Speculation: Armchair GM 2024-25 Season, Craig Conroy's Can Do Calgary Flames

[Anglesmith]

Aside from the obvious players who were fun to watch last year, it's easy to forget that right before Nashville started their insane run, the Flames were nipping at their heels and were really in the race. So that's more than half a season of watching with a chance of playoffs. It's not great, but again... perspective. There are teams who know they're out by the end of November for over half a decade consecutively, and we've never really been treated to that. It's easy to say "being in the bottom 3 would be fun" but until we experience that I'm not entirely sure how true that would be. I think a great deal of us would watch a whole lot less hockey, and that's like putting a hobby on pause for a year or several.

Our "awful" is just that we aren't a dominant team very often (it's been two whole seasons now) and haven't made the Conference Finals in two decades.

 

[MM917]

2 completely contradictory statements.


????????? You have to be a troll, that or you are lying and didn't watch a single game last year. The only player that was unlikable was Kadri for the first 9 games of the season. The team didn't win a whole lot but there were absolutely a lot of things enjoyable about last season. Zary and Pospisil were very exciting, same with Wolf when he was called up. Add in Weegar scoring 20 goals, Coleman and Sharangovich each getting 30, and Kuzmenko coming in half way though and reigniting our powerplay. It's your own fault if you can't find enjoyment in the little things.

Sharangovich and Kuzmenko are crap. Pospil is a terrible player and a dirty coward, how is that likable? Weegar is good he is the bright spot I agree there. Zary is ok not really anything to get excited about.

Its because I am not a delusional fool and actually honest that I don't overrate garbage.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Being really desperate for attention on a hockey forum is one way to spend your time I guess.

Pelts again with Backlund and Coleman tonight. Having a hard time seeing how the Flames can get both him and Coronato on the opening night roster, unless Lomberg is fine sitting in the press box for a bit.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Nope that isn't true, If you lose every game of the season that is bad there isn't some positive you have to shoe horn in there. That is totally false. Facts are what they are no positive or negative.

See here you go again struggling with the word fact! I’ll try my best here to really slow it down for you, I’ll take a different approach by explaining subjective vs. objective.

If something is objective it’s rooted in data and/or measurable outcomes, meaning it is fact based. Words like “good” or “bad” are subjective, meaning one’s point of view dictates their opinion on it meaning they wouldn’t be facts. For example, I think it’s sad that you have to resort to getting your kicks by going online and trying to rile up strangers. But from your point of view it seems to make you happy, showing it’s subjective and not a fact.

I really hope this helps, English is a tough language to learn.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Shame the Flames are so stuck on Rooney. Waiving him or hell, even just making him the 13th forward would solve the forward issues.

Wonder if Conroy regrets some of his UFA signings. There was no real need for a Mantha or Bean given the depth. It's not great asset management to block a prospects development for a year just to maybe get a mid round pick at the deadline. And he could have always just acquired a LTIR contract to reach the floor if needed.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Shame the Flames are so stuck on Rooney. Waiving him or hell, even just making him the 13th forward would solve the forward issues.

Wonder if Conroy regrets some of his UFA signings. There was no real need for a Mantha or Bean given the depth. It's not great asset management to block a prospects development for a year just to maybe get a mid round pick at the deadline. And he could have always just acquired a LTIR contract to reach the floor if needed.

No chance they have any regret signing Rooney. He's reliable defensively and can absolutely be sent down or benched if need be. Mantha was brought in in an attempt to surround Huberdeau with more support. If Mantha loses a top 9 job to like Coronato that's completely on him, he was free to sign and someone will definitely take him if and when he's made available. Bean replaced Kylington, if we didn't sign Bean we would have signed Shilly so I wouldn't think about that one too much.

IMO it's good to have this competition at camp. The only player that is maybe truly being blocked right now is Coronato but he will get his looks this year for sure. Players get injured and Kuzmenko will likely be traded at some point too. If Coronato starts in the AHL this year and lights the league up we won't consider blocking him again

 

[Volica]

Being really desperate for attention on a hockey forum is one way to spend your time I guess.

Pelts again with Backlund and Coleman tonight. Having a hard time seeing how the Flames can get both him and Coronato on the opening night roster, unless Lomberg is fine sitting in the press box for a bit.

How poster thinks his points are coming across:

How poster's points are coming across:

 

[SaintMorose]

Shame the Flames are so stuck on Rooney. Waiving him or hell, even just making him the 13th forward would solve the forward issues.

Wonder if Conroy regrets some of his UFA signings. There was no real need for a Mantha or Bean given the depth. It's not great asset management to block a prospects development for a year just to maybe get a mid round pick at the deadline. And he could have always just acquired a LTIR contract to reach the floor if needed.

