Not many Calgary Flames fans would’ve believed at the start of the season that the team would be one point outside a playoff spot at Christmas, but here we are.

Bolstered largely by their youth, goaltending, and (most importantly) the ability to keep games close, the Flames have cobbled together a 16-11-7 record through the first 34 games of the 2024-25 regular season. They may have a minus-11 goal differential, but they’re five games above .500 — using the NHL’s definition, that is — and have been one of the league’s top teams on home ice.

The Flames undoubtedly would not be in the position they are today without the contributions of their top young players. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has received the lion’s share of the plaudits and remains one of the leading contenders for the Calder Trophy, but he’s far from the only fresh face leading the charge in Calgary.

Matt Coronato, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, has been truly outstanding to start his second full pro season. Playing primarily on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, Coronato has become one of the Flames’ deadliest scorers while also working tirelessly to improve his skating and overall strength. He’s well on his way toward establishing himself as a top-six forward in Calgary.

Meanwhile, Connor Zary has been even better. The 23-year-old forward currently ranks third on the Flames with 20 points in 34 games and has made a largely seamless transition to playing centre at the NHL level. If he can start finishing on a few more of his chances, Zary could be destined for stardom.

But the very best Flames story of these last few weeks might just be the re-emergence of Jakob Pelletier, who has looked completely at home playing with Zary since returning from his last AHL assignment. After an injury-plagued 2023-24 season, Pelletier is finally looking like his best self again. He offers so much energy and skill while bringing out the very best of his teammates on a nightly basis. The Flames should count themselves lucky that Pelletier passed through waivers back in October.

Of course, it hasn’t just been the young guns propelling the Flames through the opening stages of the season. The top Calgary skater over these first 34 games has arguably been much-maligned winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who might just be finding his groove in his third season as a Flame.

Huberdeau leads the Flames with 13 goals, putting him on pace to exceed his career-best single-season output in that category. Going back to his days with the Florida Panthers, Huberdeau never scored more than 30 goals in one year (although he did reach that exact mark twice); he managed just 27 in total over his first two seasons in Calgary. Now, he’s on pace for 31 goals in 2024-25.

Furthermore, most of the Flames’ prospective future trade chips are performing well and likely maintaining whatever value they have, from Nazem Kadri (on pace for his first 30-goal season in seven years) to Rasmus Andersson (logging a career-high 24:35 per night) to Blake Coleman (still rock-solid next to Backlund). The Flames won’t be in any rush to move these guys unless anyone wants to give up the moon for them — and at this rate, that’s not impossible.

No, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows in Calgary. Almost all of the team’s pending UFAs are struggling or injured, meaning GM Craig Conroy likely won’t be able to cash in big (or at all) at the trade deadline. Which team is going to give up anything for a healthy scratch in Andrei Kuzmenko, much less a goaltender with a sub-.890 save percentage in Dan Vladar? On top of that, Anthony Mantha is injured, Kevin Rooney is likely a 13th forward on a playoff team, and Tyson Barrie has been outplayed by Joel Hanley.

Martin Pospisil and Yegor Sharangovich, two forwards in their 20s who excelled with the Flames last year, have both struggled to find a groove this time around. Sharangovich missed the start of the season with a lower-body injury and still doesn’t look quite like himself; Pospisil is stuck at two goals on the year and is working to become more disciplined. Both players have lots to prove in the second half.

The Flames still lack that true difference-maker at the forward position. They’re nicely equipped on defence, with Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar carrying the mail now and the likes of Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, Henry Mews, and Etienne Morin on their way, but they badly need to add more young talent up front. That’ll be difficult to do if the Flames lose their own 2025 first-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens, which will happen if they finish below the Florida Panthers but end up outside the bottom 10 of the league standings. Right now, the Flames rank 16th, putting them right in the mushy middle (and squarely in the danger zone for that trade condition).

Flames fans will likely be able to cope with giving up their own 2025 pick if they make the playoffs, even if they only just squeak in. It’d be extremely valuable for Wolf, Zary, and the like, as well as to legitimize the seasons Huberdeau, Kadri, and Andersson are having (in the eyes of other NHL general managers, at least). But if the Flames miss the playoffs and lose their pick? It’s difficult to envision that as anything but the worst-case scenario, especially if Calgary’s other two first-round selections end up in the late 20s or early 30s.

This season is far from over. The Flames have lots of hockey left to play, including a relatively light January schedule and an absolute gauntlet in March. There’s plenty of time for this Flames team to pick up the pace or absolutely implode — but, if history tells us anything, they could just as easily remain exactly where they are.

In the end, Flames fans can rest easy knowing that this team is more than capable of identifying talented players throughout the draft. Between Parekh, Mews, Andrew Basha, Jacob Battaglia, and Luke Misa (just to name a few), the Flames look to have multiple future NHLers on the way from their 2024 draft class. Even if they don’t make a top-10 pick in 2025, the Flames will have plenty of ammo once again.

For now, it remains to be seen whether Conroy will take advantage of any Boxing Day sales around the league to bolster his team’s forward group. The NHL’s holiday roster freeze lifts at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 28, so stay tuned. Until then, Merry Christmas and have a wonderful holiday season.