With less than three weeks to go on the schedule, the NHL regular season is winding down. With the Calgary Flames holding the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils first-round picks, there’s more to keep an eye on standings-wise for Flames fans than the hunt for a wild card spot. Let’s look at where the Calgary Flames’ first-round picks land with 10 games left on the schedule.
Recent stretch of games
The Flames played three games last week, starting on Tuesday hosting the Seattle Kraken. Dustin Wolf got the start, and Nazem Kadri headlined the win with two goals, including the overtime winner. Kadri didn’t slow down with the Dallas Stars rolling into town Thursday night.
It was a hard-fought contest that saw the Flames get two goals taken off the board in an eventual 5–2 loss at the hands of the Stars. The Flames outshot their opponents 48–19 and surpassed 100 shot attempts in the game. It was an offensive outburst we have yet to see all season. Despite their best efforts, the two disallowed goals and an incredible performance from Stars goalie Casey DeSmith were too much for the Flames to handle.
The Flames rounded out the week in Edmonton, facing off against the Edmonton Oilers for the final Battle of Alberta of the regular season. It was a closely contested game that had playoff intensity, with things escalating as the night went on. Tied at one heading into the third, Brayden Pachal scored his third goal of the year to take back the lead. Unfortunately, Leon Draisaitl had other plans, tying the game with less than four minutes on the clock for his 50th of the season. He wasn’t done there, notching his 51st in overtime, forcing the Flames to begrudgingly accept a single point.
In a pivotal week, the Flames captured three of six available points, while the red-hot St. Louis Blues extended their winning streak to nine games. The Blues are now tied with the Minnesota Wild for the top wild card spot at 88 points. The Flames also trail the Vancouver Canucks by a point. All in all, seven points separate the Flames and a playoff birth, and 0.500 hockey certainly isn’t cutting it.
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. Calgary currently holds three 2025 first-round picks:
- Their own pick, which would be 16th overall if the season ended today.
- The Florida Panthers’ pick, which would be 23rd overall if the season ended today.
- The New Jersey Devils’ pick, which would be 18th 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 16th overall pick.
Current NHL standings
This week could truly separate Calgary from any chance at the playoffs with four huge games. Starting on the road tonight, the Flames take on the revamped Colorado Avalanche before heading to Utah following the game for their final back-to-back on Tuesday night. The Flames will face the Utah Hockey Club to round out a quick three-game western stint on the road.
Calgary returns to the Saddledome to host the Anaheim Ducks Thursday evening. Rounding out the week, the Flames will welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to Calgary for the second last time this season on Saturday night.
With seven points separating the Flames and a playoff spot, it’s now or never. As far as draft lottery odds go, it’s a long shot. The Flames are separated by six points from a bottom-ten finish but would have to drop below six teams in order to do so. However, two of those teams are opponents this week, Utah and Anaheim. Two regulation losses in those games could make next week’s edition a more interesting discussion as far as Calgary’s own pick is concerned.
The state of Calgary’s other picks
New Jersey had a decent week, picking up five of eight possible points. Their latest victory will come with some interest to Flames fans still invested in a playoff hunt as the Devils thumped the Wild 5–2 Saturday. New Jersey faces off against Minnesota again tonight, potentially stealing another two points in favour of the Flames.
Technically, it’s for and against the Flames, as the Devils ‘ above-average week and wins against teams ahead of Calgary in the standings did come at the expense of any movement in the league standings.
The Florida Panthers, however, were all in favour of the Flames this week with a four-day break, playing their first game Thursday after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout the prior Sunday. The Panthers won in overtime against Utah Thursday but fell to the Canadiens at home last night 4–2. With only three points this week, Florida fell out of the Atlantic division lead, now tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for third. In the overall standings, they fell to 10th overall.
If the season ended this way, the Flames would give Montreal their own pick and retain Florida’s, selecting spots seven lower. Instead of having their own pick at 16th overall, they would have Florida’s 23rd overall pick as well as New Jersey’s 18th overall pick.
Uncomfortably familiar
As far as draft picks are concerned, the Flames will have two in the first round this upcoming draft. Whether they select in the top 10 seems to be dwindling just as quickly as their playoff hopes. It’s a space Flames fans are all too familiar with, just a bit outside.
With seven points separating them from a playoff birth and only 10 games remaining, it’s almost time to waive the white flag. If Saturday wasn’t enough, this week will likely determine the Flames’ playoff fate.
As far as the picks go, just trust Craig Conroy and the scouting team will make the right call, whether it’s a lottery pick or 32nd overall.
You must be logged in to post a comment.