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

[Ledge And Dairy]

I would legitimately rather sign Andersson 8M than Gavrikov, Ekblad, Dumoulin, Pionk etc. to equally/more bloated contracts to play worse/equal hockey. Especially considering Andersson still at this point in the season has averaged the hardest defensive deployments and QoC, all the while playing with a second year pro (although Bahl has done a great job), who a portion of this fan base doesn’t even think is a top 4 defenseman. Not to mention he’s an offense first guy on a team that struggles to score. Out of 248 defenseman to play 200 minutes this year, Andersson has the 13th worst on ice shooting percentage, meaning his teammates finish worse than all but 12 defenseman in the league.

I wonder why he may be having a down year. He is the epitome of a guy who will look better as we get better, and who cares how his contract looks 9 years from now. The last 9 years the cap went up over 23%, and that was over a portion called the “flat cap era”.

As a team that has as much cap space to work with as we do, we essentially get the chance to "double dip" on value here. We can afford to sign a similar defenseman to a big deal like Ekblad while also getting the value in return that a team would pay for Andersson's bargain deal.

Also because it would be a UFA signing and the contract would start a year sooner it will be up at least 2 years before Andersson's would be.

 

[Hangman009]

If that is the case he is going to be paid like a #1 (8 yrs at an AAV over $9 probably over $10 if the Flames get desperate) and played like a #1 (so over his head) for the next couple of years as our RHD prospects mature and supersede him in the line up.
This is why one of Weegar or Andersson have to be traded. Its not because the 2025/26 Flames don’t need them it’s because the 2026/27 Flames have a fairly good chance of not needing both of them and if that’s the case I think Weegar with 5 yrs left at $6 m is better for the Flames than Andersson at 8 yrs

The Flames right now have 3 top 4 defensemen. None of the kids are ready for that roll next year. Remote chance any of them are even close to Weegs level in 2 years. Weegs is one of the best defensemen in the game right now. I dont see Zayne ever having his complete game. Maybe Brew can develop into that. But that is a years long process. Throwing rookie defensemen, with a young inexperienced goalie, without veteran support and safety blanket, is the exact way you turn into the Buffalo Sabres.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Saying a 28 year old is on the decline is already a bad argument. Once again, he’s bottom in the league in on ice shooting percentage, while being top of our team in QoC and defensive starts. Why he’s having a tough year is literally laid out for anyone wondering.

I said moving Markstrom was a bad idea because last years Wolf wasn’t ready. The leap he took this year proved that wrong. We have NOBODY ready to step up and be a 24 minute defenseman, and that’s not going to be proven wrong by a leap in development by anybody.

Awesome to try and brand people who disagree with you, but having internal improvement while keeping our high end players is the way to build a contender, not lose our high end players while replacing them with potential high end player. What’s the point of subtracting top 4 defenseman in the hopes of getting a different top 4 defenseman? The goal should be to shift our current great players down the lineup with better players.

What’s more likely to win out of these two:

Weegar-Parekh
Bahl-Andersson
Kuznetsov-Brzustewicz

or

Bahl-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Brzustewicz
Grushnikov-Mews

One places a massive hope on every single player developing, and one relies on our constant stream of draft picks back filling our talented players. You say collecting 1sts for players like Andersson is our only hope. Well in the passed 20 years, our picks 16-32 are Backlund, Nemisz, Erixon, Jankowski, Poirier, Klimchuk, Valimaki, Pelletier, Zary, Honzek, and Gridin. Explain to me how adding the average of that pool makes us closer to a contender than keeping Andersson, while keeping in mind we are one of the better developmental teams during that stretch.

Your methodology makes us a worse team 80% of the time on the hopes that 20% of the time it makes us better, which is just kicking the can down the road of both our goals.

A) I never said get rid of Weegar. I would also re-sign Hanley (2x3.5) and I would add another vet dman. I simply think signing Rasmus to a 70 million dollar deal is insane. Instead of doing that we should trade him. If we want to keep him next year and trade him at the deadline or walk as a UFA, I’m okay with that too.

