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

[Figgy44]

its more important to NOT start buying. The Flames have crap in the pending UFA realm to make a difference and the players that have term will have more value in the offseason.
The 1 outlier is Andersson

Disagree with caveat.

Important not to buy rentals.
Guys with term for a good price and fit our short and longer term objectives, go for it.

 

[Mobiandi]

How can anyone take you seriously when you spout such objectively false information.

Calgary will never struggle for vets. There will always be free agents looking for retirement contracts out in Alberta.

 

[DomBarr]

Disagree with caveat.

Important not to buy rentals.
Guys with term for a good price and fit our short and longer term objectives, go for it.

Disagree if you want but from everything being said Conroy is NOT looking to acquire the type of player this team needs a young elite level play driving center who will actually push the current forwards down the depth chart slotting them correctly.
Adding a Cozens type player does not actually do anything

 

[Lunatik]

Calgary will never struggle for vets. There will always be free agents looking for retirement contracts out in Alberta.

Clearly you missed my point... or are just straight up ignoring it.

You claimed neither Kadri nor Coleman were core players on this team. That is straight up wrong. Naz is literally tied for the team lead in scoring. Coleman is 5th and sees more PK time than anyone other than Backlund. Coleman might not be a core player on a cup contender, but on this team he absolutely is and Kadri would be a core guy on almost any team.

Trading them would be a slap in the face to Wolf, Coronato, Zary, Bahl... etc because they have been instrumental in getting us to this point and trading guys with term away would just be a giant f*** you to them.

Ruining the goodwill of your young players is absolutely one of the worst things a team could do.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Conroy had better not trade that NJ 1st rounder

 

[DomBarr]

Clearly you missed my point... or are just straight up ignoring it.

You claimed neither Kadri nor Coleman were core players on this team. That is straight up wrong. Naz is literally tied for the team lead in scoring. Coleman is 5th and sees more PK time than anyone other than Backlund. Coleman might not be a core player on a cup contender, but on this team he absolutely is and Kadri would be a core guy on almost any team.

Trading them would be a slap in the face to Wolf, Coronato, Zary, Bahl... etc because they have been instrumental in getting us to this point and trading guys with term away would just be a giant f*** you to them.

Ruining the goodwill of your young players is absolutely one of the worst things a team could do.

Trading Coleman and Kadri in season won’t happen and shouldn’t happen. The team deserves to ride it out, but seriously if the Flames “core” is instrumental to getting the team to where they are then this offseason they all gotta go because this is a total mediocre team with a core not good enough to make them a real playoff contender but good enough to have really good trade value

 

[Figgy44]

Disagree if you want but from everything being said Conroy is NOT looking to acquire the type of player this team needs a young elite level play driving center who will actually push the current forwards down the depth chart slotting them correctly.
Adding a Cozens type player does not actually do anything

But let's say a player meeting that criteria pops up. Is Conroy supposed to say, "Nope. I'm not trading till the off season." No, he should be looking into those RFA at a great price that works well long term. If he can find more Frost + Farabee type trades, IMO he should do it.

If he can swap vets for younger guys with potential (downgrade now, upgrade later). He should consider it.

If someone calls about Coleman, but wants to move a project prospect with term and upside or a long term player option currently on IR, he has to consider it IMO. Doesn't mean he will decide to go forward with it, I'm saying he should consider it.

I'm saying don't trade for the sake of trading, but keep your ear to the ground for good value.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Calgary will never struggle for vets. There will always be free agents looking for retirement contracts out in Alberta.

What you aren't getting is that none of the guys you are suggesting they move are rentals. Sure Bjorkstrand wasn't a rental either but Gourde absolutely is. Calgary isn't going to retain 50% on any of their multi year vets because that is a lot of actual money to pay someone not to play for you. On top of that it is equally as impossible to convince a 3rd team to retain for the exact same reason.

The types of moves you want to do are offseason moves when teams have a full idea of their cap structure for next season. You could probably argue a hockey trade type deal around Kadri for someone like Kotkaniemi or Mittelstadt but that's about it. Teams simply do not have the cap space to take on full multi year deals without significant cap coming back. Florida got Jones at a bargain cap hit, had to move out Knight and place Tkachuk on LTIR to make it work now, and will still probably lose Ekblad in the summer due to constraints.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

What do you think we would need to add to Rasmus to get Brandt Clarke? I think this could be the basis of a deal that makes sense for both teams and is good for us in the long term without sacrificing too much in the short term.

For LA, kopitar and Doughty are aging and adding Rasmus at a great cap hit will give them a big boost these next two years. We could also retain or add a pick and/or prospect to help balance their ages.

And for us, Clarke could be the perfect replacement for Rasmus long-term and has potential to be a top-pairing dman for 10+ years. I’ve been high on him since his draft year and think he would fit really well with Bahl’s style of play. It may hurt our team this year, but if Rasmus might not re-sign here I think this is the way to maximize his value.

Clarke is obviously not as good as Rasmus yet, but with Rasmus having a down year I think the downgrade in the short term won’t be as bad in the short term as people think. I think Clarke could step in as a #3/4 immediately, he’s that good when paired with a defensively responsible partner.