I don't think they are too stuck on Rooney, 55 games for the Wranglers + 50 for the Flames + ~40 games lost to injury across 2 seasons (leaving more than a dozen where he's just sat out) means they are fine with sitting him and fine with playing him in the AHL. I think he's a prime candidate to be a 13th or 14th forward and competing with Hunt/Duehr for that spot.

Injuries happen and there are options like sitting Mantha or starting trade negotiations in October if Coronato is now clearly the better player over him or Kuzmenko. While he's probably the odd-man-out game 1 for contract reasons, I don't think Coronato is waiting until December to play for the Flames.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Shame the Flames are so stuck on Rooney. Waiving him or hell, even just making him the 13th forward would solve the forward issues.

Wonder if Conroy regrets some of his UFA signings. There was no real need for a Mantha or Bean given the depth. It's not great asset management to block a prospects development for a year just to maybe get a mid round pick at the deadline. And he could have always just acquired a LTIR contract to reach the floor if needed.

Don’t think asset management is the point you’re trying to make. If you meant developmental reasons maybe it’s not ideal to not have the perfect spot open and waiting for prospects, but none of our guys have quite terrorized the league under them to show they absolutely require the bigger role yet.

Asset management though it makes perfect sense, it cost us no assets to get more while also providing a more offensive environment to raise values. Conroy has already come out and stated he’s going for the Dallas approach to being competitive again. So not exactly ever bottoming out, but swinging for the fences on every pick to try and accumulate difference makers across the draft. His current strategy seems to be maximizing his chances by just collecting picks in the first 3 rounds en masse. We had 6 this previous draft, and before any additional trades we have 5 already in the next 2. If Mantha helps us recoup a 2nd or a 3rd, Conroy probably views it as a win.

Although I think a lot of posters haven’t been following or have been ignoring a lot of what Conroy has been outright stating to the media/fans. He said he loves our group of veterans, and has spoke about other poor teams made the mistake of getting rid of them and are desperately trying to collect them now. He stated the current plan is for Andersson to retire a flame as well. Most notably , he outlined the path for Kuzmenko staying with the team long term and it was a pretty simple one. Keep our powerplay from being atrocious like he did last season, and be fair in contract negotiations. Don’t think we are purging as many players as people hope for around here.

 

[Zalos]

What's the consensus among Flames fans on what line Huberdeau will play on this year? Daily Faceoffs shows him on the third line and I am very confused by that.

 

[HighLifeMan]

Yeah, I have never gotten the Kevin Rooney appeal.

Outside of skating well and working his tail off, he's a complete liability. He's never had a positive xG% during his career. He has one season out of six where he managed to finish with a positive goal differential. He's routinely pinned in his own zone and bleeds chances against. He provides little to no offense. He has zero creativity. He's not very physical. He doesn't win faceoffs.

He may not directly be in a competition with a guy like Pelletier but he's likely taking a roster spot regardless. I'll be upset if he's on the team and Pelts is waived. This is the best league on the planet and this guy has routinely shown he is not a positive contributor. He's clearly a guy that teammates and coaches like, but to me that simply isn't good enough.

 

[Some Other Flame]

It's bad asset management plain and simple to lose a Solovyov or Pelletier to waivers just to keep a Rooney/Hunt/Hanley/Barrie on the roster. The latter are finished products with minimal to zero trade value. The former are still young with potential to either help the franchise directly or indirectly.

Big picture: potentially throwing away a Solovyov/Pelletier just to maybe trade Barrie/Mantha for a 5th/3rd rounder so you can maybe draft another Solovyov/Pelletier is hella dumb.

And I would say that in addition to Wolf, both Coronato and Pelletier have shown that they're too good for the AHL. They might not be entirely comfortable in the NHL yet but they're not gonna figure that out by stagnating in the AHL.

Also something to consider is that it's a contract year for Coronato and whether he spends the entire year in the NHL vs splitting it between leagues could likely have a significant impact on his next contract. And if after a really good pre-season he's sent down anyway, well, that's the kind of thing people tend to remember in future negotiations.

 

[Lunatik]

What's the consensus among Flames fans on what line Huberdeau will play on this year? Daily Faceoffs shows him on the third line and I am very confused by that.

Daily Faceoff is someone's opinion of ranking of the lines, it's not some official ranking. I wouldn't think too hard about it

Huby looks like he'll be playing with Mantha, and maybe Pospisil.

 

[Rubi]

What's the consensus among Flames fans on what line Huberdeau will play on this year? Daily Faceoffs shows him on the third line and I am very confused by that.

Unlike most other teams Calgary really doesn't have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd line. They are all interchangeable.
The coach wants to try out Huberdeau with Pospisil at center and Mantha at RW for the start of the season. He's hoping to recreate the Huberdeau-Sam Bennett-Duclair chemistry in Florida.