B) Yes I am labeling you. I’ve literally never heard you say one thing critical about the Flames. You currently think the Flames are a good offensive team that is unlucky because of shooting percentages. You think every veteran player is way better than they actually are. I think it’s great that you’re an eternal optimist but when it comes to the Calgary Flames I think blind optimism and desire to sneak into the 8th spot is exactly the mentality that has held back this team for decades.

C) Again, I understand the likelihood of draft picks hitting. Which is why you need as many as you can. So we can find the next Fox, Wolf, Andersson, Backlund, Gaudreau, etc.
we have lots of good middle of the roster players coming, we need some star power or we are going to be stuck in the middle perpetually.

 

[Mobiandi]

Tbh I’m not sure Ras comes in higher than 7.75 if he gets that 8th year. And that’s tradeable if Parekh/Brz really force the issue

The worrying contract is Yegor’s. That needs to get off the books ideally by summer 2026

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Tbh I’m not sure Ras comes in higher than 7.75 if he gets that 8th year. And that’s tradeable if Parekh/Brz really force the issue

The worrying contract is Yegor’s. That needs to get off the books ideally by summer 2026

Not sure he gets higher than that? I think it's highly unlikely he gets less than 8.5M. 7.75M at a cap that starts at 104M is the equivalent of a 6.15M contract in the flat cap era. That's similar to what Ryan Pulock and Damon Severson signed for.

 

[Sparky93]

For me it's as simple as how I see Andersson aging. Right now, in his prime, his stating is average, at best. Talent wise, he's very comparable to Brodie. Brodie obviously being a much better skater, Andersson having a much better shot. Both alright defensively but both proned to brutal, headshaking blunders in their own end. Relatively the same level of talent overall though. Brodie was replaceable and so is Andersson. While it's important to maintain a veteran presence for the kids, it's also important to capitalize on assets as this team transitions into rebuild. I've seen far too many assets walk for free, in the quest for contention and a cup. This team is not a contender and won't be a contender for quite some time. Our top players are aging out.

Huberdeau- 32 in June
Kadri- 35 to start the season
Backlund- 36
Coleman- 34 in November

Zary should replace Backlund and we have Coronato doing well. Frost will never replace Kadri and Pospisil will never replace Coleman. Sharangovich and Farabee are okay but they're complimentary players. We just don't have the talent to make them pop. If ever there was a team that needed to stay the course and build through the draft, it's this one.

 

[Yepthatsme]

A) I never said get rid of Weegar. I would also re-sign Hanley (2x3.5) and I would add another vet dman. I simply think signing Rasmus to a 70 million dollar deal is insane. Instead of doing that we should trade him. If we want to keep him next year and trade him at the deadline or walk as a UFA, I’m okay with that too.

B) Yes I am labeling you. I’ve literally never heard you say one thing critical about the Flames. You currently think the Flames are a good offensive team that is unlucky because of shooting percentages. You think every veteran player is way better than they actually are. I think it’s great that you’re an eternal optimist but when it comes to the Calgary Flames I think blind optimism and desire to sneak into the 8th spot is exactly the mentality that has held back this team for decades.

C) Again, I understand the likelihood of draft picks hitting. Which is why you need as many as you can. So we can find the next Fox, Wolf, Andersson, Backlund, Gaudreau, etc.
we have lots of good middle of the roster players coming, we need some star power or we are going to be stuck in the middle perpetually.

Since we are throwing out labels you decide whether you like a player or not then fit a narrative around that regardless of if it makes sense. You flat out admit that we have an extremely high chance to not get back a player as good as Andersson in the deal, but want to do it anyways because 7-8 years from now it’s may not be a good deal. You have convinced yourself there’s no way he signs for less than 8 years and roughly 9 million to support this argument. You have decided that one poor season means he must be regressing and don’t accept evidence to the contrary, and it just stems back to you being vocally against him for years (props for you and me being Hanifin’s biggest supporters from previous seasons though).

