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

[Tkachuk Norris]

I say trade Rasmus now. And Kadri. Keep Weegar because he can play either side.

Ras should get us something juicy (Ritchie or Helenius for example). The playoffs should be looked at as a bonus, not a mandate. This roster still isn’t good enough to compete and abandoning a rebuild this early just puts us back into perpetual mediocrity.

 

[Darth Vladar]

If you’re trading Ras you do it now not as a UFA. What’s another late first and a meh prospect going to do if you move him next deadline

Again fine with keeping him. The odds that all 3 of Parekh/Bru/Mews become impact NHLers is slim to none. Weegar prefers playing the left anyway but is elite on both sides, you need NHL defenders on the roster with where the team is at now

Look at the d-core today and tell yourself that all of Parekh/Bru/Mews are at least two years away and you’re going to need vets to shelter them when they arrive

You can’t always guarantee that the deal will be there even if you do make the guy available. Maybe there’s interest, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be something that makes sense for the team. You don’t just make the deal for the sake of making it. You never know what a desperate team might be willing to pay, but the market will ultimately dictate if and when you move him.

The main reason I want to deal Raz is to secure another 1st in the ‘26 draft (which would give us two deadlines to take a crack at moving him) that we could use to improve in other areas, but our D is so thin after he, Weegar, Bahl, and Pachal that I almost wouldn’t want to deal Raz now until they gut and rebuild the entire corps, even though the one year left on his deal could add value in a trade. In any case, it seems like Conny isn’t too keen on the idea of moving him anyway, but if we do intend to keep him then fire everybody into the sun now except those four I mentioned and build from there.

 

[Rubi]

With Andersson, Kadri, and Weegar off the market, I gotta think Conroy has now run out of good chips that will result in an impactful trade.
So who have we got left?

• Huberdeau? Chances are slim to none with that contract.
• Coleman? Great workhorse but realistically worth maybe a 3rd rnd pick?
• Backlund? Great guy but nobody is going to overpay to get him
• Vladar? Will be lucky to get a 5th rnd pick for him
• Rooney? A dime a dozen player
• Barrie? Worthless on the trade market

Hello mediocrity. I've missed you over these past few months.
Maybe I should change my avatar back to the burning plane crash? Sigh. These past few months I've had such high hopes. I shoulda known better. Never change Flames... never change. Squeeking into the playoffs with a first round exit will always trump a top 5 draft pick.

 

[Darth Vladar]

With Andersson, Kadri, and Weegar off the market, I gotta think Conroy has now run out of good chips that will result in an impactful trade.
So who have we got left?

• Huberdeau? Chances are slim to none with that contract.
• Coleman? Great workhorse but realistically worth maybe a 3rd rnd pick?
• Backlund? Great guy but nobody is going to overpay to get him
• Vladar? Will be lucky to get a 5th rnd pick for him
• Rooney? A dime a dozen player
• Barrie? Worthless on the trade market

Hello mediocrity. I've missed you over these past few months.
Maybe I should change my avatar back to the burning plane crash? Sigh. These past few months I've had such high hopes. I shoulda known better. Never change Flames... never change. Squeeking into the playoffs with a first round exit will always trump a top 5 draft pick.

 

[Sparky93]

The teams over achieving, mostly off the back of Wolf. Backs and Kadri are poised to fall off a cliff, as our two top centers. The bottom out will come naturally, soon enough.
No need to move Ras this year. He's a quality defender, but quite honestly teams will be looking to add him to a defensive core, that already has better. There is a limit to the return, and I don't think it's much better than a mid-late 1st, with some degree of middling prospect. Usually accompanied by a cap dump, with years remaining on the contract. Waiting for him to be a rental won't significantly effect his value.

 

[Rubi]

View attachment 971432

Spot on. When I was writing my post that exact song was running through my head. Its like you read my mind.

 

[Anglesmith]

Well thats it folks. Its official. The rebuild has now become a retool.

I don't think that conclusion follows. I think the complete jettison of all pending free agents combined with signing no one in free agency qualifies this process as a rebuild.

While liquidating guys who you are about to lose anyway is objectively the right idea, there isn't a great deal of precedent for successful rebuilds involving moving out guys with term. We will have to see how things go from Chicago from here, because they very aggressively got rid of guys like that.

Kadri, Weegar and Andersson are not the core players in our next contender. They are excellent pieces to support that new core. For that reason I still see this as a rebuild: Conroy has created the conditions for youth to emerge and form the next core.

