For the first time in 2026, the Calgary Flames have won three games in a row.
They’re playing fun hockey, scoring goals, getting great goaltending and generally looking like the type of team that’s easy for fans to get behind.
The elephant in the room, though, is that there’s a large segment of their fanbase who might be enjoying the entertaining hockey that’s being played but would prefer that the Flames start losing.
That’s not a mentality that will ever, ever be adopted inside the Saddledome itself. They should not and will not do anything other than try to go out and win every game. That needs to be said emphatically.
There are a lot of fans, though, who are looking at the NHL Draft in June and dreaming of what it would look like if the Flames managed to snag a potential superstar-in-waiting like Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg. The more the Flames lose, the better the chances the draft lottery will go their way and they land one of those guys.
We’ll allow Ryan Strome to explain why that’s simply not how the organization should be thinking.
“I’ve been through it before and it’s really, really hard to just snap your fingers and become a winning hockey team,” said Strome, who scored the overtime winner in Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Dome. “If you throw these games away and you don’t compete, you don’t play hard, those habits leak into next year.
“All of a sudden, you have a group that thinks, ‘OK, it’s time to start winning,’ and you don’t have the characteristics, you don’t have the qualities and that leadership and those things that it takes.”
Flames defenceman Joel Hanley looks to clear the puck away from Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli during Sunday’s game.
When the Flames traded Rasmus Andersson in January and then moved MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri right before the trade deadline earlier this month, many expected them to sink like a rock in the standings.
Instead, they’ve gone 5-4 since the deadline. Sunday’s win saw them jump from second-last to fourth-last in the NHL standings. They’re tied on points with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers but ahead of both because of regulation wins.
Yes, that means that as of Sunday night, their lottery odds were worse than they were earlier in the day.
But there’s a lot of hockey left to be played this season against some very good teams. There will be wins and losses ahead, it would be dangerous to start cheering when the Flames dropped points and refusing to celebrate when they succeed.
Look at Sunday’s game. Tyson Gross got his first ever NHL start for his hometown team. Hunter Brzustewicz fully saved a goal when goalie Devin Cooley was beat and recorded an assist, too. Zayne Parekh played big minutes and Matvei Gridin did exceptional work setting up Strome’s winner.
That’s a group of young players getting meaningful ice time and excelling with it. That has real value for the rebuild. Isn’t it what fans were begging for only a short while ago?
“Hypothetically, it would be great to have the first overall pick and you can guarantee that, but it’s a team game,” Strome elaborated. “There’s a lot of guys in here playing for jobs and playing for their life and that’s important.
“This team is trying to build a culture and a confidence moving forwards and having been a part of (rebuilds) before, I know that it’s a huge piece of it. It’s very, very hard in this league to snap your fingers and show up and make the playoffs. The traits we’re showing now are great things that will bleed into next season.”