts give their assessment of how the two Flames rosters did and how the young players look while cautioning Flames fans to have patience with Zane Parekh as he transitions to professional hockey. Rasmus Andersson is discussed and both hosts agree there is a real chance he may not get traded as many expect. The contract extension for Mikael Backlund is also discussed as well as other news related to the team as they get ready for the next 6 pre-season games.

Posted on July 27, 2025 (Season 13)

Our host were joined by Kevin Olenick from the Shifts and Pucks podcast to discuss all of the Calgary Flames’ off-season activities. The main topics of discussion were their draft picks, free agent signings, and development camp strategies. With Connor Zary still unsigned, the hosts discuss what a fair deal for Zary would be, and what he is as a player. The major discussion of the show was about the Rasmus Andersson trade situation, and if there is an arugement for the Flames to keep him.

Posted on June 17, 2025 (Season 13)

Dan and Matt dive into Flames news ahead of the NHL Draft, starting with strong opinions on why cheering for the Oilers is never an option. They break down new contracts for Adam Klapka and Matt Coronato, debate Marty Pospisil’s future, and react to the latest coaching staff shuffle. The focus shifts to the upcoming draft, where the Flames hold two first-round picks. With center depth in short supply, the hosts profile potential players for the Flames to target.

Posted on April 21, 2025 (Season 13)

The Flames’ playoff dreams have been extinguished. The guys deliver their final thoughts on the season, dissect the upcoming free agent decisions (who stays, who goes?), and speculate on potential further roster changes. Plus, Dan and Matt revisit their preseason predictions – how did they fare?

Posted on December 9, 2024 (Season 13)

This week the guys discuss the emotional game the Calgary Flames played against ther Blue Jackets, and the ceremony for Johnny Gaudreau. They compare the way the Flames played in that game to the game against the Blues and what was different. With Justin Kirkland out for the season, and Andrei Kuzmenko a healthy scratch it has given Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr the chance to draw into the lineup. The guys give their opinions on these players’ first two games and their future with the Calgary Flames this season. To end the show, the guys preview the four games this week that will be a struggle and predict how the Flames will do.

Posted on October 7, 2024 (Season 13)

This week we discuss the Calgary Flames final roster moves before the season and if Jakob Pelletier being placed on waivers should be a worry for the C of Red. Then the guys look into their crystal balls as they play the annual prediction game, trying to guess at what might or might not happen for the team this season.

Posted on October 23, 2023 (Season 12)

The Calgary Flames aren’t off to the start many fans hoped they would be, and there is some concern about Jonathan Huberdeau’s production. The guys discuss if fans should be worried yet and what we can learn from the Flames’ early road losses.

Posted on October 9, 2023 (Season 12)

As we get ready to kick off the 2023-2024 NHL season, the guys preview who they expect to make the opening day roster and if the Flames are going into this season as an underdog – and if so, does that help the players manage expectations? To end the show, the hosts play their annual prediction game as they try to look ahead to what might be this year for the Calgary Flames.

Posted on September 25, 2023 (Season 12)

On the opening night of the Calgary Flames pre-season, Dan and Matt are back to discuss the Young Stars Classic and give a preview of the Flames training camp and pre-season. The guys discuss who should be the next captain if they’re worried about Oliver Kylington not reporting to training camp and what young players might be making a push for an NHL roster spot.

Posted on April 17, 2023 (Season 11)

The Calgary Flames missed the playoffs this season by only 3 points. There is no doubt this year has been a disappointment for the Flames and the C of Red with lots to discuss as Dan and Matt dissect what went wrong this season and what we can expect to see come next season.

With the Flames out, we’ll be taking a break from new episodes until closer to the NHL Entry Draft in late June, or if significant news breaks before then. Check back at FiresideChat.ca or our social media platforms for info on when we’ll be recording next.

Posted on January 3, 2023 (Season 11)

As the calendar turns to 2023 the Calgary Flames are back in a playoff spot – only down 3 points from where they were this time last year. It feels like the team is finally getting going, and the lines have been settled. The guys recap the 2022 half of the season and look ahead to the 2023 half of the season and what the Flames need to do to stay in a playoff spot.

Posted on February 1, 2021 (Season 9)

Frustration with the team’s disappointing week leads to debating how to fix the flaws with this team and if it is time to make major changes to the Flames roster before their window of opportunity closes on the current core roster. The guys have different ideas of how to handle the Sam Bennett request for a ‘change of scenery’ and debate how they’d handle the scenario and what a reasonable return might be.

