Although it was a trade deadline that saw Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy hold onto his assets and make zero trades, it’s evident that management is committed to a playoff push. Despite standing pat on deadline day, the Flames did bring in Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost at the end of January in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Conroy has said numerous times this group has earned the opportunity to compete for a playoff push and they’re going to stay together for the rest of the season.
Recent stretch of games
Prior to the deadline, the Flames took on some Eastern Conference powerhouses before flying across the United States to tie things up in Dallas. After starting the trip hot against the Washington Capitals with a 3–1 win, Calgary went goalless for eight periods against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes. Despite breaking through for a single goal and salvaging a point in overtime against the Hurricanes, it still resulted in a loss.
After Carolina, the team scored four goals in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers in a chaotic 6–3 win. The trip ended with a 3–2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars for an even 0.500. Returning home for a game against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday, the Flames’ scoring woes were on display yet again with a single goal. Despite their lacklustre offense, Dustin Wolf was able to secure his third shutout of the season and steal yet another win.
All in all, the Flames’ recent stretch of games has resulted in the team in sole possession of the second wild card spot, with 70 points and 19 games left on the schedule. Their closest competition—the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks—only trail by a single point.
With the Flames committed to a playoff hunt and thus, most likely out of lottery contention without a massive implosion, their own first-round pick is virtually signed and sealed away to the Montreal Canadiens. Although it looks like the Flames’ own first-round pick is on its way to Montreal, Calgary currently holds three 2025 first-round picks:
- Their own pick, which would be 19th overall if the season ended today.
- The Florida Panthers’ pick, which would be 29th overall if the season ended today.
- The New Jersey Devils’ pick, which would be 20th overall if the season ended today (but will defer to 2026 if the Devils finish bottom 10).
As part of the conditions in the Sean Monahan trade with the Montreal Canadiens, the better of Florida or Calgary’s picks will be transferred to the Canadiens if the Flames finish outside the bottom 10. Currently, the Canadiens would receive the 19th overall pick.
Current NHL standings
The Flames play a big game Wednesday, hosting Vancouver with the potential to grab a four-point swing in the standings. Vancouver has had a rough season but is still scrapping by to stay in the fight. Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser remain members of the team despite fielding offers for both players.
St. Louis is also right on the Flames’ heels. The Blues also held their ground on deadline day despite captain Brayden Schenn labelled as one of the year’s biggest deadline targets. Although the Blues are only a single point behind Calgary, the Flames hold two games in hand.
The Flames have the opportunity to separate from both clubs with a win on Wednesday night.
The state of Calgary’s other picks
The New Jersey Devils have been through a rough patch since the new year. Losing their goaltender Jacob Markstrom in January was certainly not helpful. Flash forward to last week and Jack Hughes gets tied up and falls into the boards awkwardly to end his season. Dougie Hamilton—the Devils’ number one defenceman—is also out for an extended period of time with an undisclosed injury. Thought I was done? Nope, the Devils also announced Friday defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler would be shut down for the season following a minor surgery.
It’s gone from bad, to worse, to absolutely horrific for Devils fans in 2025 and now it looks like New Jersey could have a shot at regaining their pick from the Flames this season. New Jersey still holds third place in the Metropolitan division but is closely followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets by four points and the revamped New York Rangers by six points.
The Panthers on the other hand, have been heating up and don’t look to slow down with their acquisition of Brad Marchand on Friday. Winning their sixth straight game Saturday, it appears the Panthers’ first round pick could end up being between 30th-32nd overall if things keep up in south Florida.
If the season ended this way, the Flames would give Montreal their own pick and retain Florida’s, selecting nine spots lower. Instead of having their own pick at 19th overall, they would have Florida’s 28th overall pick as well as New Jersey’s 20th overall pick.
Commit to the playoff push?
Despite the Flames’ scoring struggles, hot goaltending and strong defensive play has kept the team in playoff contention. Committed to the group they have, Craig Conroy and the organization have faith this team can make some noise down the stress despite what the analytics or critics say.
With the trade deadline past, the standings should start to separate further, at least the bottom third of the league. This means the Flames are likely well out of a lottery pick conversation. The team has been in and out of the final wildcard spot all calendar year, and it doesn’t appear they’ll be backing away from the hunt anytime soon.
The Flames have some work to do, but they’ve put themselves in a good position to try and scrape out a couple playoff wins. As far as the picks go, just trust Conroy, and the scouting team will make the right call. It’s time to look ahead a little less far down the road than we have been, Flames fans.
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