For the first time this season, the Calgary Flames are closer to the playoff line than the bottom of the standings.
Riding a three-game win streak, the Flames sit at 28 points on the season as of December 9. The wild card spots in the Western Conference are owned by the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, each at 31 points. The worst team in the West are the Nashville Predators with 24 points.
Three points from the playoff line, and four points from the basement. Comfortably mediocre. Which, as Flames fans know, pretty well sums up the last twenty years of Calgary Flames hockey.
Perhaps the most notable win was a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild, a strong playoff team that came into the meeting riding an 8-game win streak. Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf had an incredible game, and carried that momentum into a 2-0 shutout win over the Utah Mammoth then an entertaining 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Outscoring their opponents 13-5 over the past three games is a remarkable turn-around considering the Flames' play throughout the first two months of the season, where they dug themselves deep into the bottom of the league.
Now, there are realistically only two roads for the Flames to go from here. The first road is a likely repeat of last season. Hover around a .500 season and compete for a wild-card spot, but end up a few points out and take home a middling 14th-16th overall pick in the next entry draft. Even though this team has shown now they are capable of stringing together victories, they still lack the elite talent needed for a sustained playoff push.
The other road is longer, rougher and harder to stomach, but recognizes that this year seems like the best chance the Flames organization has had in recent memory to land a franchise player. The lower you finish in the standings, the better your odds are of landing a top draft pick in next year's draft. And considering the Flames will likely be on the outside looking in to the playoff picture, they should be more than willing to be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline. Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri are two names that have circulated as Trade Deadline pickups for contending teams, which, if shipped, should help the Flames sink lower in the standings.
Of note, the Flames have never selected inside the top three picks of the NHL Entry Draft in franchise history.
Now that the Calgary Flames find themselves back on familiar middle ground, the next several games will be key in determining the rest of the season. Should the team keep winning, expect management to stay put and take a run for a wild card position, ending fans' hopes of a first overall pick. Should the team slip back down to the bottom of the standings, however, the Flames will likely become one of the more active sellers at the Trade Deadline. But for now, all anyone can do is wait and see.