Down years are part of the rebuilding process

The Calgary Flames are off to the worst start in franchise history after being outscored 23-6 four games into this season. And things don’t look like they are going to turn around anytime soon. There are a lot of Flames fans who are not happy with how things have started, and I don’t blame them.

But I want to try to be the voice of reason, the key word being “try.” There are a couple points I want to make.

First, things are not going to be this bad all season. There will come a point within the next month where the Flames will find their game and become a whole lot more competitive than they are right now. That’s going to start with their goalies making more saves. But the team in front of them will start to get their stuff together. It won’t lead to a lot of wins, but they aren’t going to get blown out every night like they have in their first four games. Awful teams can win games in the NHL.

The other is that you have to endure multiple seasons like this to acquire your future core of elite players at the top of the NHL draft. This is all part of the rebuilding process. Some of the most exciting young teams around the NHL have gone through similar seasons.

The San Jose Sharks had three consecutive seasons with 60 points points or less from 2022-2025 (60, 47, 52). In those years they were able to draft Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, and Michael Misa. Three dynamic young players who are going to be part of the Sharks future. San Jose is now one of the most exciting teams in the NHL and have an incredibly bright future.

The Montreal Canadiens had 55, 68, and 76 point seasons in the 21-22, 22-23, and 23-24 seasons. During that period were able to draft Juraj Slafkovský, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Michael Hage, and Jacob Fowler. The Canadiens are coming off an appearance in the eastern conference finals and look like they will be a perennial contender for years to come.

The Anaheim Ducks went through a long rebuild that included seasons where they finished near the bottom of the standings from 2019-2024. During that time they drafted their future core in Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, Jackson LaCombe, and Jamie Drysdale,who they turned into Cutter Gauthier. The ducks are coming off an exciting season where they beat the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Utah Mammoth/Arizona Coyotes went through some dark seasons in order to become one of the most exciting young teams in the NHL led by Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.

I know the Chicago Blackhawks are off to a rough start this year, but they have acquired a ton of young talent and will be a force in the western conference starting as early as next season.

Then there are a bunch of teams that have won or come close to winning the Stanley Cup over the last 15 years who have had miserable seasons before reaching the promised land: the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks, LA Kings, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and Edmonton Oilers.

The good news for Flames fans is that they are ahead of a lot of the teams listed above compared to when they started their rebuilds.

This organization has done a great job drafting since Craig Conroy took over in 2023. It’s a group that features Zayne Parekh, Carson Carels, Cole Reschny, Ethan Wyttenbach, Cullen Potter, Sam Honzek, Matvei Gridin, Aydar Suniev, Theo Stockselius, Jack Hextall, Chase Harrington. The list goes on and on. There are going to be a few of those players that don’t become difference makers. But that’s okay. They’re lottery tickets and the Flames are bound to hit on a bunch of those players.

The next two seasons are going to be miserable for Flames fans. But we have to keep the big picture in mind when watching some of these losses. Conroy is going to continue to add high end talent to the their already stacked prospect pool. This is the plan. There are a lot of teams who have gone through a similar process and have come out on the other side.