The Calgary Flames had a tough week, collecting only a single point out of a possible four. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers also hit a rough patch while the New Jersey Devils won a couple big games to keep themselves in the playoff race and out of the draft lottery conversation.
Recent stretch of games
It was a light week for the Flames after a long road trip full of back-to-backs. Wednesday saw the Flames face off against divisional rival and close wild card competitor, the Vancouver Canucks. At the time, the Canucks trailed the Flames by a single point. It was a decent effort from the Flames, but after gaining a lead, the team sat back and eventually let Vancouver back into the game. It went the distance—going to overtime and a shootout—but Calgary couldn’t muster a victory, falling 4–3.
Friday, the Flames hosted Calgary’s own Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado went up 2–0 to end the second period, but the Flames battle back to some degree with a goal from Blake Coleman making it 2–1 and a fluke that bounced in off Jonathan Huberdeau’s head to make it a 3–2 game with less than four minutes to go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as the Flames allowed the empty-netter and dropped another big game in their hunt for the playoffs.
All in all, the Flames’ recent stretch of games has resulted in the team on the outside looking in, two spots back of the second Western Conference wild card spot. The Flames (71 points) trail the St. Louis Blues (73 pts) and the Vancouver Canucks (73 pts) with 17 games remaining on Calgary’s schedule.
The first-rounders the Flames own
With the Flames committed to a playoff hunt and, thus, most likely out of lottery contention without a massive implosion, their own first-rounder looks to be headed to the Montreal Canadiens. However, if the team loses a couple more in a row, they could be back in contention for retaining their first-round pick. Calgary currently holds three 2025 first-round picks:
- Their own pick, which would be 15th overall if the season ended today.
- The Florida Panthers’ pick, which would be 29th overall if the season ended today as Atlantic Division leaders.
- 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 15th overall pick.
Current NHL standings
This week, the Flames have the opportunity to gain or lose up to eight points in the standings in either direction. Tonight, the Flames are in the centre of the hockey world to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs before flying to New York for three games in and around the state. First against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, then the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, and finally against the New York Islanders on Saturday.
It’s another busy eastern road trip for the Flames, with four games in six days and a massive opportunity on the table to get back into the wild card conversation. The Blues and Canucks look to be heating up, while Calgary cooled down this past week.
The next four games are pivotal.
The state of Calgary’s other picks
The New Jersey Devils have had a resilient week. After news they’d lose Jack Hughes for the season, among others, the Devils went 2–1-0 last week, winning two big games against the playoff-hopeful Columbus Blue Jackets and then a 3–2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers. Jacob Markstrom returned to the ice for the win against Columbus but got thumped Saturday night, losing 7–3 to Pittsburgh.
All in all, the Devils have stayed exactly where they were last week as far as overall standings go and look to be treading water on their way to a playoff birth despite Columbus and the Rangers chasing them for the final divisional seed.
The Panthers, on the other hand, had their first down week in some time, going 1–3–0. Their losses also came at the hands of non-playoff teams—the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Islanders—in efforts that saw the Panthers struggle to score. The Panthers’ recent slide has been good for the Flames’ draft picks if slides out of the divisional lead.
If the season ended this way, the Flames would give Montreal their own pick and retain Florida’s, selecting 14 spots lower. Instead of having their own pick at 15th overall, they would have Florida’s 29th overall pick as well as New Jersey’s 20th overall pick.
Commit to the playoff push?
Each week it feels like I should commit to saying goodbye to Calgary’s own first-round pick. However, the team’s recent performances and next stretch of games on the road could stir up more draft lottery conversation for this team.
At this point, the Flames sit two points outside of the final wild card position with two games in hand against Vancouver and one game in hand against St. Louis. As far as the lottery conversation, the Flames are separated by three points from the 23rd overall NY Islanders, who hold the final lottery position. The Flames would have to be jumped by four teams, two of which the Calgary plays over the next two weeks.
The Flames have some work to do to stay in the playoff race, but they’ve put themselves in a good position to try and scrape out a dash to the finish with games in hand and a weaker schedule than the teams ahead of them. As far as the picks go, just trust Conroy, and the scouting team will make the right call, whether it’s a lottery pick or 32 overall.
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