We are officially past the halfway mark of the season, with the Calgary Flames sitting in the second wild card spot in the West, when sorted by points percentage. This is definitely a higher spot than many expected the Flames to be in at the start of the year, and with how the Flames seem to have done over the past several years, right in the middle of the standings seems to be just about right.
Let’s look back at the Flames’ first half of the season and compare it to the five previous mid-season records.
2024-25 Season
5th in the Pacific: 20-14-7
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (18G, 13A, 31P)
The Flames started strong, winning four of their first six games and earning nine out of 12 points. However, after this impressive start, they experienced a setback, losing four consecutive games. They had another four-game winning streak in November but were unable to extend it and transitioned into another four-game losing streak.
Heading into the halfway mark, the Flames currently have two more wins than they did last year, but their goals per game have decreased to 2.61 from last season’s 3.09, this team is struggling to score. On a positive note, the team’s goals against per game have improved from 3.26 down to 2.98 per game, largely due to the emergence of Dustin Wolf.
At the halfway mark of the season, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 31 points, which is an improvement of ten points from his previous season.
2023-24 Season
6th in the Pacific: 18-18-5 (Outcome 5th: 38-39-5, Missed Playoffs)
Leading Scorer: Blake Coleman (17G, 15A, 32P)
Starting the year with a 2-6-1 record in October, new general manager Craig Conroy had a lot on his plate. Conroy made four significant in-season trades, moving out key players Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin. He focused on stockpiling assets and preparing to make a big splash at the 2024 NHL Draft.
At all the teams we are looking at today, this one struggled the most. They had an 18-18-5 record at the halfway mark and were sitting four points out of a playoff spot. Despite being close to a playoff spot, Conroy made the major moves mentioned above. The second half of the season saw the Flames fall off a cliff, and after all was said and done, they finished 17 points behind the final wild card spot.
2022-23 Season
4th in the Pacific: 19-14-8 (Outcome 5th: 38-27-17, Missed Playoffs)
Leading Scorer: Elias Lindholm (13G, 24A, 37P)
This new-look Flames team started strong, winning five out of six games, before the team started trending in the other direction, losing seven in a row. Lindholm was still leading the team in scoring at the halfway mark, despite missing elite wingers Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.
Newly acquired Jonathan Huberdeau was sitting fourth in team scoring with eight goals and 29 points at that time. Unfortunately, he was only able to accumulate 26 points in the second half of the season, failing to reach 60 points for the first time in five seasons. He appeared to be a shadow of the player who had achieved 115 points the previous year.
The Flames missed the playoffs by just two points.
2021-22 Season
4th in the Pacific: 22-13-6 (Outcome 1st: 50-21-11, Lost in second round)
Leading Scorer: Johnny Gaudreau (18G, 35A, 53P)
Sitting at 22 wins at the halfway way mark, the Flames were an exciting team led by one of the best lines in hockey. Gaudreau, Tkachuk and Lindholm were some of the best players in the league in 2021-22, as the Flames started the season hot with a 6-1-1 record in October, followed by a 7-3-4 month in November.
The Flames were in the second wild card spot at the halfway mark of the season, but they really heated up in the latter half, winning nine consecutive games and finishing the final two months with positive records. They made the playoffs and defeated the Dallas Stars in seven games in the first round, highlighted by Gaudreau’s incredible Game 7 overtime winner. This set up a Battle of Alberta second round, that looked to be one of the best playoff series in recent memory.
In the second round, the Flames opened the series with a 9-6 victory. However, they struggled to contain Connor McDavid and the Oilers, ultimately losing four straight games to drop the series in five.
2019-20 Season
4th in the Pacific: 20-16-5 (Outcome 4th: 36-27-7, Lost in first round)
Leading Scorer: Matthew Tkachuk (15G, 20A, 35P)
The 2019-20 Flames amassed 20 wins at the halfway mark matching the current win total for this year’s team, and they ended up making the playoffs. The asterisk here is that this season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the NHL expanded the playoffs as a result. The Flames won 16 more times over the remaining games before the season was put on hold.
When play resumed over the summer, the Flames played the Winnipeg Jets in the new play-in format, winning the five-game series 3-1 in the bubble. The Flames took on the Dallas Stars in round one of the playoffs, losing the series in six games.
Bonus: 2014-15 Season, 10 years ago
5th in the Pacific: 21-17-3 (Outcome 3rd: 45-30-7, Lost in second round)
Leading Scorer: Jiri Hudler (13G, 25A, 38P)
Just for fun, let’s also look back 10 years to the find-a-way Flames of 2015. That team has drawn close comparisons with this year’s team in terms of being a rebuilding squad punching above their weight class.
With rookie Gaudreau making his first big impact on the NHL and second-year Sean Monahan by his side, this team was an exciting one. The closest players we have today in regards to comparables would probably be Matt Coronato and Connor Zary, who are not close to the level of Gaudreau and Monahan, unfortunately. Zary is out with an injury as well, sustained a few games before the halfway mark.
The 2014-15 team was a lot fun to watch with their fair share of comeback wins, and looked to be a great step in the rebuild as the young guns pushed hard to earn a spot in the playoffs. The Flames faced off with the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, beating the in six games. Then, they fell to the dominant Ducks in the second round in five games.
What does that mean for this year’s Flames team?
By points percentage, the Flames sit at 14th overall in the league and in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. With 20 wins, a very clear split emerges when looking back across the past five years. In years when the Flames had 20 wins at the halfway mark, they made the playoffs. Fewer than 20 wins, and they did not make the playoffs.
Beyond that simple statistic though, it’s hard to draw true comparables between this year’s team and years past. Only time will reveal the team’s future direction.
However, if I had to place a bet, I would say it’s unlikely that this team will make the playoffs. The biggest issue this year’s team has is goal scoring, and they’ll be hard pressed to make the postseason if they continue to struggle to find the back of the net.
