Are the Calgary Flames good? Despite coming into the season with expectations as low as ever, the Flames have started the 2024–25 season at 3–0–0 and second in the NHL. They’ve scored 16 goals in three games, rank second in the league for goals per game, and have defeated two of the top teams in their division. So what gives? Are the Flames suddenly contenders or is this start a smokescreen?
If history is any indication, you may want to go ahead and book those vacation plans in May because 3–0 starts have been less than kind to the Flames over the years. Since 2000 the Flames have had four 3–0 starts. How many times have those starts led to playoff success? Let’s take a look.
2022–23
Season finish: 38–27–17, 16th NHL, missed playoffs
You don’t have to travel very far back in the past to find the last time the Flames started the year 3–0. The vibes his time around were very different though. Coming into the 2022–23 season the Flames had just experienced the “summer of Brad” and were considered a legitimate cup contender and top-five team in the NHL. After a 3–0 start to the season, the hype couldn’t have possibly been higher. The fun didn’t stop there either, as the Flames would start the year with a 5–1 record and looked like a juggernaut.
That’s where things went downhill. The Flames would then lose seven straight games and completely lost any ground they had made up with their 5–1 start. For the rest of the season, the Flames would alternate winning and losing streaks, rarely ever getting above .500 and never looking like the team that started the year 3–0. A combination of 17 overtime losses, a franchise record amount of one-goal losses and a complete lack of chemistry would lead the Flames to narrowly miss the playoffs. After their 3–0 start the Flames would finish the season by winning 35 games and losing 44.
2013–14
Season finish: 35–40–7, 27th NHL, missed playoffs
The 2013–14 season was much more similar to this year’s team and situation. A year removed from trading their franchise cornerstones in Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester, the organization was entering their first year of a major rebuild and the playoffs were a distant dream. Just like this season, the 2013–14 roster came into the year with no expectations but kicked off the season with a 3–0 record that raised some eyebrows. Soon after though the team showed their true colours and looked like the rebuilding roster that many expected.
Following their 3–0 start, the Flames would lose 14 of their next 17 games including a six-game losing streak in November. Things would never get better the rest of the way. The team would finish the year with a dreadful 35–40–7 record and finish 27th in the league, their worst finish in franchise history. After the 3–0 start, the Flames won 32 games and lost 47. Their leading scorer that season was Jiri Hudler with 54 points, the worst full-season team-leading total in Flames history. Needless to say, the 3–0 start was nothing but a facade for a rebuilding team that was nowhere close to competitive.
2009–10
Season finish: 40–32–10, 16th NHL, missed playoffs
Nearing the end of the Iginla era in Calgary, the 2009–10 Flames were very much a patchwork roster desperately trying to keep their contention window open. After a summer in which the team went out and acquired top pairing defender Jay Bouwmeester, the team was at the very least expected to contend for the playoffs. The Flames came out to a flying start, going undefeated in their first four games to start the year 4–0. They continued their hot streak to close out November too, winning 17 of their first 26 games to sit first in their division and third in the Western Conference.
December is when the cracks started to show though. The Flames would start the month losing six of seven games which saw them lose their grip on a playoff spot. January was even worse. The Flames would experience a nine-game losing streak that saw them tumble down the standings and go from a juggernaut in the Western Conference to firmly on the playoff bubble. As the year went on the team would continue to lose as much as they won, finishing the season 40–32–10 and missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. After their 3–0 start, they won 37 times and lost 42 times.
2001–02
Season finish: 32–35–12–3, 22nd NHL, missed playoffs
Coming into the 2001–02 season the Flames had missed the playoffs for five straight years and were desperate to get back to the dance behind their young roster. Things seemed like they were going as planned early into the year as the Flames came out to a 3–0 start that later turned into a division-best 13–2–2–2 start. Despite looking like a playoff threat early into the year, the rug was pulled out from under them after their hot start as reality set back in. Following their 13–2–2–2 start, the Flames would win just three of their next 16 games in an epic collapse that saw them fall down the standings.
Things would only get worse as the season progressed as the team would win just 29 of their final 79 games after their 3–0 start. By season’s end the Flames were sitting on a brutal 32–35–12–3 record and 22nd in the NHL, tied for their worst finish in franchise history at the time. Despite their hot start to the season, the team would miss the playoffs once again for the sixth straight season.
