Flames might be playing too well right now

The Calgary Flames started the season with a four-game losing streak that saw them sink to a minus-19 goal differential while looking completely uncompetitive.

Since then, a team that entered the year tabbed as one of the favorites to finish with the worst record in the NHL and have the best odds at the number one overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft next June has gone 7-4-0 and moved to just one point out of a playoff spot as solid goaltending and quality play from a defense deep with young talent has powered some surprising success.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Flames’ hot run as it relates to their interest in getting a top talent at the top of the draft this season.

Tyler Yaremchuk: One of the more surprising results last night—although if you were Carter Hutton and you nailed it in the betting segment, the Flames beating the San Jose Sharks last night. And there’s a couple different directions I want to go with this here, Hutts. The Flames, with that win, moved to within one point of a playoff spot. On one hand, you go, hey, you don’t want to be embarrassing. You can’t just go and get your teeth kicked in, even if you’re in sort of the rebuilding phase that the Flames are in. The other part of me goes, man, are the Flames doing exactly what they’ve done each of the last four years, where they’re going to be not good enough to get in the playoffs but too good to pick, you know, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd overall?

Carter Hutton: Yeah, that’s the concern, in my personal opinion, right? You look at this team and you look at Connor Zari being sent down, and what that said to this lineup and group. And Devin Cooley, you know, getting hot and getting injured and almost repelled Dustin Wolf, and they’re playing a great brand of hockey. If you’re a Calgary Flames fan, you start to think, okay, are we going to be one of these teams that’s in the mushy middle again, where we’re sitting in the 9th and 10th spot in the Western Conference, not making the playoffs, not getting any more out of it, and then not getting that pick? So it is a tricky landscape to manage when you’re trying to win hockey games and get better, but at the same, what cost to the future? The first team that comes to mind for me is the Toronto Maple Leafs, where you look at, they have one bad year and they win the lottery and they get Gavin McKenna, and now they’re right back in the hunt again? So there is the a different ways to, I guess, to skin the cat when you’re talking about rebuilding and working your way toward a Stanley Cup, right?

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…