These trades are how to become Buffalo, full stop. Trading out talent for the sake of a draft pick, when most of the time the talent coming back is worse. If we want to be good in 3-4 seasons, you trade players who don’t fit that timeline, or who aren’t going to sign. Andersson will still be a very good top 4 defenseman capable of top pair minutes in 3-4 years and is vocal about wanting to be here, trading him away literally supports mediocrity by having less talent on this team which we both agree we need. Trading away the Backlund and the Coleman’s who will likely be retired in 3-4 years is how we accomplish stocking draft picks and is thinking for the future. Right now we are back to being set up to potentially have an elite defense in front of an elite goalie, that will be this teams bread and butter. Hamstringing that because a first is a mystery box is a terrible idea.

I do have plenty of critiques about the team I just find that posters here provide plenty of negativity to go around, and my method of addressing it flies in the face of what the most vocal posters want. It’s no different than a poster like you though, I couldn’t even imagine getting you to say “Wolf’s play has markedly slipped as his usage got ramped up, and it’s gotten even worse lately”. You love bashing Kadri, but I couldn’t imagine seeing “Zary’s regression in his production isn’t a good sign.” We all pick our favorites we don’t like complaining about, I just don’t play favorites as heavily amongst the team.

If you’d like to hear complaints though:
-Huska is straight up a bad coach. The buy in he’s managed out of the players is super impressive, but his system is generally bad and not many players have progressed under him.
-Pospisil is a great energy guy, but 4 goals on the season is embarrassing, and being on pace for less than 30 points with the players he’s played with means his puck retrieval game isn’t producing nearly as much offense for his line mates as we think it’s is
-considering forward depth was supposed to be our strength and top end players our weakness, it’s been brutal that it’s been the opposite. All of Zary (less applicable now), Coleman, Sharangovich, and sadly to say but Backlund have been more hindrances in our playoff push.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Since we are throwing out labels you decide whether you like a player or not then fit a narrative around that regardless of if it makes sense. You flat out admit that we have an extremely high chance to not get back a player as good as Andersson in the deal, but want to do it anyways because 7-8 years from now it’s may not be a good deal. You have convinced yourself there’s no way he signs for less than 8 years and roughly 9 million to support this argument. You have decided that one poor season means he must be regressing and don’t accept evidence to the contrary, and it just stems back to you being vocally against him for years (props for you and me being Hanifin’s biggest supporters from previous seasons though).

These trades are how to become Buffalo, full stop. Trading out talent for the sake of a draft pick, when most of the time the talent coming back is worse. If we want to be good in 3-4 seasons, you trade players who don’t fit that timeline, or who aren’t going to sign. Andersson will still be a very good top 4 defenseman capable of top pair minutes in 3-4 years and is vocal about wanting to be here, trading him away literally supports mediocrity by having less talent on this team which we both agree we need. Trading away the Backlund and the Coleman’s who will likely be retired in 3-4 years is how we accomplish stocking draft picks and is thinking for the future. Right now we are back to being set up to potentially have an elite defense in front of an elite goalie, that will be this teams bread and butter. Hamstringing that because a first is a mystery box is a terrible idea.

I do have plenty of critiques about the team I just find that posters here provide plenty of negativity to go around, and my method of addressing it flies in the face of what the most vocal posters want. It’s no different than a poster like you though, I couldn’t even imagine getting you to say “Wolf’s play has markedly slipped as his usage got ramped up, and it’s gotten even worse lately”. You love bashing Kadri, but I couldn’t imagine seeing “Zary’s regression in his production isn’t a good sign.” We all pick our favorites we don’t like complaining about, I just don’t play favorites as heavily amongst the team.

If you’d like to hear complaints though:
-Huska is straight up a bad coach. The buy in he’s managed out of the players is super impressive, but his system is generally bad and not many players have progressed under him.
-Pospisil is a great energy guy, but 4 goals on the season is embarrassing, and being on pace for less than 30 points with the players he’s played with means his puck retrieval game isn’t producing nearly as much offense for his line mates as we think it’s is
-considering forward depth was supposed to be our strength and top end players our weakness, it’s been brutal that it’s been the opposite. All of Zary (less applicable now), Coleman, Sharangovich, and sadly to say but Backlund have been more hindrances in our playoff push.

Because I think they should move on from Rasmus = Buffalo model. There are plenty of examples of teams moving on from vets and being successful which I provided a few posts ago.

