DIGGING INTO THE DETAILS OF THE CALGARY FLAMES’ 2024-25 SCHEDULE
The National Hockey League released its schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 season on Tuesday, and with it we’ve gotten some details on how the next 82 games will unfold for the Calgary Flames.
Let’s dive into a few key details of the schedule!
Some administrative notes
The season begins on Tues., Oct. 8 (for the teams not going to Europe) and concludes on Thu., Apr. 17. As with last season, the duration of the regular season will be 192 days.
Roster deadline for teams not going to Europe will be Mon., Oct. 7. For cap calculation purposes, Oct. 7 is Day 0, and teams need to have a cap compliant roster of between 20 and 23 players by 3 p.m. MT.
Assuming he doesn’t miss any games in the interim, Mikael Backlund’s 1,000th NHL game will be Oct. 30 in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club.
Jan. 30 against the Anaheim Ducks will be the 1,600th regular season home game hosted at the Saddledome.
There are no games scheduled between Feb. 10-21 to facilitate the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off – in lieu of the traditional All-Star break – but the Flames’ break between games is a couple days longer because that’s how the scheduling worked out.
Trade deadline is expected to be on Fri., Mar. 7, 40 days before the end of the season.
Apr. 15 against the Vegas Golden Knights, the final game of the season, will be the 1,615th regular season home game hosted at the Saddledome, tying Madison Square Garden III – the predecessor to the modern building – for ninth-most NHL regular season games hosted by a single building.
Homestands longer than three games
The Flames have three long homestands:
- They have four home games in a row from Nov. 15-23 (hosting Nashville, the Islanders, Rangers and Minnesota)
- They have five home games in a row from Dec. 12-21 (hosting Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston, Ottawa and Chicago)
- They have four home games in a row from Feb. 4-23, straddling the mid-season break (hosting Toronto, Colorado, Seattle, and then San Jose after the break)
Road trips longer than three games
The Flames have four long road trips:
- They have four road games in a row from Nov. 25-30 (visiting Ottawa, Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh)
- They have four road games in a row from Jan. 13-18 (visiting Chicago, St. Louis, twice, and Winnipeg)
- They have six road games in a row from Feb. 25-Mar. 6 (visiting Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, Philadelphia and Dallas)
- They have four road games in a row from Mar. 17-22 (visiting Toronto, the Rangers, New Jersey and the Islanders)
Shortest time between game times
There are four instances where the Flames have two games start within a 24-hour period:
- Hosting Philadelphia at 8 p.m. MT on Oct. 12, then visiting Edmonton at 6 p.m. MT on Oct. 13. (Edmonton also has an 8 p.m. game on Oct. 12, they host Chicago.)
- Visiting San Jose at 8 p.m. MT on Dec. 28, then visiting Vegas at 6 p.m. MT on Dec. 29. (Vegas plays on Dec. 27.)
- Visiting Minnesota at 5 p.m. MT on Jan. 25, then visiting Winnipeg at 4 p.m. MT on Jan. 26. (Winnipeg plays on Jan. 24.)
- Hosting Detroit at 8 p.m. MT on Feb. 1, then visiting Seattle at 7 p.m. MT on Feb. 2. (Seattle plays on Jan. 30.)
We’re willing to admit that circumstances are pretty even for Calgary and Edmonton on the back-to-back – it’s a super short flight for Calgary. But the other three are a bit dicey, we’d say.
Game start times
Generally-speaking, there are more earlier Saturday home games this year than in previous seasons. However, there are no long weekend holiday Monday matinees this season. The main one from prior years, the Family Day game in February, isn’t happening due to the Flames being on their extended All-Star break at that point.
Here’s a rundown of the Flames’ various start times this season.
11 a.m. MT [1]: 0 home, 1 away
1 p.m. MT [2]: 0 home, 2 away – one is the annual Black Friday game (after American Thanksgiving), which is in Columbus this year.
2 p.m. MT [3]: 2 home, 1 away
3 p.m. MT [1]: 0 home, 1 away
4 p.m. MT [1]: 0 home, 1 away
5 p.m. MT [13]: 3 home, 10 away
5:30 p.m. MT [4]: 0 home, 4 away
6 p.m. MT [10]: 3 home, 7 away
6:30 p.m. MT [2]: 1 home, 1 away
6:45 p.m. MT [1]: 1 home, 0 away
7 p.m. MT [25]: 23 home, 2 away
7:30 p.m. MT [2]: 1 home, 1 away
8 p.m. MT [15]: 7 home, 8 away
8:30 p.m. MT [2]: 0 home, 2 away
What jumps out at you about the Flames’ 2024-25 season schedule?
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2024-07-04T14:27:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd