Flames record down the stretch

[Flames Draft Watcher]

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHLlottery.html

Chance of finishing:

2nd last: 4%
3rd last: 9%
4th last: 14%
5th last: 18%
6th last: 20%
7th last: 16%
8th last: 11%
9th last: 5%

Still quite the wide range we can finish. Gonna be an intense stretch drive.

[Vulcan]

Oilers have passed the Leafs for last spot. I guess they're good at something.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHLlottery.html

Chance of finishing:

2nd last: 4%
3rd last: 9%
4th last: 14%
5th last: 18%
6th last: 20%
7th last: 16%
8th last: 11%
9th last: 5%

Still quite the wide range we can finish. Gonna be an intense stretch drive.

If we finish 9th I hope everyone feels super proud of the nothing this team accomplished.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by polak

If we finish 9th I hope everyone feels super proud of the nothing this team accomplished.

and the pro-tankers can whine about winning games. It's 9th last, not 9th, by the way.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by polak

If we finish 9th I hope everyone feels super proud of the nothing this team accomplished.

Finishing middle of the pack in the Western Conference with your top 2 centres under the age of 20 ... is hardly nothing. And reinforcing a winning culture means a lot more than you are giving it credit for.

Simply amazing to me how much faith is placed on first round draft picks here, particularly for Calgary fans knowing - I think - that 3 of our top players were no where close to first round picks - Giordano (undrafted) - Brodie (4th round) and Goudreau (4th round).

[kn]

There is no momentum into next year through winning meaningless games down the stretch. It simply amazes me that fans would rather have a worthless win down the stretch than better odds drafting top three. It's not like a few losses is suddenly going to destroy the culture in the dressing room with nine games left.

[Benched]

how much can you move up? 5 spots? so 5-6th worst is sort of a good balance?

Chance to move up, but still playing hard and winning a few?

[druetetective]

With the new draft lottery rules, plus the opinion that the players ranked 4-8 are pretty similar, I don't know why anyone would get their pantys in a bunch over dropping a few spots.

[druetetective]

I know that games won this year will not build momentum heading into next year (look at Columbus). I even acknowledge that losing games would be better for the franchise long term.

I just refuse to be upset about it, dropping down 3-4 spots is not that big of a deal to me.

Heck, The last 5 drafts you can argue that at least 1 player selected 8-10 is better than 1 of the players selected in the top 3 the same year.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Benched

how much can you move up? 5 spots? so 5-6th worst is sort of a good balance?

Chance to move up, but still playing hard and winning a few?

All teams that miss the playoffs have a chance at picks 1-3.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by kn

There is no momentum into next year through winning meaningless games down the stretch. It simply amazes me that fans would rather have a worthless win down the stretch than better odds drafting top three. It's not like a few losses is suddenly going to destroy the culture in the dressing room with nine games left.

But it's still about winning and losing. It's a game after all. If I am paying my own $'s to go to a game, I am not cheering for the other team to win. Ever. Same thing goes if I am watching it on TV. All for a slightly better chance in a lottery?

But I am cheering hard for Dallas right now.

[kn]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

But it's still about winning and losing. It's a game after all. If I am paying my own $'s to go to a game, I am not cheering for the other team to win. Ever. Same thing goes if I am watching it on TV. All for a slightly better chance in a lottery?

That's very noble of you but I'll have to disagree. Too many years I've watched the Flames play well down the stretch with nothing on the line doing nothing but lower their draft position and remain mediocre. I'll gladly sacrifice a couple wins in the last nine games to add Matthews or one of the Fins to the lineup.

But neither side of the argument will convince the other so I'll stop there.

[Vinny01]

This isn't the Iginla/Kipper flames finishing 9th in the west drafting 13th. This is a team with several established players in their early to mid 20's that are trying to open a window that will hopefully last 7-10 years.

It is a kick in the junk though to go from sniffing at a wildcard spot to losing 10 of 11 to get out of the race only to go on a little run to climb over 3-5 teams and potentially hurt the draft position. At least the Flames knew they had to sell at the deadline which resulted in good assets coming back.

