Flames could wind up having one of their worst seasons in nearly a decade
It’s been one of those years for the Calgary Flames.
With just 12 games remaining on the schedule, the Flames have a 33-32-5 record and 71 points. That’s 12 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the last wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
At this point, if they win all 12 of those remaining games they will finish with around 95 points, but that is an unrealistic expectation for a team that has been sputtering of late. Calgary is coming off two disappointing losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres over the weekend that have all but skewered what little hope the fanbase had left.
The reality of the situation is that the Flames are nearly a lock to miss the playoffs and could very well be on their way to one of their worst finishes in nearly a decade.
NHL.com
As of this morning, a model developed by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn projects the Flames to finish the season with 84 points. To get there, the Flames would have to make up 13 points in their last 12 games. Getting there would give Calgary an overall points percentage (pts%) of .512, which would be the lowest in quite some time.
If you take out the dismal 2020-21 season (.491 pts%), in which they only played 56 games, you’d have to go back six seasons to 2017-18 to find a team with a .512 pts%. You’d have to go back even further to find a worse Flames team, as the 2015-16 squad managed a measly .470 pts%.
If the team continues to flounder in the next few weeks, this year’s Flames could be one of the worst in a decade.
NHL.com
There are a few ways Flames fans could view this. On one side, it is frustrating to be a fan of a team that had such high aspirations just a few seasons ago to one that can’t even make the playoffs. On the other, the consolation prize of a high draft pick could be just what this organization needs.
That horrid 2015-16 season was rough, but it ended with the Flames selecting Matthew Tkachuk sixth overall. Calgary fans could look forward to their team adding an exciting young forward to help turn the fortunes of the franchise.
Perhaps a player like Tij Iginla?
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