The jury is still out on whether the Calgary Flames are in rebuild mode or not. Trading away multiple NHL regulars over the past calendar year suggests they are, but the front office is still talking... playoffs?
We’ve analyzed the NHL odds at BET99 to offer a number of Calgary Flames predictions and NHL picks to target for the 2024-25 season.
Calgary Flames odds and outlook for 2024-25
All odds courtesy of BET99, as of 10-7.
Calgary Flames projected lineup
Forwards
- Yegor Sharangovich (undisclosed) - Nazem Kadri - Andrei Kuzmenko
- Jonathan Huberdeau - Martin Pospisil - Anthony Mantha
- Connor Zary - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
- Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Adam Klapka
- Matthew Coronato
Defense
- MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
- Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
- Jake Bean - Tyson Barrie
Goalies
- Dustin Wolf
- Dan Vladar
Flames regular season points prediction
There’s no reason to have faith in the Calgary Flames improving on last year’s 38-39-5 record and 81 regular-season points.
The organization dealt No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom during the offseason and will turn the crease over to rookie Dustin Wolf and fourth-year backup Dan Vladar.
While Wolf is an intriguing prospect and has posted high-end AHL numbers, he’s also undersized and recorded a .893 save percentage and 3.16 GAA across 17 games (15 starts) for the Flames last year. Vladar has been equally unimpressive with respective .894 and 3.05 marks across 70 games (61 starts) the past three years, too.
This team is also short on offensive talent and lacks a true No. 1 defenseman. In addition to moving on from Markstrom, the Calgary brass has also traded away Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Andrew Mangiapane in the past calendar year.
Simply put, that’s too much established NHL talent jumping the boards for other teams. The Flames have drafted and developed from within their own organization as poorly as any team in the NHL.
Prediction: Under 81.5 points (+100 at BET99)
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Flames playoff prediction
The Flames were 17 points behind the Golden Knights for the final playoff spot last year and has a worse on-paper lineup heading into the 2024-25 season.
And while the Flames shouldn’t land in the basement of the Pacific Division, the Sharks, Ducks and Kraken should all be better to some degree this year. In particular, look for Seattle to leapfrog Calgary in the standings.
I also don’t believe there's a commitment to winning from the front office. The noted slew of talent dealt away reinforces it, and the Flames will likely be sellers again ahead of this year’s trade deadline.
Projected top-six wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Anthony Mantha, along with depth defenseman Tyson Barrie are all unrestricted free agents following the season. All three could easily be flipped for future assets.
Of course, the goaltending is the biggest concern. Markstrom went 105-78-25 across four seasons with the Flames, and I view the Wolf-Vladar tandem as a huge dropoff for Calgary.
Prediction: To miss the playoffs (-500 at BET99)
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Yegor Sharangovich goals prediction
Flames winger Yegor Sharangovich broke out to the tune of 31 goals in his first season with the organization, and the Calgary brass forked over a healthy five-year deal worth $28.75 million as a result.
Sharangovich is set to be a staple in the top-six mix and receive power-play time again this season, but I’m expecting statistical correction to last year’s 17.3 shooting percentage.
Additionally, three separate scoring streaks propelled him to the unrepeatable tally total, with 22 of his goals coming across just 20 games in which he combined for a 42.3 shooting percentage.
Sure, goal scorers are streaky, but Sharangovich only scored nine times with a 7.1 shooting percentage across his other 62 games last season. His 7.56 shots and 15.72 attempts per 60 minutes don’t position him as a high-volume shooter, either.
Prediction: Under 25.5 goals (-110 at BET99)
