Fresh off a win against the Los Angeles Kings, the Flames find themselves tied with the Seattle Kraken for 25th place in the NHL. As a result, they are currently projected to be selecting 10th overall in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft.
However, the Flames still have nine more games to play to finish off the 2023–24 season. How those nine games go will decide where the Flames will be picking in the draft. Will they finish the season strong and go down in the draft? Or will they rack up some more losses and better their odds of winning the draft lottery? We asked, you answered.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Calgary’s draft position is still in flux
We presented the below poll to our readers.
With nine games to go, the standings are still volatile. It gives the Flames room to finish virtually anywhere in the groups of four due to the lottery rules.
1–4 range
The NHL changed the rules to the NHL lottery and implemented these changes starting in the 2022 draft. Now, teams are only able to move up a maximum of 10 spots. As the Flames are projected to currently pick 10th overall, they technically do have a chance at landing in this range and selecting first overall if they win the lottery.
However, with only a 3.5% chance, fans shouldn’t be holding their breath. As much as fans would love to see Macklin Celibrini in a Flames uniform, there is no doubt that they are keeping their expectations in check to avoid disappointment.
5–8 range
The Coyotes are currently projected to select fifth overall, and the Flames and Coyotes are only separated by six points. Additionally, the Senators, who currently are projected to pick seventh overall, are in the middle of a five-game winning streak.
There is a very likely scenario where Calgary creeps into the 5–8 range if the Senators continue to win their games, and if Arizona continues to play 0.500 level hockey like they have been over their past 10 games. If the Flames move into Arizona’s spot, they would have an 8.5% chance of selecting first overall.
9–12 range
This is the range that the Flames are currently in. Around 30% of voters believe this is where the Flames will finish. Part of that has to be because that is where they are placed right now, but another reason is that this outcome would be classic Calgary Flames. Not good enough to make the playoffs, but not bad enough to have a high draft pick.
The highest draft pick the Flames have ever had was a fourth overall pick in which they selected Sam Bennett. They have only selected in the top 10 twice over the past decade. If there is anything the Flames have experience in, it’s having their first-round selection in the middle of the pack. Fans know this all too well, and it’s likely that the fans who voted for this option are just preparing for the status quo.
13–16 range
Again, it would be classic Calgary Flames to end up in this spot. However, not many voters believe this will be the outcome, as only 4% voted for this. The Flames would need to go on a pretty good winning streak to end up in this position, and frankly, it would not be surprising at all to see this happen. Don’t get me wrong I’m not rooting for this to happen, but the Flames have the second easiest remaining schedule in the league. Out of the remaining 9 games on the schedule, they have 5 games left where they are playing one of Arizona, San Jose, and Anaheim. Team Tank will hate to read this, but I can absolutely see the Flames going on a run and playing themselves out of a high draft pick.
Vital next two weeks
If the Flames want to better position themselves for long-term success, they should hope that they end up as high up on the draft lottery list as possible. It has already practically been decided that the team will not make the playoffs, so the focus for the rest of the season should be giving players like Coronato, Zary, and Pospisil as many minutes as possible, and giving Dustin Wolf as many starts as possible. The Flames have their future in their control, and these next two weeks will be a big factor in deciding how long this rebuild may end up taking.
You must be logged in to post a comment.