With 10 games left to play and an overhauled roster, the Calgary Flames have seemingly found their stride. In a streak of irony fit for a Seinfeld episode, the Flames finally committed to a rebuild and sold the farm, yet somehow still found themselves pulled towards the mushy middle. It’s as if the 15th overall pick has the gravitational pull of the sun.
Despite their recent winning streak, the Flames still find themselves in the running for second-best draft lottery odds. In the fourth edition of our weekly series, let’s take a look at the current 2026 first-round draft picks owned by the Flames and where they would project if the draft were today.
2026 First-rounders the Flames own
Calgary currently holds two 2026 first-round picks:
- Their own pick, which would be 4th overall in draft lottery odds
- The Vegas Golden Knights’ pick, which would currently be 17th overall, with Vegas sitting third in the Pacific, and the Senators being bumped back to 32nd overall as a penalty for the Evgenii Dadanov situation.
Although the only 2026 draft picks acquired at the deadline were second-rounders, those three picks include the New York Rangers (currently 34th overall), the Ottawa Senators (currently 53rd overall), and the Utah Mammoth (projected 52nd overall). With the Rangers’ pick, the Flames now hold four of the first 36 2026 draft picks, or roughly 11%.
Recap of the week
The Flames took on the Florida Panthers last Friday, putting on a show at the Dome with a 4–1 victory. Tampa came to town next with the Lightning on Sunday. It was a hard-fought battle that saw the Flames scrape out yet another victory while scoring four goals.
The overtime win 4–3 carried Calgary’s energy into this week with the LA Kings at the Dome on Tuesday night. The Flames yet again fought out a victory as Dustin Wolf secured his 20th win of the season 3–2 in a shootout.
Thursday saw the 84-point, Pacific division-leading Anaheim Ducks in Calgary. The Flames showed out yet again, taking the Ducks to overtime, but it wasn’t enough as Mikael Granlund scored a hat-trick for the overtime winner.
Vegas had another disappointing week that started with a crushing 4–1 loss to the bottom-feeding Nashville Predators. Akira Schmid had a rough night, allowing four goals on 20 shots. The Golden Knights did bounce back in Dallas Sunday, gutting out a 3–2 victory versus a legitimate cup contender.
Fortunately for Flames fans, Tuesday saw Vegas head to Winnipeg and freeze their butts off in a winter tundra while recording yet another loss to a bottom-10 team. The Jets put on a show, winning 4–1 before sending the Golden Knights to Edmonton for Thursday night’s matchup against their division rival. The Golden Knights went into the game having an opportunity to take back second overall in the Pacific, but fell to the Oilers 4–3 in overtime.
Upcoming Games
Calgary will play three games before next week’s edition, starting with a home game against the last-place Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Monday will see the Flames face off against the first of two former teammates of the week as Calgary heads to Colorado. It will be a tough game to say the least, as Darryl Sutter once said, it’ll be a waste of eight days for whoever faces them in the first round. The Flames will then head to Vegas on Thursday to see two former Flames, Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin.
Vegas will host Ovi and the Washington Capitals Saturday before the Canucks swing through Sin City on Monday for all-day specials on margaritas and a couple laps around the ice while Vegas plays hockey. As previously mentioned, the Golden Knights will wrap up the week with the Flames on Thursday. With the Pacific so fragile, Vegas could teeter on the edge of elimination if the Kings keep the pressure on, only two points back.
10 games remaining: Rudy moment
As per usual, the Flames have turned on the afterburners with only a few games remaining on the schedule. This year, it’s different. The room has been altered, and the lineup has shifted slightly with the departure of Mackenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri. The trades were obvious indications the Flames were folding their cards on the season, as far as a cup run is considered. The players aren’t naive to that fact either. Notably, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Matt Coronato and Matvei Gridin have all stepped up in the forward group.
It’s as though a weight’s been lifted from the team’s shoulders. Cooley and Wolf are playing outstanding; the defensive core has held up better than expected with the additions of Olofsson and Whitecloud, and the team is scoring more goals with two of their top forwards out of the lineup in Kadri and Huberdeau.
When you look at a team near the bottom of the standings, you can’t read a book by its cover. The Flames have positioned themselves well as an organization to rebuild. Despite the frustration it has forced fans to go through in the Conroy era, some of the other side is already showing through.
It’s great to see the Flames win, but let’s keep our fingers crossed for some hard-fought, regulation losses this week. Maybe the Flames could get Don Maloney in some goalie equipment and throw him back there for a few starts. Can’t hurt team morale.
Stay tuned for weekly updates on the Flames’ 2026 first-rounders throughout the remainder of the season.
