It seems like just yesterday the Calgary Flames found themselves in the 2004 Stanley Cup finals, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.
That team was made up of hard-nosed players that bought in to Darryl Sutter’s defensive system and were a hard team to score on.
Fast-forward six years and the Flames fading fast in the Western Conference and sit only one point up on the 15th place Edmonton Oilers.
While the situation in Edmonton appears bleak in the immediate future, at least the Oilers can say that they have a ton of young talent who can propel the Oilers into a legitimate contender down the road.
The Flames, however, cannot say that at all. Their last five first-round draft picks are Matt Pelech, Leland Irving, Mikael Backlund, Greg Nemisz, and Tim Erixon. Of these players, only Backlund is currently playing with the Flames. Obviously, these are hardly the up-and-coming prospects that elite teams need in order to compete in the NHL. Throw in the fact that the Flames traded their first two rounds of picks in last year’s draft, and the Flames find themselves heading in the wrong direction.
Now let’s look at the Washington Capitals’ first-round selections during the same timeframe: Nicklas Backstrom, Semyon Varlamov, Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Marcus Johansson. All of these players are playing significant minutes for the Capitals right now – a team that sits one point out of first place in the Eastern Conference.
The remedy is simple if the Flames can ever be considered a good team again. Rebuild and actually make some good selections in the draft. If their team drafts poorly, they will never be in a position to hoist the Cup.