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5 years ago, one of our writers created a ranking system for NHL teams based on their success. For the link to the article from 5 years ago, click here.
Now, I wanted to look at that and update the standings based on how the last 5 years have gone.
*Spoiler Alert: Not good for the Flames
Gone is the trip to the '04 Cup Final, gone is the Oilers trip to the Cup Final. The last season recorded is the 2006-07 season where Anaheim won the Stanley Cup against Ottawa.
Since that article, I changed the points system somewhat to reflect the overall success of the teams, as well because it just wouldn't be fair after the dominance of the Kings and Blackhawks for the last 5 years or so.
The new points system was weighted as so:
- 60 Points for a Stanley Cup Final Win
- 30 Points for a Stanley Cup Final Loss
- 20 Points for a Playoff Berth
- 10 Points for a pre-2013-14 division win*
- 15 Points for a post-2013-14 division win*
- 10 Points per Playoff Series Won
*The Divisional point value changed after the realignment increased division sizes making them harder to win
Here's the answer to a few questions you may be having:
1) Why ten years ago?
Ten years picks up half of the time from the past article with the other half coming from the last five years, new for this article. Really this is more of a evaluation on how the last 5 years have gone more than anything.
2) Why now before the Stanley Cup Final is done?
With the Stanley Cup Final matchup already known and accounted for, the winner will be changed after the fact by adding 40 points to their score (30 for Cup, 10 for series win). The graph will be updated when a winner is known. Also because the Final could go until June 15 if a Game 7 is needed. By then, we'll be talking about a new Flames coach (hopefully) and the NHL Draft (definitely).
3) Do the Flames suck?
Well compared to 5 years ago, the drop in rankings to near the bottom 20% would indicate they have struggled in the last 5 years. Granted though that 5 years ago was right before the Flames really began to fall off a cliff and begin their rebuild. This article was more poorly timed around the Flames than anything, but that's the way things go.
But hey, at least we aren't Edmonton Oilers bad!
4) Where are the Flames headed five years into the future?
Hopefully up, things seem to all be trending in the right direction despite this past year's disappointment. Hopefully we see them to near the top or middle of the list five years down the road.
Here's the Ranking of All Teams for the Past 10 Years:
Category 1: Cup Finals and Appearances, Category 2: Playoff Berths and Divisional Wins, Category 3: Playoff Series Wins
| Total Points | ||||||||
| Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | Total | Movement in 5 yrs | ||||
| 1 | CHI | 180 | 180 | 160 | 520 | ↑11 | ||
| 2 | PIT | 120 | 235 | 140 | 495 | ↑1 | ||
| 3 | DET | 90 | 240 | 120 | 450 | ↓2 | ||
| 4 | BOS | 90 | 185 | 100 | 375 | ↑10 | ||
| 5 | ANA | 60 | 225 | 80 | 365 | ↓1 | ||
| 6 | SJ | 30 | 220 | 100 | 350 | ↑3 | ||
| 7 | LA | 120 | 120 | 100 | 340 | ↑18 | ||
| 8 | NYR | 30 | 205 | 100 | 335 | ↑13 | ||
| 9 | VAN | 30 | 200 | 60 | 290 | ↑2 | ||
| 10 | WSH | 0 | 225 | 50 | 275 | ↑6 | ||
| 11 | PHI | 30 | 150 | 70 | 250 | ↓5 | ||
| 12 | MTL | 0 | 175 | 60 | 235 | ↑1 | ||
| 13 | NJ | 30 | 130 | 40 | 200 | ↓11 | ||
| 14 | TB | 30 | 100 | 70 | 200 | ↓4 | ||
| 15 | OTT | 30 | 120 | 40 | 190 | ↓8 | ||
| 16 | STL | 0 | 145 | 30 | 175 | ↑3 | ||
| 17 | NSH | 0 | 140 | 30 | 170 | ↑1 | ||
| 18 | MIN | 0 | 130 | 20 | 150 | ↑9 | ||
| 19 | DAL | 0 | 95 | 30 | 125 | ↓2 | ||
| 20 | BUF | 0 | 80 | 20 | 100 | ↔ 0 | ||
| 21 | ARI | 0 | 70 | 20 | 90 | ↑5 | ||
| 22 | NYI | 0 | 80 | 10 | 90 | ↑2 | ||
| 23 | COLO | 0 | 75 | 10 | 85 | ↓18 | ||
| 24 | CGY | 0 | 60 | 10 | 70 | ↓9 | ||
| 25 | FLA | 0 | 65 | 0 | 65 | ↑5 | ||
| 26 | WPG | 0 | 50 | 0 | 50 | ↑2 | ||
| 27 | CAR | 0 | 20 | 20 | 40 | ↓19 | ||
| 28 | CLB | 0 | 40 | 0 | 40 | ↑1 | ||
| 29 | TOR | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20 | ↓6 | ||
| 30 | EDM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ↓8 | ||
Honestly though, if you're ever down in the dumps about the Flames, come back to this article and feel good that you're not an Oilers fan. Or a Leafs fan for that matter.
Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit are really in a league of their own, evidenced by the fact that those teams have made the playoffs all since at least 08-09 and that they have 5 of the last 10 Stanley Cups. If Pittsburgh wins the Cup this year, they take over 1st on this table, while if the Sharks win the Cup, they'll jump up to 4th position ahead of Boston.
The biggest risers on this list were the Kings, Rangers, and Blackhawks. This can be explained by the fact that they were all rebuilding over 5 years ago after struggling near the bottom of the league and have enjoyed success since then. The Blackhawks did have their one Cup already but prior to that were pretty terrible. Definite proof that rebuilds pay off in the long run (looking at you Vancouver Canucks! Haha just kidding keep trading away your good prospects.).
The biggest fallers included the Hurricanes, Avalanche, Devils, and even the Flames fell 9 spots. All of these teams had their best years cut off this time around and have struggled recently. At least the Flames and Avs are starting to head in the right direction again with playoff berths in recent years.
To recap, it could be worse Flames fans, we could be the Oilers!