The Drive for 30th

[Buck Murdock]

we could pass Carolina, Tampa, Philly, and give Buffalo/nashville a run for their money. Trust the flames to come together as a team and win a bunch of meaningless games and be out of the top 5 picks.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

Cheering for losses should never feel right.

When wins are meaningless and losses help the organization secure their next franchise player it does feel right

[Trojan97]

Gotta say, I was kind of hoping for Phoenix to score at the end of regulation to help the tank. That said, winning in OT was really nice given how AWFUL this team has been in OT/SO over the years. I'm really hoping this is a trend that the new kids can reverse.

[NBC]

They'll pick 6th.

[FlameZilla]

Hungry young players injected into the lineup? I can feel a winning streak coming on...

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by NBC

They'll pick 6th.

A win against the oilers virtually guarantees a pick outside the top 3. And frankly there is too much room to screw up outside those top 3 picks, especially when this management group is involved.

I'm starting to get nervous that the team is going to string together a few wins that will make some people feel all warm and fuzzy for a few days, but will ultimately result in the team missing out on the elite talent it needs so badly.

The last thing I want to see after this train wreck of a season is the Flames getting the 5th or 6th pick. In that situation I could see Feaster trading down to recoup a 2nd rounder, and all we come out with is more mediocre secondary players.

[StrykerSteve]

It's too late, they've screwed themselves. No way they finish 30th now with how poorly everyone around them are playing.

[nik-]

I honestly didn't even think this team was bad enough for bottom 5 this year. However it looks like we're shaping up to be right at 5 and still pick someone awesome, just not an instant game changer. The guy will still be far and away our best prospect.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by nik-

I honestly didn't even think this team was bad enough for bottom 5 this year. However it looks like we're shaping up to be right at 5 and still pick someone awesome, just not an instant game changer. The guy will still be far and away our best prospect.

Not that that says much.

[GGG]

The worst case is we finish 5 and lose the draft lottery to a team finishing 6 or worse and end up with the 6th pick.

At that point we are still guaranteed one of Monahan, Niskunan, or Lindholm. Which is not terrible. Fall into 7 or 8th is when you are back to 2nd line players.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by GGG

The worst case is we finish 5 and lose the draft lottery to a team finishing 6 or worse and end up with the 6th pick.

At that point we are still guaranteed one of Monahan, Niskunan, or Lindholm. Which is not terrible. Fall into 7 or 8th is when you are back to 2nd line players.

best player in franchise history was 11th pick

obviously the higher the better but come on, everything above sixth is a 2nd liner now

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by dino7c

best player in franchise history was 11th pick

obviously the higher the better but come on, everything above sixth is a 2nd liner now

I read his post to mean that he thinks that is the case in this draft. Anything can happen though, and there will definitely be some higher (lower?) picks that end up being very good NHLers, but I would rather go with more of a sure thing.

[The Yen Man]

Who knows, maybe they'll win the draft lottery, so all this cheering for loses may all be moot at the end the day. Knowing the Flames luck though, that probably won't happen.

[Matty81]

If you think 6th is the worst pick they could get I wish I shared your optimism. They have now won 2/3 and if they stay hot they could easily end up picking 8th-10th. Win tonight and they are right in the middle of the pack of losers again just 3 points behind the Oilers.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by Matty81

If you think 6th is the worst pick they could get I wish I shared your optimism. They have now won 2/3 and if they stay hot they could easily end up picking 8th-10th. Win tonight and they are right in the middle of the pack of losers again just 3 points behind the Oilers.

If the Flames go on their best run of the season and rattle of some crazy 6-2 stretch over the last 8 games, they'll still be most likely to pick 7 or 8 (barring lottery results).

[moon]

Originally Posted by Matty81

If you think 6th is the worst pick they could get I wish I shared your optimism. They have now won 2/3 and if they stay hot they could easily end up picking 8th-10th. Win tonight and they are right in the middle of the pack of losers again just 3 points behind the Oilers.

They beat a listless Avs team and a Phoenix team that likely wins that game by 3-4 if they give more than a 10% effort.

If the Flames keep playing the way they have they should easily cruise into a top 6 pick. Top 3 like they need is still very possible depending on what others do.

[Dagger]

Avs just won!

[albertGQ]

Canes win!

[McG]

Can't we just play with 3 lines like we did when we had our injury and cap issues?

[Mr.Coffee]

the other thing about winning however, is that it means they are better than what people think.

I personally am much more confident in the Flames being better next year after the last few games than I was immediately after the deadline.