I'm walking away from this feeling pretty damn content, to be honest.
Both Edmonton and Vancouver miss out on the big 3, and Calgary will get a good player at 6.
Had the Flames been desperate for a cornerstone piece to turn around a flagging franchise, I would have looked at this as a must-win, but they aren't. The Flames are 3 deep at centre (Monahan, Bennett, and Backlund), have one young, all-star winger, and a defense with both current and prospect depth.
I have faith that there's enough inventory in the goalie market that a trade can address the team's most glaring current need, and the 6th pick will net a winger that will fill in the future depth chart.
Given some of the horror stories that Bingo's lottery exercise generated, I wouldn't take a do-over if the league offered it. Instead, I'm breathing a sigh of relief, diving into the scouting reports for the players that might fall into the Flames position, and looking forward to a draft that doesn't start with, "With the 1st overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers/Vancouver Canucks are proud to select..."
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