I actually think Backlund is still criminally underrated. I wouldn’t move Coleman (for less than a huge haul) or Weegar. I like Huberdeau even though he’s overpaid.
Huska is a good coach imo.
I said trade Kadri for a high end C prospect + first while I’m his value is high. He’s a high end 2C, that doesn’t mean I crap on him like you’re suggesting.
Zary should sign a bridge because I’m still not 100% sold on him. But I would lock up Coronato, Wolf and Bahl long term.
Sharon has been awful but we are stuck with him and have to hope he turns it around next year.

This team is still in the murky middle. It’s been a fun season but we likely miss the playoffs and pick at 20 and 30ish. We need as many picks as we can get to find the next Kyle Connor, Mcavoy etc. that’s how we will become a contender.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Because I think they should move on from Rasmus = Buffalo model. There are plenty of examples of teams moving on from vets and being successful which I provided a few posts ago.

I actually think Backlund is still criminally underrated. I wouldn’t move Coleman (for less than a huge haul) or Weegar. I like Huberdeau even though he’s overpaid.
Huska is a good coach imo.
I said trade Kadri for a high end C prospect + first while I’m his value is high. He’s a high end 2C, that doesn’t mean I crap on him like you’re suggesting.

This team is still in the murky middle. It’s been a fun season but we likely miss the playoffs and pick at 20 and 30ish. We need as many picks as we can get to find the next Kyle Connor, Mcavoy etc. that’s how we will become a contender.

No making unnecessary moves trading away top talent is the Buffalo model. We still likely have 6 to potentially even 9 years of high end play from Andersson left. Trading him away in the hopes a draft pick maybe becomes better is bad, and even worse when even if it’s successful an NHL debut would be 3-4 years away, and then carrying the team another 2-4 years from that. That’s how you become Buffalo, by removing players who are in the midst of their prime, for draft picks who by the time are in their prime, you are now at decisions points again with guys like Zary and Coronato now being late 20s.

You called Kadri a selfish hockey player who is good for 50-60 points, if that’s not crapping on him I don’t know what is. But once again you apply your logic differently depending on your personal beliefs of who you decided you like or not. Coleman and Backlund are two guys that will be of zero value by time we are hoping to be competitive. If you’re actually worried about staying in the murky middle, these are the guys you would want jettisoned. You just don’t like Andersson so that’s the hill you’re dying on. Same with Weegar, he’d actually net a large amount more value than Andersson, and has less years left of high end play. You’d rather have Andersson traded though, because Andersson may be overpaid 7 years down the line when Weegar may not even be in the league anymore.

This team is currently in the murky middle, 16th in points percentage. We have 7 players 25 and under. We have the second most cap space in the league. You refuse to acknowledge it, but we have one of the worst 5v5 success rates of the 2020s, we converted on our chances 22% more often last year despite minimal changes to the forward corps. We have plenty of up and coming prospects and already a large amount of excess picks. We are already primed to start moving up, the only thing that would keep us in the murky middle is unnecessary shooting the team in the foot by removing players like Andersson for the sake of doing it. Instead of letting this team progress by hopefully developing the Connor/Mcavoys of the world while adding them to a team trying to be competitive. Why not continue letting our Mcavoys/Connors grow in guys like Parekh, Coronato, Gridin etc. and try to raise the team from 16th instead of from the bottom of the barrel. If you really wanted improvement, why not add these potential deft draft picks while also adding to the team in free agency and trades? Giving away talent unnecessarily is the absolute worse move this team should do, we should be trying to add it in every way.

 

[Mobiandi]

Not sure he gets higher than that? I think it's highly unlikely he gets less than 8.5M. 7.75M at a cap that starts at 104M is the equivalent of a 6.15M contract in the flat cap era. That's similar to what Ryan Pulock and Damon Severson signed for.

I think Chychrun’s contract is enough of a comparable to shave some money off what Rasmus is asking for. Even at 8.5, I’d still be fine with that.

The fears over 38 year old Andersson anyway are overblown. By the time he gets to that age, we’ll likely have two more expansion drafts and we can incentivize Atlanta/Houston to take him.

