It’s hard to believe Craig Conroy stepped into the Calgary Flames GM role less than 18 months ago. The Flames roster was in need of a big shakeup when he became GM and he didn’t waste any time. The likes of Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin were jettisoned within his first year on the job and the roster already looked much different when we looked at the Flames in April.
Conroy was in a tough spot when he first sat in the Flames GM chair. With a pile of pending UFAs forcing his hand in his first year on the job, it wasn’t a surprise to see many of them moved. As we noted in April though, year two was perhaps where we would really find out where Conroy was steering the Flames.
Liquidation Continues
We didn’t have to wait long for the Flames first big move of the summer. The Flames and Devils picked up trade talks that started at the trade deadline and Jacob Markstrom was sent to New Jersey while the Stanley Cup Final was raging on. In return, the Devils sent Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first round pick to the Flames adding another high pick to the Flames futures account.
The move also opened the door for the Flames youth movement to expand into the crease. Dustin Wolf was drafted 214th overall by the Flames in 2019 and he’s conquered the AHL over the past 3 seasons, putting up save percentages of 0.924, 0.932, and 0.922. He got a sizable taste of NHL action last year, appearing in 17 games for the big club, and he seemed to adjust to the NHL as the season went on. Wolf could be a big part of the Flames future, although seeing him in a bigger role next season would help confirm it. The Flames seem to want to see more before they commit long term, as they signed Wolf to a bridge deal this summer.
The roster selloff continued on draft weekend in a deal with the Washington Capitals. The Flames acquired a 2025 2nd round pick in exchange for Andrew Mangiapane, who is entering the final year on his contract. By continuing to turn players in their late prime near the end of their contracts into draft capital, the Flames have built up an impressive stack of picks for the next three drafts. With five first round picks included, it may be the best collection of picks in the league.
Youth Movement
While the Mangiapane trade happened on draft weekend, it was perhaps not the biggest story of the draft for the Flames. The Flames drafted a collection of players that was widely praised by prospect analysts. The group, headlined by Zayne Parekh, will take a few years to percolate before they start to impact the NHL roster in a meaningful way but it was a big step in starting to replenish the Flames prospect pool. When we looked at the Flames in April, Hockey Prospecting had the Flames prospect pool ranked 24th in the NHL. After the 2024 draft, it’s risen to 11th.
While the 2024 draft class needs time to develop before it impacts the NHL roster, the Flames liquidation of established veterans opened plenty of opportunity for their prospects to earn looks at the NHL level last season. That trend looks like it will continue in the 2024-2025 season with the Flames sophomore players leading the way.
2020 24th overall pick Connor Zary was a standout in his rookie season, producing very well relative to other forwards drafted late in the first round. Last season’s number were good enough to put him in the Support Tier and he’ll be a good piece for the Flames to build around if he can maintain that level going forward. He’ll certainly get an opportunity to play a significant role this season and we’ll see if he can maintain the momentum from his rookie campaign.
2018 fourth round pick Martin Pospisil quickly became a fan favorite in his rookie season with his energetic play. He wasn’t all crash and bang though, as he put up points at a rate that was good enough to make him one of the most productive 4th round picks in his D+6 season. A couple of years older than Zary, his value for the Flames could be quite different however. With a development cohort coming together around their younger prospects and the next few drafts, Pospisil doesn’t fit as well in that cohort from an age perspective. He may be a useful player to help fill out the NHL roster as the new core fills out, but the Flames should also consider using him as trade bait at a point they think his value is highest to help further boost their development cohort.
Looking Ahead
After the roster liquidation that’s taken place in Calgary over the past 18 months, it’s no surprise that the Flames are expected to struggle in the 2024-2025 season. They sit near the 25th percentile for projected point percentage in the model, giving them a good shot at landing a top 10 pick in the 2025 draft. That would be a best case scenario given the trade conditions left as a legacy gift by former GM Brad Treliving.
The roster liquidation has also cleared a lot of cap space. Even with Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar signed to big deals, the Flames have over 20% of their cap space still available for the upcoming season.
The liquidation may not be complete yet either. The Flames were selective in free agency this summer, signing a few contracts that will help fill out their NHL roster this season, like Ryan Lomberg and Jake Bean, without making long term commitments or pushing them too far up the standings. Despite the fact that they still haven’t publicly announced a rebuild, it’s clear they’re content with making a few high end picks in the next couple of drafts.
And they still have a few players in their late prime in the late stages of their contracts that could be moved to continue to stock their prospect pipeline. Andrei Kuzmenko is a 2025 UFA that the Flames will have plenty of opportunity to showcase in a prominent role this season. Rasmus Andersson has two years left on his deal and could be coveted by contenders at the trade deadline.
Actions speak louder than words. The Flames might not want to use the ‘R’ word, but they are absolutely in a rebuild. Patience will be required but, so far, the long term outlook has plenty of potential.
