Four years ago, the Montreal Canadiens were the worst team in the NHL. Today, they are one of the final four teams standing as the league's conference finals are set to kick off. It is a remarkable turnaround, made even more impressive by the fact that the Habs appear well-positioned for a period of sustained success.
If you are a Calgary Flames fan, it is tempting to look across the country at the Canadiens and wonder what lessons can be learned. Could the Flames go from the bottom of the league standings to the hallowed ground of being a true contender in just four years? Let us take a look at how Montreal did it and how the Flames might put themselves on the same path.
1. Drafting
A few years ago, we used to talk about the Dallas model of rebuilding or retooling a lot around Calgary. The Montreal model is a bit different, although it still relies on one thing: The NHL draft is absolutely critical, and hitting on your picks makes all the difference. That is obvious, but just saying "do a really good job drafting" oversimplifies an incredibly challenging process where you are trying to outsmart a bunch of teams with the exact same goals.
Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Jacob Fowler are all players drafted in the last couple of years. Slafkovsky was the first overall pick in 2022, and Demidov was taken fifth overall in 2024, so there is no overstating how important high draft picks are. However, Hutson was picked 62nd overall in 2022 and has emerged as one of the NHL's best young blueliners. Going back a little further, Cole Caufield being taken 15th overall in 2019 represents another great bit of work by Habs management.
There is no question the Flames understand the value of the draft. They have done a nice job adding young players over the past few Junes, and they have two first-rounders and four more in the second round this year. They have to hit on their picks, and a little luck can go a long way, but Montreal's rapid rebuild has been sped up in no small part by what they have done in the draft. If there has been a connective tissue between the Flames' draft picks, it has been an emphasis on high-ceiling talent. That is something the Flames seem to have done recently, too, with picks like Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin, Cole Reschny, and Cullen Potter all carrying high upsides.
2. Trades
This dates back well before 2022, but the Canadiens have made some really smart trades over the past decade, with the most obvious move being acquiring Nick Suzuki from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Max Pacioretty. That was a sensational deal, but the Habs have also acquired the likes of Josh Anderson, Mike Matheson, Noah Dobson, Alex Newhook, and others through trades. Combined with their drafting, it has been those moves, not free agency, that have propelled them to where they are today.
The Flames can look to emulate this approach by targeting key acquisitions through trades rather than relying heavily on free agency. Building through the draft and shrewd trades has proven to be a sustainable path to contention, as the Canadiens have demonstrated. With a strong draft capital and a focus on high-upside players, Calgary has the foundation to follow a similar trajectory.