Unless you get an offer that knocks your socks off, it’s not worth trading him

 

[Some Other Flame]

If/when the Flames miss the playoffs, I don't see Andersson wanting to re-sign here anyway

If Conroy can move the Panthers and the Devils 1st rounders + Andersson to move into the top 10 to draft a McQueen, Desnoyers or O’Brien, this season might just be salvaged after all

 

[Iggys Dome]

No making unnecessary moves trading away top talent is the Buffalo model. We still likely have 6 to potentially even 9 years of high end play from Andersson left. Trading him away in the hopes a draft pick maybe becomes better is bad, and even worse when even if it’s successful an NHL debut would be 3-4 years away, and then carrying the team another 2-4 years from that. That’s how you become Buffalo, by removing players who are in the midst of their prime, for draft picks who by the time are in their prime, you are now at decisions points again with guys like Zary and Coronato now being late 20s.

You called Kadri a selfish hockey player who is good for 50-60 points, if that’s not crapping on him I don’t know what is. But once again you apply your logic differently depending on your personal beliefs of who you decided you like or not. Coleman and Backlund are two guys that will be of zero value by time we are hoping to be competitive. If you’re actually worried about staying in the murky middle, these are the guys you would want jettisoned. You just don’t like Andersson so that’s the hill you’re dying on. Same with Weegar, he’d actually net a large amount more value than Andersson, and has less years left of high end play. You’d rather have Andersson traded though, because Andersson may be overpaid 7 years down the line when Weegar may not even be in the league anymore.

This team is currently in the murky middle, 16th in points percentage. We have 7 players 25 and under. We have the second most cap space in the league. You refuse to acknowledge it, but we have one of the worst 5v5 success rates of the 2020s, we converted on our chances 22% more often last year despite minimal changes to the forward corps. We have plenty of up and coming prospects and already a large amount of excess picks. We are already primed to start moving up, the only thing that would keep us in the murky middle is unnecessary shooting the team in the foot by removing players like Andersson for the sake of doing it. Instead of letting this team progress by hopefully developing the Connor/Mcavoys of the world while adding them to a team trying to be competitive. Why not continue letting our Mcavoys/Connors grow in guys like Parekh, Coronato, Gridin etc. and try to raise the team from 16th instead of from the bottom of the barrel. If you really wanted improvement, why not add these potential deft draft picks while also adding to the team in free agency and trades? Giving away talent unnecessarily is the absolute worse move this team should do, we should be trying to add it in every way.

Falling in love with guys like Andersson, Kadri, Weegar etc. are how you end up winning 2 rounds in 20 years like the Flames.

Guys like Zary and Coronato aren’t core pieces you build around. They are middle/top 6 talents that you surround elite talent with.

Where are we gonna get elite talent? The draft. This team needs to bottom out the next 3 years. You need to land the McKennas/DuPonts/whomever of the world to give your franchise the best chance of sustained success.

It’s no coincidence that our best years were with Gaudreau/Tkachuk, both guys that would probably go top 3 in a re draft for their respective years. We can’t bank on pulling a horseshoe out of our ass with another 4th round pick, or having Tkachuk fall into our laps at 6th.

Give yourself the best chance of getting elite talent and truly bottom out. But this organization and fanbase are scared of it.

 

[hockeyguy0022]

Expecting a win tonight with no Mcdrai in the lineup. Flames should be hungry and skinner is a civ.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

I think Chychrun’s contract is enough of a comparable to shave some money off what Rasmus is asking for. Even at 8.5, I’d still be fine with that.

The fears over 38 year old Andersson anyway are overblown. By the time he gets to that age, we’ll likely have two more expansion drafts and we can incentivize Atlanta/Houston to take him.

Unless you get an offer that knocks your socks off, it’s not worth trading him

I just don't see why there should be a money shaved off, let alone the 1.25M that you suggested earlier. Not only does Chychrun's contract start under the 95M cap vs Andersson's under the 104M cap but Ras is also that highly coveted top 4 right handed defenseman. If your argument is production, imo that's more to do with the team he's on this year, the last 2 years in Ottawa he's been fine at best.

 

[Ledge And Dairy]

Expecting a win tonight with no Mcdrai in the lineup. Flames should be hungry and skinner is a civ.