 

[Mobiandi]

Kadri not for sale is insanity tbh

 

[herashak]

Kadri is the equivalent of a 2009 corolla with 280k kms and regular oil changes, run her into the ground, especially in this economy

 

[Lunatik]

Kadri not for sale is insanity tbh

No it isn't.

Trading top players with term when we're fighting for a playoff spot would be a slap in the face to the players in the room, especially the young guys that have us in this position.

 

[MrCreamm]

I just don't see us ever winning a cup with this approach, I know you can't instantly turn it around or just sell off everyone for draft picks and prospects, but post Treliving is the opportunity to start a rebuild. How are we going to become legit cup contenders without an elite offense or #1 defenseman?

Wolf is definitely a positive and will be huge going forward but is it worth making a push for playoffs? I just see another first round exit to add to the list if we do make the playoffs and for what?

If we don't reach bottom 10 and MTL will take our draft pick or whatever is higher. 2026 is a very top heavy draft with 4-6 guys with elite potential imo, Schaefer looks like a franchise defenseman. Next year seems fairly stacked and has McKenna who is putting up unreal numbers and looks like a gamechanger, 2027 has Dupont who will probably have a ceiling that could make him the perennial #1 defender.

I genuinely believe this is the chance to break the cycle of constant retooling, no elite C, and no deep playoff runs. Sure we do have some pieces that are good but we don't have any cornerstone players to build around. I don't know if anyone not named Parekh has a decent chance to become elite, Zary would be my dark horse guy who could keep growing each year like Konecny but Zarys not a C in the NHL.

 

[Lunatik]

I just don't see us ever winning a cup with this approach, I know you can't instantly turn it around or just sell off everyone for draft picks and prospects, but post Treliving is the opportunity to start a rebuild. How are we going to become legit cup contenders without an elite offense or #1 defenseman?

Wolf is definitely a positive and will be huge going forward but is it worth making a push for playoffs? I just see another first round exit to add to the list if we do make the playoffs and for what?

If we don't reach bottom 10 and MTL will take our draft pick or whatever is higher. 2026 is a very top heavy draft with 4-6 guys with elite potential imo, Schaefer looks like a franchise defenseman. Next year seems fairly stacked and has McKenna who is putting up unreal numbers and looks like a gamechanger, 2027 has Dupont who will probably have a ceiling that could make him the perennial #1 defender.

I genuinely believe this is the chance to break the cycle of constant retooling, no elite C, and no deep playoff runs. Sure we do have some pieces that are good but we don't have any cornerstone players to build around. I don't know if anyone not named Parekh has a decent chance to become elite, Zary would be my dark horse guy who could keep growing each year like Konecny but Zarys not a C in the NHL.

Wolf says we won't get a top pick.
And playoff experience for guys is a positive. Guys like Wolf, Zary, Coronato, Bahl, Farabee and Frost would benefit from some playoff experience.

 

[Yepthatsme]

With Andersson, Kadri, and Weegar off the market, I gotta think Conroy has now run out of good chips that will result in an impactful trade.
So who have we got left?

• Huberdeau? Chances are slim to none with that contract.
• Coleman? Great workhorse but realistically worth maybe a 3rd rnd pick?
• Backlund? Great guy but nobody is going to overpay to get him
• Vladar? Will be lucky to get a 5th rnd pick for him
• Rooney? A dime a dozen player
• Barrie? Worthless on the trade market

Hello mediocrity. I've missed you over these past few months.
Maybe I should change my avatar back to the burning plane crash? Sigh. These past few months I've had such high hopes. I shoulda known better. Never change Flames... never change. Squeeking into the playoffs with a first round exit will always trump a top 5 draft pick.

Fun fact, after today Calgary now owns a >50 xGF% in all situations, meaning we already are an average team goaltending removed. That was before adding Frost and Farabee, who look like they could be impact players. Our goalie who is one of the team MVPs is a rookie, who looks to have perennial Vezina potential with so much runway for development. We have practically a full functioning D-core of 25 and under defenseman coming up in:

Bahl-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Brzustewicz
Morin-Mews

Coronato looks like he could be a year in year out 30 goal guy. Zary still has lots of room to grow. We have a litany of offense orientated forward prospects in Honzek, Gridin, Basha, Misa, Battaglia, Suniev, Stromgren. 4 1sts over the next two years to continue adding. We are going into 2025-26 with 58 million of 95 million cap ceiling spoken for.

These posts being sad about maybe making the playoffs are almost just borderline misinformed. Our healthy roster has 6 of our 12 forwards 25 and under, 2 of our 6 defense (with a huge youth movement coming), and our starting goalie.