To begin the season, it looked as though everyone on team tank was on their way to a dream season when the Calgary Flames began so unbelievably poorly. And I guess it wasn’t for the worst reasons, either. The Flames are in the midst of a rebuild, and that means acquiring and developing assets is one of the team’s most important objectives. The purpose of a tank is solely to ensure the best possible draft position, but the Toronto Maple Leafs proved that tanking isn’t always necessary to get the first overall pick.

When you look at the upcoming draft class, the projected first overall pick is Landon DuPont, who looks to be an elite offensive defenceman comparable to a Quinn Hughes- or Cale Makar-type player. Obviously, he’d be great to have on any team, but is he really what the Flames need? The Flames already have Zayne Parekh and Simon Nemec, along with Hunter Brzustewicz in the AHL, who all play a similar brand of hockey. It’s pretty clear that the Flames desperately need a top centre, and while centres look to be plentiful in the upcoming draft, you may not even need a top pick because there are so many quality options to choose from.

So, it begs the question: Is winning games like they are really that bad of a thing? I’m not necessarily saying this is a playoff team, but you have to admit they have looked very good during this four-game winning streak. The power play looks deadly, the penalty kill is rock-solid, everyone is contributing five-on-five and Devin Cooley is in another world right now. If there is any longevity or consistency to this style of play, the playoffs could very well be in the conversation come spring. It’s not like the West is even that competitive; it might not take much to get in. But even if the Flames are back to a mushy-middle finish this year, there are reasons for that to be OK.

Especially when the wins and points are coming from contributions from this next generation of players. We can all agree that losing sucks. It’s hard to watch, and surely it’s hard to find the motivation to get back out on the ice each day, knowing you’re going to be destroyed in the next game. If that’s not harmful to a young player’s development, then what is?

If Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin aren’t scoring or playing well, the conversation at the end of the season isn’t that these guys are still the future of this team. We’d be asking if we should trade them or if they even have a future in the NHL. You want these young players, who you want to be part of the future, to be playing well. And if them playing well equals wins, then great!

Who doesn’t love winning? What better way to instill confidence and drive that competitive hunger than knowing you can take on these top teams and beat them? On top of that, the players are having fun, the fans are having fun, and it really gives a glimpse of what this team could look like in a few years. And that team looks incredible.

Team Tank currently has a lot of people on board. But it seems this recent winning streak — albeit a small sample size — has reminded folks what good hockey can be. And perhaps trading a guaranteed top draft pick for the proper development of the young players already in your system could potentially be worth it. It’s doing nothing for anyone to lose every night.

We’ll have to see how the next month or so works out. By then, we’ll have a better idea of whether this winning streak is legit or if the Flames are just taking advantage of teams coming in and thinking they have an easy victory. Regardless, this Flames team is actually fun to watch right now. Take advantage while you can, because who knows how long it might last.