What was 2017 to the Calgary Flames?

What it should have been was a season of growth. The year started out with some of the lowest of lows: playing well, but just being unable to score enough to win. Follow that up with mental breakdowns across the board leading to blowout losses against; at least until a train ride before the All-Star Break, when it looked like the ship was righting itself.

That was January. So far, those events have all repeated themselves in the first half of the 2017-18 season. The train ride from Philly to DC was bookended by two wins. Mental breakdowns and quit have popped up throughout this season, as well. And we’ve seen a lot of the Flames playing well enough, but being just unable to score; we may still be in the midst of such a stretch.

Does that mean a 10-game win streak is to come soon, as well?

After a one-year absence the Flames made it back into the playoffs, as they should have. They added to their team in the form of Michael Stone. (If Curtis Lazar counts as an addition is debatable.) Then they flopped out of the playoffs, once again plagued by being just good enough and getting absolutely none of the bounces. The Ducks were the better team, anyway – whether that’s the case this year could be a different story, but last season, it was true – but that should not have been a sweep, and even Anaheim was inclined to agree.

So the Flames added again, spending more currency. Stone cost a third round pick. They kept him, costing an additional fifth. Unsatisfied with their goaltending – and they had a case to be – they spent a second or third, depending on how things play out, to commit to Mike Smith for the next two seasons. And then a first, to get Travis Hamonic.

No first round pick typically means a team that is going to go to the playoffs. It doesn’t have to mean immediate Cup aspirations – Hamonic is still signed for two seasons after this one, so the investment is longer term – but it would be fair to assume it means a strong performance.

Now in 2018, almost halfway through the season, the Flames find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoffs, just far enough back to still be in it, albeit amidst seven other teams with 40-plus points all vying for wild card spots.

Did the Flames grow in 2017? Absolutely, they did. They overcame some of their struggles. They made the playoffs. They added personnel, at a fair bit of cost. The 2018 NHL Draft looks kind of boring from a Calgary perspective, softened by the fact that the Flames look like they have a number of prospects already perhaps on the cusp of making it, in addition to the players who have graduated to the NHL in the past calendar year.

But did they grow enough? There are clearly more steps to take, but just how they’ll be able to take them remains unseen. Are they supposed to grow further? How is that accomplished? Is it simply by playing things out, is it simply with more experience, is it with minor or major personnel changes?

In 2017, the Flames clearly took a step forward. Will they be able to do the same in 2018? If they can, is that a success, or are expectations too high now that it won’t be good enough? And if they can’t… well, then it’s a matter of containing the fallout so that 2019 isn’t any worse than it has to be.