I don't really see Wolf keeping the Flames in the mushy middle. No one player will really do that, even a goalie.
I think of the Flames' team in terms of building a house. Wolf is definitely one of those walls propping up the team right now. There is a solid foundation of a youth and veteran mix. What are the other walls? I argue Weegar and Andersson are. Backlund for sure is. Kadri and Huberdeau have been. Coleman may be. Well, some of these walls could be load-bearing, or maybe they aren't. One or two get knocked down, the entire building may collapse. You may end up with a foundation and a the Wolf wall standing, but that's not a house any longer. Kadri is 34 - regression will set-in sooner than later. Andersson may get traded as well.
I would absolutely LOVE to add a Martone, Hagens or Misa this year. However, if I got to pick, I am picking the following two drafts instead with McKenna and Dupont. It makes it easier to stop worrying about where this team finishes. Teams can only win the lottery twice, so I will be crossing my fingers for the next two drafts, not this one. It for sure makes it easier to enjoy the wins.
As for finishing in the mushy middle and giving up a good pick, that sucks. Drafts aren't really linear - you have drop-offs at varying picks at times. This removes a lot of flexibility. For instance, Flames were able to trade down twice and still grab Zary because they obviously viewed a number of players at a certain ledge. It seems to me that there could be two or three ledges between Calgary's pick (11th let's say for the worst case scenario) and Florida's pick at 32 if they win again. Obviously if they pick 24 and 25, it may only be a minor nuisance (as long as Montreal doesn't pick the prospect that Calgary wants - maybe that will be a ledge, or more likely just worrying for nothing). However, it is a sunk cost here. It was a disaster because the Flames paid a 1st in order to make room to sign an expensive older player so they can better compete, only to pivot without any success at all and have to cough it up at the start of a rebuild. That does suck. Losing Florida's 1st round pick - even at 32 - sucks for the rebuild. However, it isn't some crisis that has ruined anything. The crisis was averted when Conroy took over as GM and sold vets for futures. For me, that's the crisis that this organization did a masterful job of somehow avoiding. That was a LOT of trades. "Burn it to the ground" teams don't trade that many players out for futures.
Top 5 is becoming out of reach - though don't underestimate what can happen when you snowball. Exhibit A was the Coyotes last season. Buffalo and NYR this season too. Things can happen. However, top 10 is still very possible. If it happens, well, that's reassuring. If it doesn't, then hopefully it is playoffs and we get this likeable group play for a little longer, and that will be really fun. If they finish just outside of the playoffs - well, that certainly is the worst-case scenario, but it is also not the end of the world. I will move on to looking forward to this team probably taking down a wall or two, and being very much in the mix for the McKenna sweepstakes. It will require an effort to get there, but the Flames are only one or two load-bearing walls away from it.
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