Your point still stands - but think you were wrong about never being bad on purpose.
They were supposed to be bad on purpose after trading Iggy and Bouwmeester, and Kipper retired.
And they were bad in 13/14...it was just really tough to outsuck Edmonton, Buffalo, and Florida during that era. And the Flames got the 4th overall pick - which unfortunately never panned out for them.
And they should have sucked again in 14/15 - most people predicted a top 5 pick going into that season.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...-lift-the-cup/ (2 of 5 experts had Flames picking 1st overall)
https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/9/...season-preview (either us or Edmonton finishing last in the Pacific)
We were supposed to be bad. Then Monahan happened, Gaudreau happened, Hudler lead the league in Even Strength points, Gio became a Norris candidate, and they got a great PDO.
The real problem was they actually drafted too well to get guys like Brodie, Gaudreau, and Monahan, and all of a sudden they were in the playoff contention space again.
I've said this a lot...but as fun as that 14-15 season was at the time it is probably the biggest thing that set this franchise back long term. Imagine if we suck like we were supposed to and come away from that draft with McDavid or Eichel.