Post lockout, no organization has suffered more than the Calgary Flames

Starting off with a bang. Only two organizations have fewer overall playoff wins than the Flames since 2005. The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Utah Mammoth/Arizona Coyotes. Both considered two of the worst-run organizations in the NHL, the Flames are sitting right there at the bottom of the league with them in terms of playoff wins.

Funny enough, the Winnipeg Jets, who rejoined the league in 2011 and have six fewer seasons under their belt since 2005, have the same amount of playoff wins as the Flames.

In total, the Flames have 23 playoff wins across the past 20 seasons, averaging just over one a season. Their highest such total in one year is just five, accomplished in 2015 and again in 2022. They’ve yet to win more than one game in the second round since the lockout.

For context, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning lead the NHL in the category, with 102 playoff wins apiece since 2005, 79 more than the Flames.

Playoff series wins

Next up, let’s look at playoff series wins. Getting individual wins in the playoffs is great, but they mean nothing if you don’t close the deal and win a series. Just like in the win category, the Flames rank at the very bottom of the league for series wins. Here are the bottom five.

Once again, there aren’t many teams worse than the Flames here. In fact, there is just one team that has fewer playoff series wins than the Flames since 2005, the Blue Jackets. With their series win over the Senators this year, the Maple Leafs officially tied the Flames with two series wins since 2005. Then you have a pair of middling organizations in the Wild and the Mammoth/Coyotes, who also have two total.

The Flames’ two series wins came in 2015 during the “Find a Way” Flames season, and then in 2022 when they narrowly defeated the Dallas Stars in Game 7 overtime. Outside of those two years, the Flames have lost in the first round seven times, bringing their overall playoff series record since the lockout to an ugly 2–9 across 20 seasons.

In terms of the best teams in the league, the Penguins and Lightning lead the NHL in series wins since the lockout with 20 each. That’s 18 more successful series wins than the Flames.

Conference final appearances

What about trips to the conference finals as one of the last four teams standing in a season? One step away from a Stanley Cup final appearance. Well, the Flames haven’t seen that stage all that often recently.

When we look at total conference final appearances since 2005, no team has fewer than the Flames. The organization has made the final four of the playoffs a grand total of zero times in the past 20 years. They’re not alone, so there’s that at least. The Blue Jackets, Wild, and Maple Leafs all sit in the same situation as the Flames, with zero appearances since 2005.

Here’s the kicker, though: all three of those teams have had longer playoff runs since 2005 than Calgary. The Flames’ longest run has been five games into the second round, accomplished in 2015 and 2022. The Maple Leafs have reached Game 7 of the second round, while the Blue Jackets and Wild have both advanced to Game 6 of the second round. Yes, every single team in the NHL has made it further in the playoffs than the Flames since the lockout.

For further context, the Tampa Bay Lightning lead the NHL with six conference final appearances since 2005, while 20 teams have at least two appearances. One of those teams is the Buffalo Sabres, who haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years but still have more conference final appearances than the Flames since 2005.

Top five draft picks

Lastly, let’s look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Top-five draft picks aren’t as exciting as playoff success, but they certainly bring a jolt of excitement and hope to an organization. If you’re not succeeding in the playoffs, surely you’re racking up top five draft picks, right? Not exactly.

Surprise surprise, the Flames can’t even suck properly either. Despite sitting near the bottom of the NHL in playoff wins, playoff series wins, and conference final appearances, the Flames also rank tied for second-last when it comes to top-five draft picks. The only team worse is the Vegas Golden Knights, who have been around for just eight years and have had a boatload of playoff success, including four conference final trips.

Tied with Calgary with just one top-five draft pick in the past 20 years are the Wild, Stars, and Red Wings. The Red Wings have a Stanley Cup and 12 series wins since the lockout, so their lack of top-five picks isn’t a surprise and is hard to feel bad about. The Stars have a similar story; they haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 2005 but have 12 playoff series wins over that span, along with three conference final trips.

The only team that can claim as much pain as the Flames is the Wild, who also have just one top-five draft pick since 2005, while also having a limited amount of playoff success. The Flames’ only top-five pick was, of course, Sam Bennett, who managed just 30 playoff games in Calgary and has since played in three straight Stanley Cup finals with a different franchise, including one Stanley Cup win.

Some further context, the Blue Jackets, Oilers, Blackhawks, Canadiens, Wild, and Mammoth/Coyotes all rank tied for first with six top-five picks since 2005. The Seattle Kraken, meanwhile, who have been around for just three years already, have two top-five draft picks, one more than the Flames do in their entire 45-year existence.

Alone at the bottom

So, how do the Flames stack up across the board in all four categories? Well, I took the average ranking for every team in playoff wins, series wins, conference final appearances, and top-five draft picks, then averaged them out. Unsurprisingly, the Flames rank dead last on average compared to the rest of the league.

Since the lockout, the Flames are the only organization in the NHL to rank in the bottom three in playoff wins, series wins, conference final appearances, and top-five picks. The closest team to the Flames was the Wild, who also ranked in the bottom three in series wins, conference final appearances, and top-five picks, but 26th for playoff wins.

Teams like the Blue Jackets and Mammoth/Coyotes, meanwhile, have had less playoff success than the Flames since 2005, but both rank first in the entire NHL with six top-five picks in that span. In other words, no one quite does mediocrity like the Flames. Never good enough to win, never bad enough to tank.