The 2024–25 Calgary Flames season was their 45th season in Calgary, and their 53rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 6, 1972. Their season was overshadowed by a tragedy, where their former star player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed when suspected drunk driver Sean Higgins struck their bicycles from behind with his vehicle. The team dedicated the season to Johnny's memory.
Despite earning 96 points, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, tying the 2014–15 Boston Bruins, 2017–18 Florida Panthers, and 2018–19 Montreal Canadiens for the most points by a team that missed the playoffs.
Regular season
October–December Heading into the season, the Flames were expected by many to finish near the bottom of the league standings. They had traded many of their key players at the 2024 trade deadline. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf was expected to start many of their games. However, the Flames caught the league by surprise when they opened the season 5-0-1 in their first six games. It started when on October 9, they won their opening game in Vancouver 6-5 on Connor Zary's overtime goal after coming back from down 4-1 late in the second. They started their home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 12 by holding a ceremony for the late Johnny Gaudreau. They won the game 6-3, in which Jonathan Huberdeau's two goals and two assists were the difference. This was a bright spot to start his 2024-25 campaign after two disappointing seasons in Calgary. They won their next two games vs the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 and 3-1 respectively, to start the season 4-0 and match the best start in franchise history, both achieved in 2009-10 and 1993-94. They endured their first loss on October 19, when they lost 2-1 in overtime at the Seattle Kraken. Their point streak would be snapped on October 24, when they lost 4-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes. They would finish the month 5-4-1 and on a four-game losing streak.
The Flames would start November with a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils in which Blake Coleman scored two goals and Daniel Vladar recorded his third career shutout. On November 11, it was announced that free-agent singing Anthony Mantha would undergo season-ending ACL surgery from an injury sustained against the Montreal Canadiens on November 5. The Flames would go 5-1-2 in their next eight games, starting with an overtime loss and a shootout loss, followed by five wins in six games, one of which was a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators on November 15. Dustin Wolf stopped 29 shots for his first career shutout, he also improved to 6-2-1 on the season. They then lost the next two games to the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 in regulation and 2-1 in overtime respectively. On November 29, in an emotional game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the other team Johnny Gaudreau played for. The Flames lost 5-2. Shootout catalyst Justin Kirkland exited the game with a lower-body injury and would later require season-ending knee surgery. Their last game in November was the following night, a 6-2 beatdown at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They finished with a 7-5-3 record in November and a 12-9-4 record overall, and like in October, a four-game losing streak.
The Flames started off December by playing the Blue Jackets once again, this time in the Scotiabank Saddledome. The two teams would hold a ceremony and a ceremonial puck drop. The Flames would claim victory in this meeting 3-0. They fell to the Dallas Stars 6-2 two games later, surrendering four goals in the third. By this point, the Flames had gone a franchise record 25 games without scoring more than three goals in regulation. Additionally, they had a grumpy 3-7-4 record on the road. The Flames would again surrender four goals in the third period four nights later on December 12 in an abysmal 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, their first regulation loss on home ice in over a month. They also surrendered six points to Nikita Kucherov, and a hat-trick to Jake Guentzel. They would bounce back two nights later with a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay's rival Florida Panthers. Dustin Wolf made 32 stops in the process. The Flames would lose their next two games in overtime to the Bruins and Senators respectively. On December 21, their last game before he Christmas break, they won 6-4 over the Chicago Blackhawks after nearly blowing a 5-1 lead in the third period. The team mustered up 16-11-7 record heading into the break, and were 1 point behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Flames returned to play on December 28 by playing the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center. They prevailed in a 3-1 decision, where Jonathan Huberdeau recorded two goals. They were then blanked the following night 3-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Flames' final game of 2024 came on New Year's Eve, where they outlasted the Vancouver Canucks 3-1.
January–April The Flames begun 2025 occupying the second wild-card spot and eighth seed in the West, having far exceeded expectations that were set for them. Their first game of the year was played on January 2, where they were defeated by the then-Utah Hockey Club (now Utah Mammoth) 5-3 at home. They lost again two days later, this time at the hands of the Nashville Predators 4-1. Ryan O'Reilly netted a hat-trick in that game. Three days later, they visited the Anaheim Ducks, where Huberdeau would score the overtime winner to claim victory over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. The Flames were supposed to play in Los Angeles the following night, but the game was postponed that morning due to wildfires in the area. The game was eventually rescheduled for April 17, the final day of the regular season. On January 11, they played that same Kings team at the Saddledome, prevailing 2-1, with Wolf making 31 stops. On January 13, against the Chicago Blackhawks, rookie Rory Kerins picked up his first NHL point on his first shift when he assisted on a Jakob Pelletier goal. Kerins had two assists overall in a 5-2 win. The Flames would then lose consecultive games at St. Louis, with the scores being 2-1 and 4-1 respectively. On January 18, Dustin Wolf set a season-high, stopping 38 shots in a 3-1 victory in over the Winnipeg Jets. They would win three out of their next five games to close out the month. On the night of January 30, the Flames acquired Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko.
Just like January, the Flames started February holding the second wild-card position. They split their first two games of the month. First losing 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings, then prevailing 3-2 over the Seattle Kraken. In the latter, Morgan Frost scored his first goal with the Flames since being acquired. The Flames would then lose their next three games before the 4 Nations Face-Off. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson was the lone Flames player to go play at the tournament, representing Team Sweden. The Flames returned to play on February 23, beating the San Jose Sharks 3-2. They defeated the Washington Capitals 3-1 two days later to kickstart their six-game roadtrip. They would get blanked by the Lightning 3-0 on February 27, with Andrei Vasilevskiy making 28 saves in the process.
Entering March, the Flames were one point behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild-card spot, with one game in hand. They started off the month getting shutout 3-0 by the Florida Panthers, the second game in a row where they lost by that margin. They then played the Carolina Hurricanes in the latter half of a back-to-back. They lost 2-1 in overtime. The offense completely fizzled, only taking 16 shots the entire game. Two days later, they snapped their three-game losing skid by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on the back of four first period goals, two of them coming from Connor Zary. They lost to the Dallas Stars 3-2 in overtime to conclude the roadtrip. They were leading that game 2-0 before Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson scored to tie it up, vefore Robertson scored again in the extra frame. Back at home on March 8, the Flames won a 1-0 goalie duel, with the lone goal coming from Joel Farabee late in the second period, and Wolf making 26 saves. With the shutout, Wolf tied a Flames rookie record. This also tied him for the rookie lead with Leevi Merilainen of the Ottawa Senators. Four days later, they lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks, with Huberdeau scoring two. The Flames would lose their next two games, 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche and 6-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively. They would then win all three games in their tri-state area roadtrip. Firstly, they prevailed 2-1 over the New York Rangers, with every goal coming in the first period. Backup goaltender Dan Vladar only had to make 12 saves. Two nights later, they came back to beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3, scoring four unanswered in the third. Lastly, they beat the New York Islanders 4-3. Huberdeau scoring the tying goal late, then Nazem Kadri notched the overtime winner. Back at home on March 27, the Flames got their fourth straight win, topping the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime, with Nazem Kadri scoring his second overtime winner in as many games. The Flames would lose 5-2 to the Dallas Stars, with two disallowed goals. Additoinally, Nazem Kadri would have his second straight two-goal game, and would record seven goals in five games. This is the game that he would reach 30 goals. ON March 29, the Flames would fall 3-2 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers. Leon Draisaitl would score two goals, those being the tying and overtime winning goals. In the last game of the month, Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka would score 32 seconds apart midway through the third, leading the way in a 3-2 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche. This was their fifth win in seven games.