Calgary Flames

Flames Sunday Census: Predicting where the Calgary Flames finish this season

The Calgary Flames have played 15 games so far this season, and for the most part, the team has exceeded expectations. Now they haven’t been looking like Stanley Cup contenders by any means, however, they have not looked like one of the worst teams in the league, which is where many people thought they would be. They have found ways to win games, and even in games that they lose, they usually make it very competitive. Based on this early success, where do people think the Flames will finish this season? We asked, you answered.

The Win Column - Sunday Census Featured Image - Graphical design showing a Calgary Flames branded laptop with poll results.

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Calgary Flames season finish

We presented the below poll on Twitter/X.

Where do you think the Flames will finish this season based on their early success?

Bottom 1033.5%
Just miss playoffs48.5%
Wild card14.9%
Division spot3.1%

Bottom 10

Before the season started, many people inside and outside the Flames community believed that it was inevitable that they finish as one of the bottom 10 teams in the league. Now, however, it seems like that may not be the case anymore. Only 34% of our reader’s votes went toward this option. As of writing this post, the Flames are fourth in the Pacific division and have 17 points. Definitely not the record of a Cup contender, but it is also not the record of a bottom 10 team.

Just miss playoffs

Is there anything more Calgary Flames than this option? Even when the Flames sold off most of their best players last year, the team finding a way to still not bottom out would be the peak Calgary Flames experience. Most of the votes went toward this option, however, it would not be a good idea for this to happen to the organization. If the Flames don’t finish in the bottom 10, the Montreal Canadiens would end up getting the Flames first-round draft pick in the upcoming draft.

Wild card

This may be a bit too optimistic, but maybe this team will be another Find-a-Way Flames? Back in 2015, the expectations were pretty low for that year’s Calgary Flames team, however, all season they stayed in the fight, and somehow managed to make it to the playoffs, even beating Vancouver in Round 1. It was a great time to be a fan and was a really fun year. The difference from then compared to now though is that in 2015 the Flames had young players who were projected to be elite talents in Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Sam Bennett. Right now, the Flames are not in the same state.

Division spot

As of now, the Flames are tied with Vancouver for a division spot. However, it seems like most of our readers know that this expectation is unrealistic, as only 3% of the voters selected this option. Many stars would need to align for this option to happen.

What are the Calgary Flames?

Are the Flames better than we thought they were? Are they just going through a hot streak and will regression start to hit the team more? Or, worst case scenario for many Flames fans, are they once again a middle-of-the-pack team that will finish right in the mushy middle of the standings and as a result, give up their first-round pick to Montreal? Only time will tell, and it will be very interesting to see what this team ends up being.

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