It would just come down to cost. Rasmus+2nd? Morin? One of our winger prospects? Is that not enough?

 

[Bounces R Way]

What do you think we would need to add to Rasmus to get Brandt Clarke? I think this could be the basis of a deal that makes sense for both teams and is good for us in the long term without sacrificing too much in the short term.

For LA, kopitar and Doughty are aging and adding Rasmus at a great cap hit will give them a big boost these next two years. We could also retain or add a pick and/or prospect to help balance their ages.

And for us, Clarke could be the perfect replacement for Rasmus long-term and has potential to be a top-pairing dman for 10+ years. I’ve been high on him since his draft year and think he would fit really well with Bahl’s style of play. It may hurt our team this year, but if Rasmus might not re-sign here I think this is the way to maximize his value.

Clarke is obviously not as good as Rasmus yet, but with Rasmus having a down year I think the downgrade in the short term won’t be as bad in the short term as people think. I think Clarke could step in as a #3/4 immediately, he’s that good when paired with a defensively responsible partner.

It would just come down to cost. Rasmus+2nd? Morin? One of our winger prospects? Is that not enough?

This is Rob Blake Connie will be sweet talking too. I wouldn't be adding shit.

I don't mind Clarke at all but I would prefer a high end fwd prospect(preferably a natural C) that hasn't hit NHL ice in a potential Rasmus trade. I would also wait until the draft to deal #4 if that's going to be the decision. He's having a pretty terrible year honestly. There's going to be renewed pressure on some of these rebuilding teams to improve substantially and Andersson would make a good target for a young team needing some more veteran stability.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

This is Rob Blake Connie will be sweet talking too. I wouldn't be adding shit.

I don't mind Clarke at all but I would prefer a high end fwd prospect(preferably a natural C) that hasn't hit NHL ice in a potential Rasmus trade. I would also wait until the draft to deal #4 if that's going to be the decision. He's having a pretty terrible year honestly. There's going to be renewed pressure on some of these rebuilding teams to improve substantially and Andersson would make a good target for a young team needing some more veteran stability.

I just don’t know if Rasmus as a rental has enough value to land Clarke. I could be wrong, but I feel like getting Rasmus now for 1.5 years and 2 playoff runs is significantly more valuable than him as a rental. If a prospect of Clarke’s calibre is available for Rasmus (who will probably be looking for a huge contract next year), I think you need to take it now

 

[Figgy44]

I just don’t know if Rasmus as a rental has enough value to land Clarke. I could be wrong, but I feel like getting Rasmus now for 1.5 years and 2 playoff runs is significantly more valuable than him as a rental. If a prospect of Clarke’s calibre is available for Rasmus (who will probably be looking for a huge contract next year), I think you need to take it now

My concern is that the kings don't need RD right now. They've been benching Clarke. There's also a risk a move like this hurts both teams vs improves both.

I feel like dobson might be more likely than Clarke for RD if Lou is thinking he doesn't want to pay dobson's next contract. But Lou won't undervalue dobson like Blake may for Clarke.

 

[Sparky93]

Nobody's trading a Clarke caliber prospect, much less a young NHLer for Ras. With the extra year, his value is something 1st, decent prospect, with legitimate depth potential and a cap dump. The prospect will vary depending on the dump.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Lord love a duck... People need to get over this idea that Conroy is trading vets in the next 36hrs. There is value in gunning for the playoffs for Coronato, Zary and Wolf. Conroy has stated multiple times hes not moving people who want to be here and Weegs, Coleman, Kadri and Ras specifically. Maybe, MAYBE in the summer Ras gets moved. Time to move on from that mountain, youve died on it and got run over.

 

[Lunatik]

Kings aren't trading Brandt and we're not trading Ras.

 

[Figgy44]

Lord love a duck... People need to get over this idea that Conroy is trading vets in the next 36hrs. There is value in gunning for the playoffs for Coronato, Zary and Wolf. Conroy has stated multiple times hes not moving people who want to be here and Weegs, Coleman, Kadri and Ras specifically. Maybe, MAYBE in the summer Ras gets moved. Time to move on from that mountain, youve died on it and got run over.

Asset management is the main reason why the idea probably won't go away.

 

[Lunatik]

Asset management is the main reason why the idea probably won't go away.

it's not about asset management though, they aren't screaming to trade this guys because their values are depreciating. They want the team to lose ad trading them would result in more losses.

 

[Bounces R Way]

I just don’t know if Rasmus as a rental has enough value to land Clarke. I could be wrong, but I feel like getting Rasmus now for 1.5 years and 2 playoff runs is significantly more valuable than him as a rental. If a prospect of Clarke’s calibre is available for Rasmus (who will probably be looking for a huge contract next year), I think you need to take it now

Ras has over 200pts, is still in his prime, and makes less then 5 million dollars per. Even with how shit he's been this year he's worth a tidy sum now, will also be in June, and will be again next spring. That is unless the Flames do something Flamesy and give him some 7-8 year abomination contract.

Clarke may be worth that much, especially on HF, but I think in the real world these unproven RFAs don't hold the kind of value fans think they should. I'd be fine if he's the main piece in a Andersson deal but I wouldn't be attaching anything else significant to land him.