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

[JPeeper]

Huberdeau will go from a bottom 3 contract in the league to having a great contract because we need him to make the cap floor.

In 3 years the floor is $83.9, and we're currently at $71.6 and have like 1 guy who needs a big extension (Ras). We could throw $7 mil at Zary, throw $9 mil at Wolf and give Ras $9 and we'd be flirting with the floor still.

Contracts are going to get silly really really quickly here.

 

[Lunatik]

It’s not “just in case” a prospect works out. It’s called incentive. The spot goes to whichever of them wins it.

You honestly think the best we’d do for the same Razzy whose price tag will likely be an eight-figure AAV is a mid-1st at best? I’m not saying it wouldn’t be, but damn even Cory Schneider fetched 9th overall with only three (decent) seasons under his belt. Surely Raz could get us at least somewhere close to that.

Bruiser has less than 50 pro games and Parekh may not see a pro game until 26-27, Mews even longer. You can't make a trade to make a roster spot in 2-3 years, that's beyond stupid.

I think Ras would get a first++, but teams with high firsts won't be trading for him and if they do it'd be top 10 protected. So yes, I think there is zero chance he gets a high 1st. That Schneider trade was a long time ago and is no longer relevant and it was bad then too.

Every time a team has traded a top 10 pick in the last 5 years it's been a massive blunder, of the 5 top 10 picks traded in the last 5 drafts only 1 was traded knowing where the pick sat (DeBrincat), 2 ended up unprotected because the 1st year was protected (EK to SJ and Duchene from COL)... 1 was only top 2 protected (Seth Jones to CHI) and the other was made by a shitty GM and wasn't smart enough to protect the pick (OEL to Van)... as we saw in the Lindholm trade even that pick was top 10 protected, GMs have smartened up the last couple years when it comes to protecting picks.

 

[Darth Vladar]

Huberdeau will go from a bottom 3 contract in the league to having a great contract because we need him to make the cap floor.

In 3 years the floor is $83.9, and we're currently at $71.6 and have like 1 guy who needs a big extension (Ras). We could throw $7 mil at Zary, throw $9 mil at Wolf and give Ras $9 and we'd be flirting with the floor still.

Contracts are going to get silly really really quickly here.

Wolf
Zary
Coro
Bahl
Klapka
Frost

Kerins
Poirier
Kuznetsov

You’d have a little over $40M tied up in Huby, Naz, Farabee, Coleman, Rango, Weegar and Pachal. I didn’t include Pospy, because the jury’s still out on what type of value he has to the team, and I didn’t include Backs or Raz because we can’t be 100% sure they would be here in three years when the cap floor is $83.9M. The above list is pending RFA’s that I can still see factoring into the team’s future. Even if you were to allocate another $40M for them, you’d still have nine forwards, five dmen, and one goalie under contract, with only $4M or so more to hit the floor. It’s just one scenario, but it shouldn’t be as difficult (or as crazy) as you’ve made it sound.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Ya, money can go pretty quick.
Now let's go pick up a high paid 3rd-4th DMan for peanuts!

 

[Darth Vladar]

Bruiser has less than 50 pro games and Parekh may not see a pro game until 26-27, Mews even longer. You can't make a trade to make a roster spot in 2-3 years, that's beyond stupid.

I think Ras would get a first++, but teams with high firsts won't be trading for him and if they do it'd be top 10 protected. So yes, I think there is zero chance he gets a high 1st. That Schneider trade was a long time ago and is no longer relevant and it was bad then too.

Every time a team has traded a top 10 pick in the last 5 years it's been a massive blunder, of the 5 top 10 picks traded in the last 5 drafts only 1 was traded knowing where the pick sat (DeBrincat), 2 ended up unprotected because the 1st year was protected (EK to SJ and Duchene from COL)... 1 was only top 2 protected (Seth Jones to CHI) and the other was made by a shitty GM and wasn't smart enough to protect the pick (OEL to Van)... as we saw in the Lindholm trade even that pick was top 10 protected, GMs have smartened up the last couple years when it comes to protecting picks.

Not saying that either of our main prospects is the next Lane Hutson, but that kid literally made the jump straight from Uni with zero indication that he would be flirting with NHL history at this point in the season.

To set a single roster spot aside as incentive for whichever of our young guys is the most ready, willing, and able to make the jump when everybody is counting us out anyways is NOT stupid. It’s saying to these guys that the opportunity is there for whoever takes it.

Even if the 1st Razzy were to get for us wasn’t itself a high one, perhaps it could be bundled up with either or both of the other two to move up if there was a kid we were really high on.

 

[Lunatik]

Ya, money can go pretty quick.
Now let's go pick up a high paid 3rd-4th DMan for peanuts!

Can it include firing Miro into the sun?

But Seriously, I'd love to see if we could pry Romanov out of Long Island, as he's an age appropriate defenseman that would fit with Weegar like a glove. Or Lindgren out of Manhattan if we're allowed to negotiate an extension as part of the trade.

 

[Darth Vladar]

It'd be a mid-1st at best....

