Flames' draft lottery odds have officially been set
With the 2023-24 NHL season concluding last night, the Calgary Flames draft lottery odds are officially set.
The Flames had an opportunity to fall below the Seattle Kraken in the standings but instead picked up two points with a decisive 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. As a result, they have finished 24th in league standings, with a 38-39-5 record for 81 points.
While fans would have loved to have finished a few spots lower, the Flames still have great odds of landing a top-10 pick. By finishing 24th, they will head into the draft lottery with a 64.4% chance of selecting ninth overall. They have a 23.5% chance of dropping to 10th, but just a 1.7% opportunity to fall to 11th.
On the other side of things, their chances at landing the first-overall pick, while slim, aren’t impossible. They have a 5% shot at doing so, and an ever-so-slightly higher opportunity to pick second at 5.2%.
Tankathon
You can certainly understand the excitement building amongst fans in regards to this pick, as it will mark the first time the Flames have had a top-1o selection since 2016. They absolutely crushed it on that selection, taking Matthew Tkachuk at sixth overall.
Many Flames fans have their eyes on Tij Iginla, the son of Jarome, who was recently ranked the ninth North American skater heading into the draft. The 17-year-old had a huge breakout season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, scoring 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games.
This pick will be one of two first-rounders the Flames have in the first round, with the other coming from the Vancouver Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade. That pick will be much later in the first, however, coming at 29th overall.
Though the 2023-24 season was undoubtedly a frustrating one for the Flames, the future is looking bright thanks in large part to the surplus of draft picks general manager Craig Conroy has accumulated.
While it’s unfair to expect the first player they take in this year’s draft to come in and make an immediate impact, there is a good chance that whoever they take will have a huge part in shaping the future of this team. There could still be some more struggles in the short term, but there appear to be good days on the horizon for this Flames team.
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