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

[Lunatik]

When I see someone quote them and I decide to click to show the ignored comment out of morbid curiosity:

It's so difficult, right? And then that gif sums it up perfectly

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.

No, because I think #11 stays shelved for a few years after his retirement out of respect and to avoid comparisons. Kinda like how I don't expect #19 to be used for 2-3 more years.

 

[Figgy44]

It's so difficult, right? And then that gif sums it up perfectly


No, because I think #11 stays shelved for a few years after his retirement out of respect and to avoid comparisons. Kinda like how I don't expect #19 to be used for 2-3 more years.

So... was there no respect for #27 then?

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

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.

He won't be on the Kadri or Backlund line. That doesn't necessarily mean he is 3rd line he will just be playing with one of Sharangovich, Pospisil, or Zary at center. This will likely lead to more sheltered minutes if one of the young guys is in the middle, meaning he will primarily play against easier competition. (For comparison Lindholm and Backlund took all the hard match ups last year and Kadri's line got extremely sheltered, thus allowing them to wreck havoc offensively.

 

[Lunatik]

So... was there no respect for #27 then?

I mean as important as Czarnik, Leivo and Ritchie were to this franchise... no. If you mean Hamilton, also no, as he was only here 3 years.

An example of what I mean is #25 wasn't used for 3-4 years after Nieuwendyk. #2 was unused for 2-3 years after MacInnis and then was taken out of circulation after 2004 (I doubt it was because of Commodore). 4 wasn't used a couple seasons after Russell.... maybe it's all coincidental but it seems too common to be a coincidence to me.

 

[Rubi]

What do you think? To start the season...

 

[Lunatik]

What do you think? To start the season...

View attachment 911445

I really don't think Honzek makes the club, he has a lot of growing to do still and should be in the AHL and I think there is zero chance both Honzek and Coronato make the team, in fact I'd say the odds are better that neither make it.

 

[Rubi]

Does Conroy offer Tyson Barrie a contract? I think he does.

 

[Rubi]

I really don't think Honzek makes the club, he has a lot of growing to do still and should be in the AHL and I think there is zero chance both Honzek and Coronato make the team, in fact I'd say the odds are better that neither make it.

I think, based on his play this preseason, Honzek gets a 10 game tryout to start the season with the club.
Coronato will be on the opening day roster for sure.

 

[JPeeper]

No, because I think #11 stays shelved for a few years after his retirement out of respect and to avoid comparisons. Kinda like how I don't expect #19 to be used for 2-3 more years.

When Parekh makes the team he'll get 19, that's his Saginaw number. Wouldn't hate him keeping 89 though as it isn't a terrible number.

 

[Figgy44]

Tyler Boucher seems like an interesting player to target if needed. Drafted high in 2021, but hasn't been able to play much due to injuries. Ottawa may move on from him and the acquiring team would have a reclamation project on their hands. He's a RW.

Honestly speaking, some of his profile reminds me of Pospisil before he figured out how to toe the line and stay healthy. Training with Pospisil make also make a ton of sense based on what we've heard Honzek say about working with him.

 

[HighLifeMan]

Does Conroy offer Tyson Barrie a contract? I think he does.

View attachment 911454

I think it is all but guaranteed he get's a contract at this point with the way Huska has talked about him. I believe he even went as far as to call him an "elite" PP option or something along those lines..

Let's also not forget that Huska coached him for four years in Kelowna. There is clearly a relationship there which always effects coaching/roster decisions.

 

[Figgy44]

I think it is all but guaranteed he get's a contract at this point with the way Huska has talked about him. I believe he even went as far as to call him an "elite" PP option or something along those lines..

Let's also not forget that Huska coached him for four years in Kelowna. There is clearly a relationship there which always effects coaching/roster decisions.

If we do sign him, I'd also hope that we consider experimenting with him as a RW/3rd dman option to push the limits of certain playbooks.

In a potentially throw away season, I want to see experiments like this to attempt to figure out valid options for this team on 6 on 5 goalie pull scenarios with are also borderline PP type of situations. I'd retain all that tape and learning and it'd be directly applied to Parekh once he graduates to the NHL and possibly even Weegar/Andersson or whoever else has the PPQB IQ to attempt this.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Tyler Boucher seems like an interesting player to target if needed. Drafted high in 2021, but hasn't been able to play much due to injuries. Ottawa may move on from him and the acquiring team would have a reclamation project on their hands. He's a RW.