Posted on January 14, 2020 (Season 8)

The Flames suffer their first loss of 2020 this week to end off an otherwise very good week, which propelled them to the #1 spot in the Pacific Division.  Can the Flames keep this momentum up going into their week-long break? How about after the break?

Posted on November 20, 2018 (Season 7)

The most important news item this week, is the Flames beat the Oilers. David Rittich looks like he’s going to be leaned on as the starting goaltender for a while. The guys debate if that’s a good idea, and what the Flames need to do to give Rittich the right chance as a starter. Plus some Stockton Heat news.

Posted on October 17, 2018 (Season 7)

The Flames notoriously start slow almost every season, but 5 games in and they are over .500? Could it be?  What are the Flames doing differently and how do they look compared to last year’s team?

This week we discuss the healthy scratches of Mark Jankowski and Michael Frolik, why they were likely benched and what their response should be.  As well we discuss the changes we’re seeing in Sam Bennett’s game, how the rookies are doing and what Rasmus Andersson has to do to stay here after Hamonic comes back.

All this and more as we recap the first 5 games of the season, and look ahead to the next week.

Posted on October 9, 2018 (Season 7)

The Flames opened their season with a home-and-home series against the Vancouver Canucks, with each team winning at home. Losing their ninth season opener in a row, the Flames still have a lot to work on moving forward including their powerplay. This week’s episode looks at these two games and what the team needs to work on still and how Dube and Välimäki looked in the first two games. And we’ll look at the roster moves including the recall of Rasmus Andersson and how he slots into the lineup, Hamonic’s injury and if he should have fought or not, and the current line combinations before the team heads to Nashville.

Posted on January 17, 2018 (Season 6)

The Flames break for their mandated bye week on a season high 7 game win streak, and holding the 2nd place spot in the Pacific Division. The guys chat about what has changed, and how the AHL callups have been instrumental in the team’s success – and who is likely to stay in the NHL after the bye week. With all the forward callups, what is the Flames depth like on Defence? And what roster moves need to be made to allow some rookie blueliners to make the team?

We look ahead to the schedule and what to expect after the break, and a whole lot more news about the red hot Calgary Flames.

Posted on November 9, 2017 (Season 6)

This week the waiver wire was busy as the Flames placed Tanner Glass and Freddie Hamilton on waivers. We discuss these and other roster moves and where Jagr will fit into the lineup upon his return and the secondary scoring woes. On the bright side, there is a lot to like in Stockton right now. Andrew Mangiapane is tearing it up, and David Rittich is looking great! We’ll let you know what is happening with the Heat.

Posted on April 12, 2017 (Season 5)

After a California road trip where the Flames used 4 goalies in three games, the season is over and we’re looking ahead to the Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. The guys recap the 2016-2017 season, see how they did in their season predictions and look ahead to the playoffs – answering important questions like if the Flames can win the round, who the playoff hero will be and what player(s) we think will need to come up big for the Flames to win this one.

Posted on March 15, 2017 (Season 5)

Riding high on a 10 game winning streak we take a deeper look at the Flames over the past week including the injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Michael Stone, and why the Flames played Dennis Wideman over Rasmus Andersson as a fill in. We debate Sam Bennett’s future with the Flames and what his next contract will look like.

If the Flames make the playoffs, should Glen Gulutzan be considered for the NHL Jack Adams Award? Dan will make his case as to why he should.

Posted on June 30, 2015 (Season 3)

It’s easy to sell pieces and change your team significantly in 24 hours, but it is very difficult to change your team as much for the better as the Flames did this week.

The 2015 Entry Draft is in the books and the Calgary Flames made a big splash by trading for Dougie Hamilton, and drafting both Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington. We’ll discuss the Flames draft, how much they’ve upgraded the blueline – and if the Flames won or lost the trades it took to do so.

With Free Agent season around the corner we’ll also look at the RFAs the Flames qualified and didn’t qualify, and what UFAs we hope the Flames target, and who we stay away from.

Posted on June 21, 2015 (Season 3)

In this episode we’ll break down our thoughts as to who the Flames may take with their three second round picks (45, 52 and 53) and their two third round picks (76 and 83).

We’ll answer many questions Flames fans have going into this draft: Are there any top 30 players who may fall far enough for us to pick them? Or any sleeper players we need to watch for? With such a deep draft, can we get a first line player at the 40-50 range?