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but that conditional 2023 1st the Canucks got in the Horvat deal that they ultimately flipped to get Hronek ended up being 17th overall. I think being conditional rather than protected meant the Isles could have deferred the pick to the following year’s draft if they so chose to.

Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but if you knew that the 1st you were trading Hronek for would end up being 17th, would you still do that deal? For the record, the Wings did get a fairly promising offensive RHD (Axel Sandin-Pellikka) with the pick.

​

 

[Yepthatsme]

Not trying to make any more excuses for Poi, but his development WAS set back a bit by that injury. I just think my boi needs his fair shake, and I don’t think he’s had it yet. With his RFA looming, you’d have to imagine that he’ll find his way into the Flames lineup at some point before the regular season is over.

Poirier is 1 of 2 defenseman on one of the top teams in the league who is a minus, the other is freshly 20 year old AHL rookie. He is still a liability who tries to make up for it which his offense, and that’s at the AHL level. The amount he’d be exposed in the NHL would be dastardly. I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again, but that man isn’t sniffing the NHL this year and any brief stint on the Flames he may get will be snuffed out by getting leap frogged by better talent younger than him.

I think he gets to 100-200 games in a Gustaffson role, but I also think he plays for 3-4 NHL teams on his way there, and not by trades.

 

[Darth Vladar]

Poirier is 1 of 2 defenseman on one of the top teams in the league who is a minus, the other is freshly 20 year old AHL rookie. He is still a liability who tries to make up for it which his offense, and that’s at the AHL level. The amount he’d be exposed in the NHL would be dastardly. I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again, but that man isn’t sniffing the NHL this year and any brief stint on the Flames he may get will be snuffed out by getting leap frogged by better talent younger than him.

I think he gets to 100-200 games in a Gustaffson role, but I also think he plays for 3-4 NHL teams on his way there, and not by trades.

Well he’s a RFA at the end of the season, so the only way I can’t see him getting a few games in March to make a case for himself is if the Flames are still fighting tooth-and-nail for a WC spot.

Not to say I don’t think Kuznetsov couldn’t slot into the lineup and thrive, but offense is clearly the #1 area where the Flames are lacking (and would take a big hit if Conny were to deal Raz) and Poi is easily the most talented and most ready of all our offensive minded dmen imho, all defensive shortcomings aside.

 

[Lunatik]

Well he’s a RFA at the end of the season, so the only way I can’t see him getting a few games in March to make a case for himself is if the Flames are still fighting tooth-and-nail for a WC spot.

Not to say I don’t think Kuznetsov couldn’t slot into the lineup and thrive, but offense is clearly the #1 area where the Flames are lacking (and would take a big hit if Conny were to deal Raz) and Poi is easily the most talented and most ready of all our offensive minded dmen imho, all defensive shortcomings aside.

I don't think we are actually lacking the offense from the blueline, Because of the losses on the blueline and replacing them with an inexperienced Bahl and one of Miro/Hanley, Huska has had the guys (Ras and Weegs) reign it in when it comes to pinching.

I think if we ended up with ar top 4 defenseman to play with Weegar, the team would open up a bit more defensively.

 

[Darth Vladar]

I don't think we are actually lacking the offense from the blueline, Because of the losses on the blueline and replacing them with an inexperienced Bahl and one of Miro/Hanley, Huska has had the guys (Ras and Weegs) reign it in when it comes to pinching.

I think if we ended up with ar top 4 defenseman to play with Weegar, the team would open up a bit more defensively.

Gone from last year’s top-four are Hanny and Tanev, and this year we have Bahl and either Hanley or Bean. I think Conny was hoping Miro would pan out to be a sort of Hanny-lite, which he did show flashes of early on. In any case, it’s interesting to note that while Weegar and Ras’ numbers are down from last season, Bahl is on pace for career highs offensively.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Well he’s a RFA at the end of the season, so the only way I can’t see him getting a few games in March to make a case for himself is if the Flames are still fighting tooth-and-nail for a WC spot.

Not to say I don’t think Kuznetsov couldn’t slot into the lineup and thrive, but offense is clearly the #1 area where the Flames are lacking (and would take a big hit if Conny were to deal Raz) and Poi is easily the most talented and most ready of all our offensive minded dmen imho, all defensive shortcomings aside.

Poirier’s offense would be extremely limited entering the lineup now, he wouldn’t displace either of Weegar or Andersson on the powerplays, and his presence with either of them would hinder his partner's potential with how much covering they’d have to do. That leaves third pairing roles, which are not exactly noted for offensive opportunity although Pachal would love a puckmover.

Mostly boils down to that I don’t think he can provide enough offense to offset his deficiencies on the bottom pair, and he would neuter either of Weegar or Andersson’s offensive upside being paired with them.

No pairing has two offensive orientated risk taking style defenseman that are successful, so his top 4 spot is gone with Weegar and Andersson here and is about to be poached by the presence of Parekh when an opportunity does arise.

He is unavoidably stuck by the fact we have better offensive defenseman now and we have better offensive defenseman in the future.