Player Discussion Dustin Wolf

[Ace Rimmer]

Once again the Flames did not pull out the red carpet for their young stars and once again they’ll probably lose him in FA.

They literally traded their "star" goalie to make room for him on the roster.

That carpet may not be red, but maybe a shade of crimson.

 

[Figgy44]

Wolf will definitely stay for the next contract. RFAs that have a chance to make life changing money never give that up. Harder to say beyond that, I could still see him being a tad bitter about not getting more opportunity earlier down the road. Once again the Flames did not pull out the red carpet for their young stars and once again they’ll probably lose him in FA.

They literally traded their "star" goalie to make room for him on the roster.

That carpet may not be red, but maybe a shade of crimson.

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with @Ace Rimmer on this one. Some of the forwards and dmen I can see an argument for, but Wolf, I do not fully agree with you there was no red carpet or that it was reactionary. Markstrom was sent out. Conroy also didn't pick up obvious goalies (young, stopgap or otherwise) that could take the slot back (thus pressuring Wolf) in a sort of, "We need a back up in case you fail." We have Cooley and Ignatjew on the Wranglers, Vladar in front of him and little else. Cooley is low key perfect, not just age, potential ability, but also back ground.

Other guys like Levi/Knight/Askarov are/were in tandems where there's a young goalie with longer term commitment (ie: UPL, Bob, Saros/Vancek/Blackwood etc.). I personally would have felt better with a better back up plan to Wolf in case something happened, but Conroy hasn't done that, even if many other teams with similar young guys have been doing that. In hindsight, it quietly shows a lot more confidence in Wolf while still putting in the appropriate pieces in play to appropriately ease him in vs just straight up sink or swim that certain other goalies have had to deal with.

Negotiations take time and we know that there were rumors of a deal months before the TDL. It just so happens that rumors were that the deal also fell through. I don't believe that Wolf would be upset by that. The rumors show that Conroy and co had attempted to give him a full time NHL roster role almost half a season earlier (same time as a comparable like Levi). It just got delayed to the start of this season because of circumstances outside of Conroy's control (ie: NJD's situation/trade falling through).

I think Wolf and his family are good character individuals. I don't think they'd blame Conroy that the red carpet wasn't there earlier, especially if it could be argued that the delay was due to the red carpet being on a truck, that got caught in traffic and delivered later than expected.

IIRC, when I was looking into some of the time line for Wolf vs Saros, I think Saros got a little more earlier, but had slightly better circumstances (ie: No covid, no NJD deal fall through). However, I also think that Wolf is getting the full confidence from management a little earlier than Saros? But I think Saros always had Rinne as a fall back option for longer (which Wolf doesn't have because Vladar and Cooley).

 

[Mobiandi]

A large part of why the Flames lost Gaudreau was Treliving squeezing him under the Gio cap. Gave up precious term there with negotiations going into training camp. Then Treliving said no to a supposed 8x8 the summer before UFA.

Relationships are more often damaged in negotiations, not in ice time. If they give Wolf a good offer, he’ll stay.

Under Treliving, the Flames routinely made the mistake of treating strangers better than homegrown RFAs. Look no further than Kadri/Huberdeau being the highest paid players in Flames history before having played a single minute for us. Other ridiculous contracts like Brouwer and Neal vs squeezing guys like Bennett. Frolik for Tkachuk as mentioned

Moral of the story: look after your own first

 

[Kahvi]

IIRC, when I was looking into some of the time line for Wolf vs Saros, I think Saros got a little more earlier, but had slightly better circumstances (ie: No covid, no NJD deal fall through). However, I also think that Wolf is getting the full confidence from management a little earlier than Saros? But I think Saros always had Rinne as a fall back option for longer (which Wolf doesn't have because Vladar and Cooley).

I quickly looked at goalies like Spencer, Wallstedt, Levi, Luukkonen, and maybe some other, and the timelines from draft to continue in juniors, to first AHL games, to split time between AHL and NHL, and full-time NHL:er. Nothing really stood out, Wolf is playing where he is expected.

If there are examples of the opposite, I'd be happy to see them.

 

[Figgy44]

I quickly looked at goalies like Spencer, Wallstedt, Levi, Luukkonen, and maybe some other, and the timelines from draft to continue in juniors, to first AHL games, to split time between AHL and NHL, and full-time NHL:er. Nothing really stood out, Wolf is playing where he is expected.

If there are examples of the opposite, I'd be happy to see them.

Keep in mind that Wolf's timeline at approximately the same age, is still slightly earlier due to what happened during the pandemic. The legwork to allow him to be on the NHL roster full time started last year, probably a few months before the TDL.

Levi was rushed IMO. But I think Askarov is the concern that certain other posters have.

Wolf's current situation IMO might be closer to someone like UPL, Otter, Demko, Knight etc. situation. So as you mentioned, where he is expected, nothing super late, not sure why he'd be upset about being unnecessarily held back. As mentioned, if anything, I'd even say that management is showing they're willing to put their trust into him slightly earlier than those guys (vs late) based on the circumstances that happened from the time leading up to Wolf's drafting to current.

A large part of why the Flames lost Gaudreau was Treliving squeezing him under the Gio cap. Gave up precious term there with negotiations going into training camp. Then Treliving said no to a supposed 8x8 the summer before UFA.

Relationships are more often damaged in negotiations, not in ice time. If they give Wolf a good offer, he’ll stay.

Under Treliving, the Flames routinely made the mistake of treating strangers better than homegrown RFAs. Look no further than Kadri/Huberdeau being the highest paid players in Flames history before having played a single minute for us. Other ridiculous contracts like Brouwer and Neal vs squeezing guys like Bennett. Frolik for Tkachuk as mentioned

Moral of the story: look after your own first

Yeah I can agree to this. Until you pointed it out, I didn't realize that we could technically summarize it as management and ownership treating strangers better than home grown and loyal roster players. Once these young guys realized the loyalty wasn't reciprocated, they decided to do the same. I think the next contracts negotiated by Conroy are key in determining whether the whole thing will be a non-issue, or if this issue may continue.

I'm not saying that the situation has to turn into bending to the player like the Swayman issue, but something that feels very fair for both sides and continues to foster an excellent relationship would be key in perhaps reducing or completely eliminating the flight risk concerns.