Who knows maybe the new lottery will land in our favor. Fitting that the top 3 picks are all going to be in the lottery in a draft that is clearly 3 deep at the top

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

This isn't the Iginla/Kipper flames finishing 9th in the west drafting 13th. This is a team with several established players in their early to mid 20's that are trying to open a window that will hopefully last 7-10 years.

It is a kick in the junk though to go from sniffing at a wildcard spot to losing 10 of 11 to get out of the race only to go on a little run to climb over 3-5 teams and potentially hurt the draft position. At least the Flames knew they had to sell at the deadline which resulted in good assets coming back.

Who knows maybe the new lottery will land in our favor. Fitting that the top 3 picks are all going to be in the lottery in a draft that is clearly 3 deep at the top

Yep, we aren't an aging team stuck in mediocrity. We are a young team going through growing pains. There's nothing wrong with getting the 7th pick. We should not be competing for last with Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver.

That's just embarrassing.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by kn

That's very noble of you but I'll have to disagree. Too many years I've watched the Flames play well down the stretch with nothing on the line doing nothing but lower their draft position and remain mediocre. I'll gladly sacrifice a couple wins in the last nine games to add Matthews or one of the Fins to the lineup.

But neither side of the argument will convince the other so I'll stop there.

I hear you and I am definitely not noble. It's one thing to kind of tune out for the rest of the season, not care and hope for the best draft position. I get that and I have certainly lost a lot of interest. But if you are watching the games, can you cheer against your team? Would you pay money to go root against them? Not trying to convince anyone, just wondering.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by kn

That's very noble of you but I'll have to disagree. Too many years I've watched the Flames play well down the stretch with nothing on the line doing nothing but lower their draft position and remain mediocre. I'll gladly sacrifice a couple wins in the last nine games to add Matthews or one of the Fins to the lineup.

But neither side of the argument will convince the other so I'll stop there.

I don't disagree. I think the disconnect between the sides is logic vs emotional connection. Logically their position is bettered by a loss, but I'm not a fan logically. There's nothing logical for me about become invested emotionally in a battle I can't be a part of. For me, I enjoy watching them win. I can't affect the result, so I simply cheer each game as that's my concern for the day.

[Enoch Root]

I can't cheer for them to lose. But I can definitely cheer for the clown teams to win!

I want to see progress. I want to see the team play the right way, and the kids continue to improve. That's going to result in some wins.

So at the same time, I hope that the other teams show some self-respect and put in enough effort to also win some games.

In the end, I hope it ends up meaning that we also get a good pick. And maybe the hockey gods will reward us for going about things the right way.

What I don't understand is getting upset over wins.

[kn]

Toronto is on quite the tear...

             
            GP  W  L  OTL  PTS
Toronto     8   6  2   0    12
Arizona     8   5  2   1    11
Calgary     8   4  3   1    9
Winnipeg    9   4  4   1    9
Edmonton    9   4  5   0    8
Buffalo     8   3  4   1    7
Columbus    7   3  4   0    6
Vancouver   8   2  5   1    4

If the Flames go 4-4-0 in the remaining 8 games:
(3)28th - 5%
(4)27th - 21%
(5)26th - 39%
(6)25th - 29%
(7)24th - 6%
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/W...c/Calgary.html

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Things are still very much in the air, the reverse standings are extremely tight.

Calgary's chance will finish season at:
30th: 5%
29th: 9%
28th: 13%
27th: 16%
26th: 18%
25th: 18%
24th: 12%
23th: 6%

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHLlottery.html

[hockey.modern]

After the MIN game, the Flames schedule is pretty tough.

CHI: Defending cup winners
ARI: Has our numbers this season
ANA: No questions asked
LAK: They are a scary team this season
EDM: Hasn't been as dominant as it used to be. 50/50
LAK: Mentioned before
VAN: We will beat them
MIN: Has our numbers for the past few years