Honestly speaking, some of his profile reminds me of Pospisil before he figured out how to toe the line and stay healthy. Training with Pospisil make also make a ton of sense based on what we've heard Honzek say about working with him.

He was drafted high because Ottawa took a weird gamble. His pre-draft ranking was like 30+. Yes injuries have played a part but that pick never made sense in the first place, he just doesn't have that high of a ceiling.

 

[Figgy44]

I wonder how Kylington has been for the Avs so far...

 

[Lunatik]

I wonder how Kylington has been for the Avs so far...

this was from a few days ago

Oliver Kylington: One of the other blueliners battling Malinski for a roster spot is Oliver Kylington. And it hasn’t been the best camp or preseason for him thus far. In Sunday’s loss, Kylington’s struggles were highlighted by a bad turnover in the defensive zone in the second period. He had the puck to the left of Annunen and sent a pass right up the middle, which was intercepted and eventually led to a scoring chance for Utah.

Kylington arrived in Denver late because of visa issues and needed an extra day to break in new equipment before he joined the group on the ice. And that ultimately was the start of what’s been a tough week. Through two preseason games, Kylington has been inconsistent and hasn’t yet looked like the player he was in Calgary.

Luckily for him, there are still preseason games remaining and we’re still more than a week from opening night. Plenty of time to turn things around.

 

[Rubi]

My prediction for the full Flames roster and lines on opening night Oct 9. Out of all the fwds Pelletier is the least deserving to be there but he's no longer waivers exempt so it is what it is. A number of dmen don't deserve to be there but what other choice do we have?
Cooley is there but I expect he'll eventually be waived to the AHL sometime in October. I also expect Honzek to be sent down in October unless his play makes it impossible for Conroy to do so.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

My prediction for the full Flames roster and lines on opening night Oct 9. Out of all the fwds Pelletier is the least deserving to be there but he's no longer waivers exempt so it is what it is. A number of dmen don't deserve to be there but what other choice do we have?
Cooley is there but I expect he'll eventually be waived to the AHL sometime in October. I also expect Honzek to be sent down in October unless his play makes it impossible for Conroy to do so.

View attachment 912479

What defensemen don't deserve to be there? Weegar, Andersson, Miromanov, Bahl, and Pachal were clearly the best defensemen at camp. Bean was injured for a decent portion of it so I don't think it's at all fair to write him off with less practice time. You could make an argument for Brzustewics over Barrie but it would be absolutely moronic to run one of our top prospects (who isn't even 20 yet) as the 7th defenseman, playing 1-2 times a month with no special teams time, over 20 minutes a night on the first PP unit with the Wranglers.

It's actually wild how badly you want to rush prospects into the NHL. Our AHL team has a lot of youth on it now and should be one of the top teams in the league this year. Meanwhile our NHL team is most likely going to be one of the worst teams in the league this year. Keeping them in a winning environment where they can get much more minutes will be a lot better for their development.

 

[Rubi]

What defensemen don't deserve to be there? Weegar, Andersson, Miromanov, Bahl, and Pachal were clearly the best defensemen at camp. Bean was injured for a decent portion of it so I don't think it's at all fair to write him off with less practice time. You could make an argument for Brzustewics over Barrie but it would be absolutely moronic to run one of our top prospects (who isn't even 20 yet) as the 7th defenseman, playing 1-2 times a month with no special teams time, over 20 minutes a night on the first PP unit with the Wranglers.

Bad way of putting it. We have dmen playing in the top 4 that don't deserve to be there. In other words we have 3rd pairing d men playing where they don't belong. ie. Miro and Bahl.
However, its not like the Flames have other options.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Bad way of putting it. We have dmen playing in the top 4 that don't deserve to be there. In other words we have 3rd pairing d men playing where they don't belong. ie. Miro and Bahl.
However, its not like the Flames have other options.

There's a pretty good chance Andersson gets traded this season too so odds are that number of defensemen who aren't bonafide top 4 guys will increase

 

[EXTRAS]

Do you guys think duehr will get re-called?

 

[Lunatik]

Do you guys think duehr will get re-called?

Depends how he plays with the Wranglers and if we have injury issues on the Flames... so all signs point to maybe