 

[Lunatik]

Unlike most other teams Calgary really doesn't have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd line. They are all interchangeable.
The coach wants to try out Huberdeau with Pospisil at center and Mantha at RW for the start of the season. He's hoping to recreate the Huberdeau-Sam Bennett-Duclair chemistry in Florida.

Just adding, Sharangovich centered him last game and is again tonight

 

[Rubi]

Just adding, Sharangovich centered him last game and is again tonight

Likely because Pospisil has a lower body injury that has prevented him from practicing and playing games since the Canuck game on Wednesday.

 

[DomBarr]

What's the consensus among Flames fans on what line Huberdeau will play on this year? Daily Faceoffs shows him on the third line and I am very confused by that.

If it clears it up compared to playoff teams Calgary has 3 really good 3rd lines and no first line.

 

[Figgy44]

Being really desperate for attention on a hockey forum is one way to spend your time I guess.

Pelts again with Backlund and Coleman tonight. Having a hard time seeing how the Flames can get both him and Coronato on the opening night roster, unless Lomberg is fine sitting in the press box for a bit.

If both Pelts and Krebs struggle, I wonder if it's worth looking into a swap for both guys. Buffalo needs responsible wingers and has the players with size to insulate Pelts. Flames have the wingers and need some extra C prospects, even if he might project to be bottom 6. The slight bump up in size is a bonus too.

 

[Figgy44]

Aside from the obvious players who were fun to watch last year, it's easy to forget that right before Nashville started their insane run, the Flames were nipping at their heels and were really in the race. So that's more than half a season of watching with a chance of playoffs. It's not great, but again... perspective. There are teams who know they're out by the end of November for over half a decade consecutively, and we've never really been treated to that. It's easy to say "being in the bottom 3 would be fun" but until we experience that I'm not entirely sure how true that would be. I think a great deal of us would watch a whole lot less hockey, and that's like putting a hobby on pause for a year or several.

Our "awful" is just that we aren't a dominant team very often (it's been two whole seasons now) and haven't made the Conference Finals in two decades.

The only way I'd be happy drafting top 3 is if we have some awful injury luck or puck luck and we end up winning a lottery ball. I would not be happy if the team mails it in. A little like how Colorado yo yo'd a little or how (sigh, eww) the Oilers were supposed to be playoff bound in 2014-2015 and shat the bed to land CMD.

We'd get an exciting piece, but if the cost is having to replace the remainder of the core or a rotten core, is it worth it? IMO no.

Sharangovich and Kuzmenko are crap. Pospil is a terrible player and a dirty coward, how is that likable? Weegar is good he is the bright spot I agree there. Zary is ok not really anything to get excited about.

Its because I am not a delusional fool and actually honest that I don't overrate garbage.

Are you sure you're a fan of the right team? You occasionally sound like someone who bought a budget brand appliance/utensil and you're mad it's not performing as well or as durable as a name brand appliance/utensil. I'm not saying you're overrating garbage, but you're acting like something we have should perform as well or outperform something of a higher calibre. Those 3 players you're mentioning are performing at around the same calibre as what one would expect of a late first or second rounder and we spent less than that in assets to acquire them new or used. It's great value even if the calibre is considered lower. These aren't assets we spent top 10 picks for.

Yes, I've met a bunch of people like this and I do not understand their logic. Some utensil for a third of the price at Dollarama isn't going to to typically outperform a name brand Kitchenaid or Hamilton Beach or whatever item, and that's not going into the fact it looks less polished and cheaper than those brands in comparison.

 

[Bounces R Way]

If both Pelts and Krebs struggle, I wonder if it's worth looking into a swap for both guys. Buffalo needs responsible wingers and has the players with size to insulate Pelts. Flames have the wingers and need some extra C prospects, even if he might project to be bottom 6. The slight bump up in size is a bonus too.

Wouldn't hate it. Always had the feeling Krebs is going to wind up here anyway at some point. Not sure if Buffalo would be interested, they have a ton of smallish wingers in their prospect pool.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

How does Huberdeau look in pre-season?

 

[herashak]

How does Huberdeau look in pre-season?

Like he’s gonna need the PP to get points

 

[Bounces R Way]

How does Huberdeau look in pre-season?

kinda like this

(he looks more or less the same)

 

[JPeeper]

How poster thinks his points are coming across:
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How poster's points are coming across:
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When I see someone quote them and I decide to click to show the ignored comment out of morbid curiosity:

 

[Figgy44]

Anyone else keep thinking that Huberdeau will go into the stratosphere once he gets his old jersey number back? I'm not saying Backs should give it to him, but I can't help wonder if it's some dumb thing that shouldn't affect anything, but will be an inexplicable coincidence once addressed directly.