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

[Flames Fanatic]

That's not at all what's happening. It's not a retool, it is actually a slow rolling natural rebuild.

Backlund- 36- 1 year remaining
Kadri- 35- 3 years remaining
Huberdeau- 32- 3 years remaining
Coleman- 34- 2 years remaining
Weegar- 31- 3 years remaining

Outside of Huberdeau and Weegar, the bulk of these guys are going to start to decline, possibly as early as next year. The contracts drop off each year.

Could a couple of these guys be replaced by what we currently have coming up? Yes, but in the top 6, our future talent is sketchy, at best. We're restocking the bottom half of our roster right now and hoping to get luck with a few top half guys along the way. Parekh could be a 1D, Coronato could be a top line RW and Wolf might be a great starter but outside of that, the top tier is lacking. In a couple of years we will be making these top 5 picks but the rebuild is 5 years away from being completed. This year is an anomaly.

If we have to pick a draft we have an anomaly at least it's this year not next potentially.

 

[Sparky93]

If we have to pick a draft we have an anomaly at least it's this year not next potentially.

Exactly. I'm quite content to watch some good hockey but I'm under no miscommunication that it's a sign of a team on the rise.

 

[crackdown44]

Hear me out. We offer sheet Rossi

Unfortunately I think at the number we’d have to hit for the Wild to not match we’d be giving up too much draft capital for a team that’s not certain to be drafting late. Love the player though

 

[DomBarr]

And what is an honest rebuild? This team was never going to draft top 5 without a burn it to the ground one. You would have to get rid of Kadri, Hube, Weegar, Ras, Backs, Coleman and Wolf for that. Then you are hoping you luck into a generational talent. or you just spend years spinning your wheels like Edmonton, Buffalo, Florida, Detroit, etc. Ownership was never going to go for that. The plan was to be competitive by 2027, they are on track for that. This was 3-4 year retool, not a rebuild.

They may be on track to be perennially competing for the 2nd wildcard (status quo same old Flames),
they are NOT on track to be true long term playoff contenders which needs them to change things up and actually step back from competing for the wildcard slots and accumulate picks and prospects to create and build sustainable depth throughout the organization. 1 year doesn't do that and acquiring 25 YO players may accelerates the timeline but it will actually shorten the window.
I am not necessarily saying tear it down, I am saying that right now the team should be open to trading any player over 30 IF the offers received exceed expectations AND they need to hold the line on term when extending 29/30 YO players (ie 5 yrs or less)

 

[Figgy44]

Hear me out. We offer sheet Rossi

Unfortunately I think at the number we’d have to hit for the Wild to not match we’d be giving up too much draft capital for a team that’s not certain to be drafting late. Love the player though

If we are outperforming expectations this year, then next year is risky if we fall back down to expectations. I dunno if it's wise to OS Rossi. It could potentially end up a situation where the picks sent for him are too valuable vs his value.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

No we won't.

A 95.5m cap would have a floor of about 68m. We already have 58.36m committed to next year with Zary, Frost and Coronato as RFAs and would still need to sign (or promote) a goalie and another 4-5 skaters.

With only paying those 5 signings league min (they won't) and going with just a 22-man roster we'd only have to pay Zary, Frost and Coronato a combined 4-6m to reach the floor.

And the following year we have Wolf and Andersson up for new deals so reaching a floor of ~73m won't be an issue.

If the cap goes up to 95.5 next year the cap floor will be 15% less than the midpoint. To calculate the floor divide the ceiling by 1.15 to get the midpoint, then multiply that number by 0.85. Therefore the floor will be ~70.6M

For a 104M cap the floor will be ~76.1M, and for 113.5M, the floor will be ~83.9M

 

[crackdown44]

If we are outperforming expectations this year, then next year is risky if we fall back down to expectations. I dunno if it's wise to OS Rossi. It could potentially end up a situation where the picks sent for him are too valuable vs his value.

This is where I’m at too. Though it is worth noting we’re not really outperforming expectations based on how the team is playing. Goaltending is good but finishing is awful. We’re kind of right where we should be

We’re outperforming expectations based on how we all saw the roster this year. But I agree and think overall it’s probably too risky to make an offer sheet at a level we’d lose first round picks when guys like Kadri/Backlund/Coleman are poised to fall off

Even though I think Rossi is the kind of piece this team could desperately need

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

And what is an honest rebuild? This team was never going to draft top 5 without a burn it to the ground one. You would have to get rid of Kadri, Hube, Weegar, Ras, Backs, Coleman and Wolf for that. Then you are hoping you luck into a generational talent. or you just spend years spinning your wheels like Edmonton, Buffalo, Florida, Detroit, etc. Ownership was never going to go for that. The plan was to be competitive by 2027, they are on track for that. This was 3-4 year retool, not a rebuild.

I don't agree with that, I doubt anyone thought Wolf was going to get Vezina votes in his rookie season. Without his play this team would easily be bottom 5.

 

[Sparky93]

People also forget that players get old. Remember the guys that were still on the roster when we were picking 6th, 4th and 6th OA the last time? Not every single player needs to be moved out, in order to bottom out.