As we cross over to 2026, the Calgary Flames rank 26th in the NHL based on points percentage. While they’ve been much better as of late, sitting 26th on January 1st means the team still has a lot of work to do to get into the playoffs.
So how have teams that rank 26th when the calendar flips to the new year fared at season’s end, and are the Flames fighting an uphill battle? Let’s break it down.
26th overall hasn’t been kind to teams
Not to be the bearer of bad news, but if history is any indication, the Flames will be in tough to make the playoffs by season’s end. Here’s how the last 10 teams that ranked 26th on New Year’s Day finished their seasons. All numbers are courtesy of NHL.com.
| Season | 26th place team (by points %) | NHL rank at season’s end | Playoffs? | Final Draft Spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Calgary Flames | ? | ? | |
| 2024–25 (32 teams) | Detroit Red Wings | 21st | Missed by 5 points | 13th |
| 2023–24 (32 teams) | Buffalo Sabres | 22nd | Missed by 7 points | 11th |
| 2022–23 (32 teams) | Montreal Canadiens | 28th | Missed by 24 points | 5th |
| 2021-22 (32 teams) | Chicago Blackhawks | 27th | Missed by 29 points | 7th |
| 2019–20 (31 teams) | Ottawa Senators | 30th* | Missed by 19 points | 5th |
| 2018–19 (31 teams) | St. Louis Blues | 12th | Won Stanley Cup | 31st |
| 2017-18 (31 teams) | Edmonton Oilers | 23rd | Missed by 17 points | 10th |
| 2016–17 (30 teams) | Vancouver Canucks | 29th | Missed by 25 points | 5th |
| 2015-16 (30 teams) | Winnipeg Jets | 25th | Missed by 9 points | 2nd (won lottery) |
| 2014-15 (30 teams) | Philadelphia Flyers | 24th | Missed by 14 points | 7th |
The playoffs don’t happen often
Well, if you’re Don Maloney and the Flames management group, you’re looking at the 2018–19 season as a reason to continue pushing the idea that the start of the season was a blip. That year, the St. Louis Blues entered 2019 as the 26th-ranked team in the NHL, only to end the year as Stanley Cup champions. The Blues ended up going 30–10–5 once the calendar flipped to the new year. Can the Flames do the same?
Outside of that, once in a lifetime Blues team, every other team that entered the new year in 26th failed to make the playoffs. Some got closer than others, but none of them were able to climb their way into a playoff spot.
A top-three draft spot is a distant dream
If we’re looking at worst-case scenarios, it’s continuing to play well, but narrowly missing the playoffs. AKA the Calgary Flames way and their current path in 2026. Funny enough, the closest near misses both happened in the past two seasons. Those examples were the 2024–25 Red Wings and the 2023–24 Sabres, who missed by five points and seven points, respectively.
So while both of those teams had strong results from January to April, both still ended up falling short of the playoffs, while also missing out on a top draft pick. The Red Wings ended up picking 13th, and the Sabres ended up with the 11th overall pick.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it’s much more common for the 26th-ranked team to remain where they are in the standings or sink even lower. Of the last 10 teams, seven of them ended up landing a top 10 pick in the draft.
The bad news for those hoping for a top-three pick is that none of the past 10 26th-ranked teams ended up picking in the top-four (without lottery luck). The highest non-lottery pick has been 5th overall, which the 2022–23 Canadiens, 2019–20 Senators, and 2016–17 Canucks all achieved.
Stuck in the middle
As is always the case in Calgary, the Flames once again seem stuck in the middle of the NHL standings. As history has shown, the 26th-place team on New Year’s Day rarely makes the playoffs, while also never picking in the top-four of the NHL draft without some lottery luck. Here’s hoping the Flames can buck that trend in 2026.