Conroy Is Back – Or Is He?

In what continues to be a quiet summer in Flameland, the big news of the week was the surprise re-signing of Craig Conroy – surprising because most observers had assumed the veteran centre was no longer in Calgary’s plans. Well, upon closer inspection of the deal, he may not be after all.

Conroy signed a one-year deal at the league minimum $500,000 (U.S.), a pittance for a 16-year veteran with a reputation as a solid two-way centre, a leader and a great presence in the dressing room. What’s more, it’s a two-way deal – meaning the Flames can send him down to the minors at a greatly reduced price any time they want to.

True, Conroy is coming off a lousy 15-point season and will be 39 years old when the new season begins, but he certainly could have done better than this elsewhere. He made it clear in interviews after the deal was announced that he wanted to stay in Calgary, and as a result he clearly gave the Flames a huge hometown discount.

But a two-way deal? Really? That’s a slap in the face for a veteran like Connie. There may be something else going on here.

That something else may be this: Conroy is at 991 career games. He’d like to reach 1,000, and he’d like to do it in a Flames uniform. It could be that this isn’t so much a contract as a retirement package.

The Flames may use Connie in spot duty for a few games early in the year until he gets to his 1,000th game, then hold a tearful retirement announcement followed by Cragi Conroy night at the Saddledome (smiling pics with the wife and kids, a gold hockey stick and the keys to an SUV, the usual) and then send him off to the sunset. (In Connie’s case, the sunset probably means a job in the organization – maybe assistant-coaching at the Flames’ minor-league affiliate in Abbotsford, B.C.)

OK, so maybe I’m being cynical. But at best, this has to be viewed less as a signing than as a tryout – Conroy is trying to earn a spot on the team, and the Flames have an out (retirement or the minors, with little or no cost and no salary-cap hit) if he isn’t good enough. In effect, Connie is entering camp with not much more than Theo Fleury had last fall, and we all no how that ended (see above, more or less).

Of course, there is an alternative theory for conspiracy fans out there trying to figure out why the Flames would ink Conroy to a contract (yes, even one as flimsy as this one) – and that’s Daymond Langkow. There are still big question marks surrounding Langkow’s health after he took a slapshot to the back of the neck last year, and if Langkow isn’t healthy enough to start the season (or finish it), the Flames may need some insurance at centre. Conroy provides this. With the two-way contract, the Flames could send Connie down to Abbostford, have him act as a playing assistant-coach helping develop the young guys down at that level, and be ready to step in should the injury bug hit the big team, either with Langkow or anyone else. It’s a nice little fall-back plan.

Either way, the Flames have been a better franchise for having Craig Conroy around; he’s a heart-and-soul guy who has given a lot to the team, on and off the ice.