The Calgary Flames went into the 2024-25 season with low expectations. The overwhelming majority of the hockey world had predicted Calgary would finish in the basement of the NHL standings.

But that hasn’t been the case. The Flames have been in or hovering around a playoff spot all year. How are they doing this?

The first reason is Dustin Wolf. We’ll get to him later.

The other reason, and one that doesn’t get talked about, is their start.

We always hear about how important it is to get off to a good start in the NHL. The last two seasons for the Flames are a great example of this.

The 2023-24 season was over after a 2-7-1 month of October. Calgary could never truly get back in the mix for a playoff spot.

The 2024-25 season has been saved by a great start.

From Oct. 9-22, the Flames went 5-0-1. They picked up wins over the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

But since that start, things have not gone as well as some might think they have.

Since Oct. 23, the Calgary Flames are 23-23-8. 23 wins. 31 losses.

Over that span they rank 24th in the NHL in points and points percentage. That would give them the 9th overall pick in the 2025 draft.

They have scored 129 goals in those 54 games. That puts them dead last. The next closest team is the Anaheim Ducks who have scored 136 goals.

They have the 18th-ranked power play and the 27th-ranked penalty kill.

Their top scorer is Nazem Kadri with 39 points in 54 games. Kadri is tied for 80th in the NHL in points over that time.

The Flames have been a bad team for the overwhelming majority of this season. But they have one saving grace. And that of course is Dustin Wolf.

Since Oct. 23, the Calgary Flames are 4th in the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage.

At 5-on-5 Dustin Wolf is 2nd in high danger save percentage (HDSV%), 3rd in goals saved above expected (GSAA), 5th in save percentage, and 6th in goals against average (GAA) among 54 goalies to play at least 700 minutes.

Simply put, Wolf has single-handedly kept the Calgary Flames out of the basement in the NHL standings.

The Flames are not a playoff team. They are not even close to being considered a contender.

Craig Conroy needs to realize that the Flames are a bad hockey team being held up by an elite goaltender and a hot start.

Every decision Conroy makes should be made with the future in mind. Making decisions based on this season and next is short sighted and will keep them in the mushy middle and prolong the Flames need to truly rebuild in the future.

Simply put, Conroy needs to be a seller at the trade deadline.

Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, Yegor Sharangovich, Joel Farabee, Brayden Pachal, Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, Dan Vladar should all be put on the trade market.

Not exploring what trades could look like for these players would be managerial malpractice.

In the grand scheme of things, this season does not matter. Getting a pick in the top 10 of the draft will give Conroy an opportunity to select a high end centre. That would benefit the future of the Calgary Flames more than getting run over in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, or missing the playoffs by a few points.

It’s time for the Flames to commit to building a legitimate contender through a rebuild and not be a team that can squeak into the playoffs every now and then only to lose in the first round.