After a disastrous start to the season, the Calgary Flames seem to have found their groove and have now won four of their last five games. Two of the wins were against the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars, who are both Stanley Cup contenders. It has been an impressive stretch overall for the team, and it is something that fans did not see all season until now.
But, is this the team turning a new leaf, or should this success not be expected to become more of the norm this year? Has this recent success changed how you feel about their season? We asked, you answered.
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Are the Flames turning the season around?
We presented the poll below to our readers.
Prepare the red mile
After finishing just one point shy of the playoffs last year, there doesn’t seem to be practically any hope this year that the playoffs are attainable despite their recent success. The reality is that, although the team won four of their last five, they still sit second-to-last in the league. The Flames have too big a hole to climb out of to reach the playoffs, and they would need to go on a generational run comparable to what Colorado is currently doing.
Mushy middle once again
Almost a quarter of our readers believe they are destined to reach the mushy middle again. A true nightmare ending for Flames fans everywhere. I am not sure how realistic this is after the start that the team had, especially when they inevitably trade away Rasmus Andersson.
I personally do believe two of Andersson, Blake Coleman, and Nazem Kadri will be traded for futures, and if the team does that, I can’t see a scenario where the team climbs up the standings. Never say never, as we have seen this film before many times, but the team just might be able to escape the mushy middle this year.
Bottom 10
Almost 28.5% of readers believe the bottom 10 is where the Flames end up. Currently, they are six points back from 23rd in the league. Teams above the Flames who are still in the bottom 10 in the league include Edmonton, Winnipeg, Florida, and Toronto. Despite their struggles in the season so far, I see no scenario where Calgary finishes with a higher record than any of these teams. These are all very talented teams who are underperforming, whether due to injuries or just bad play. But I do believe at the end of the day, they will figure it out and make it hard for Calgary to move into that bracket.
Bottom five
Most fans are still certain that the Flames are still destined for the bottom five. I think multiple things come into play here. One, their start was just so bad that the hole is too much to climb out of. Second, this season, veterans will be traded, no matter what Don Maloney says. The value will be there in the trade market to trade them, and they would be foolish not to oblige.
But by doing that, the team will have fewer skills for the rest of the year. Third, I am genuinely not sure I can list five teams that the Flames may be better than. They could be better than Nashville, but are they better than Buffalo, Vancouver, St. Louis, and Chicago? Maybe the Flames end up being better than some of those teams, but I don’t think they are better than all of them.
April will tell
This is a fun exercise, especially to try and project where the team’s draft pick might end up; however, it is all up to the lottery balls. If the Flames finish last, then a top-three pick is guaranteed, and they are destined for one of McKenna, Verhoeff, or Stenberg.
But, if they finish fourth or fifth, their draft pick could fall anywhere from first overall to seventh. It’s safe to say, I will be spending most of this season keeping track of where and who the team might be able to draft.
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