The Calgary Flames were expected to head into the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with an extremely high pick in the first round. After selling off several veterans from the start of 2023-24 on in Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Andrew Mangiapane, and Jacob Markstrom, this team was projected by most to be bottom five in the NHL. That hasn’t been the case, however.
Related: Flames News & Rumours: Tanev, Kylington, Andersson & More
The Flames have instead continued to be a middle-of-the-road team. In fact, they were slightly above average for a long portion, looking like they had a strong shot to make the playoffs. A current three-game losing streak has impacted their hopes, though they are still in the race, sitting three points shy of the Vancouver Canucks for the final spot in the Western Conference.
Flames Near Bottom 10 in Standings
While the Flames are still right in the hunt for a playoff spot, however, they are also near the bottom portion of the NHL standings. The Philadelphia Flyers, for example, sit 26th in NHL standings with 55 points. That’s just five shy of the Flames, who sit at 60, albeit with two fewer games played.
The Anaheim Ducks, who sit 27th, have 54 points, and hold a game in hand on the Flames. Jammed in between them is a number of teams that could wind up picking very high at the upcoming draft. Though receiving a high draft pick was something many Flames fans had ruled out given their impressive first half of the season, it is once again looking like a possibility given how tight things are near the bottom of the standings.
There’s no denying that making the playoffs would be a fun achievement for the Flames organization and its fans. It’s an easy team to support, as they are one of the biggest surprises in the league through roughly three quarters of the season. That said, is making the playoffs the best thing for their long-term success?
There is a valid argument to be made that getting into the playoffs would be great for the futures of some of the Flames’ young players such as Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, and of course, Dustin Wolf. But, no matter how exciting the thought of that is, any realistic fan knows that this team isn’t likely to go on any sort of lengthy playoff run. Making the playoffs just to get eliminated in the first round doesn’t benefit the future as much as receiving another high draft pick.
Last year, the Flames wound up receiving the ninth-overall pick. It’s still early, but they appear to have hit a home run in taking Zayne Parekh. The 19-year-old defenceman is setting the world on fire in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 27 goals and 80 points through just 49 games with the Saginaw Spirit. He looks to have a very bright NHL future ahead of him. Now, imagine if the Flames were able to add another player of his calibre this June.
Related: Players Don’t Want to Join Calgary Flames Based on Recent Survey
Should the Flames fall down in the standings and have another top-10 pick, it’s likely that they would select a centre. They are lacking in that position, and could use a young bright player they can count on in the years to come to step into a top-six role. After all, they are in a retooling stage; this would be very beneficial to help that retool continue making progress.
Flames Have Reasonable Way to Tank
Tanking is no easy feat for any team in the NHL. Players are far too prideful, and you can bet this Flames team is going to continue to battle each and every night in hopes of making the playoffs. That said, there is one way in which head coach Ryan Huska could help the efforts, even if it’s extremely unlikely he does so.
That would involve giving Dan Vladar more starts down the stretch. The reason Huska and the Flames may be inclined to do this is not only would it help their chances at getting a top-10 selection, but it would also help give them more of an indicator on what to do with the 27-year-old netminder, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Vladar sits at just 7-10-5 with a 3.07 goals against average (GAA) and .888 Save Percentage (SV%) on the season, while Wolf is 19-11-3 wth a 2.63 GAA and .912 SV%. Giving Vladar roughly half the starts should help the Flames fall down the standings. That said, if he gets hot and is able to win games like Wolf has to this point, that would give management a good incentive to extend him for another season or two. Either way, it is a positive for the Flames and is something they should strongly consider coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
