Had the Calgary Flames finished at the bottom of the Pacific and with a top-five draft pick last year, it may have been viewed as a success by some. A chunk of veterans have moved on in recent years, opportunities are coming to the next generation, and hopefully, the team is ready to be in the playoffs by the time their new arena opens for the 2027-28 season. So would some fans have been OK landing a top prospect in the 2025 draft? Sure.

But the Flames exceeded expectations and only missed out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker — in fact, they had a point total that was greater than two playoff teams from the East. GM Craig Conroy wasn’t trying to blow up this roster in the same scorched-earth way as the Chicago Blackhawks. That risks a rebuild that goes on for an uncomfortable amount of tim

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