McDavid isn't playing but Draisaitl is listed as probably to play

 

[Yepthatsme]

Falling in love with guys like Andersson, Kadri, Weegar etc. are how you end up winning 2 rounds in 20 years like the Flames.

Guys like Zary and Coronato aren’t core pieces you build around. They are middle/top 6 talents that you surround elite talent with.

Where are we gonna get elite talent? The draft. This team needs to bottom out the next 3 years. You need to land the McKennas/DuPonts/whomever of the world to give your franchise the best chance of sustained success.

It’s no coincidence that our best years were with Gaudreau/Tkachuk, both guys that would probably go top 3 in a re draft for their respective years. We can’t bank on pulling a horseshoe out of our ass with another 4th round pick, or having Tkachuk fall into our laps at 6th.

Give yourself the best chance of getting elite talent and truly bottom out. But this organization and fanbase are scared of it.

Not being smart about retaining talent is how you go from the best record in the west to this entire discussion.

Legitimately how to do we bottom out? We have the second least amount of goals this year and we couldn’t. We tried trading away half our defense and we couldn’t. We already have the youth wave contributing to getting us wins in Coronato, Zary, Bahl, and Wolf, with much more to come. The level of scorched earth we would have to do would take a decade plus to recover from and would likely involve trading Wolf and co.

 

[Volica]

Appreciate that a lot of the big pundits are starting to talk about the Revibe this team did.

Yes, we were not good enough to be a playoff team this year. The roster we had was so chocked full of mediocre/waiver type players... But I think the vibe was a big deal to get this club back to where it needed to be. I know it sounds hollow, but you have to remember; the last number of years:

1) Tkachuk and Gaudreau GTFO, every pundit in the league talks about Calgary not being a place people want to play.
2) The new guys come in, and the relationship with Sutter falls apart, reports of screaming matches and discontent in the locker room.
3) We trade half out roster out of town because everyone expiring and they make it clear they don't want to stay here.
4) This year.

It's been a lot, man. I think this team is a lot closer than most people give it credit. Not closer to being a Cup Contender, but closer to being a steady playoff team. What they need now is the prospects and the kids to take their next steps.

I think Coronato has another gear.
I think Zary has another gear, especially with some health.
I think Farabee and Shango with a offseason to mend would make a big deal.
I think Frost found his footing recently, and him and Huberdeau will make an excellent 2nd line.
I think Wolf can win a Vezina.
Posp was inconsistent, but I think he's a guy you want on the club. I think new Big Z has maybe a bit more to be a consistent 5-10g/5-15a 4th line bruiser who can move up.

Now we need Parekh to be the real deal. People forget what a stud 1D does for a team, Ottawa was going deep in the playoffs with Kyle Turris as their 1C with Karlson in his prime.

Those prospects need to keep growing too. No reason Kerins shouldn't find his way onto this roster, Honzek needs to take a big step.... just lots to be positive about here even not drafting top 10.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Fine, I'll go against the grain and say this season has been an abomination in almost every way.

You've got three positives in Wolf, Coronato, & Parekh. That's it.

No top ten pick or future top line centre incoming. Repeated knee injuries might have made Zary inconsequential, right after they refused to move him for Cozens. The Flames signalling that they were going to be hot and heavy after Rantanen if he made it to free agency means they very likely going to do something very stupid in the summer. They're 100% going to pull a Hanifin with Andersson by waiting way too long to move him. Instead of selling anything, they traded away futures for more middling talent. Another season wasted on rotating veteran trash in and out of the lineup instead of developing the talent on the farm.

At least the 14-15 Gaudreau led Flames made the playoffs and beat the Canucks. This current squad isn't even going to make the show.

It's a pretty bleak future that understandably, folks are going to be in massive denial about. Hope y'all enjoyed the Price+Subban era Montreal Canadiens because you're about to get a repeat of that

 

[Mobiandi]

The Avs just signed their version of Freddie Hamilton in a move reeking of desperation lol

If the arena gets built on time, we hire a real coach, and Conroy exercises patience with our cap space, then we’ll land Cale and the outlook on this team will change drastically in a couple years