It's no secret that the Calgary Flames are well into a rebuild, and with significant assets in the draft over the next three seasons, they've put themselves into a good position to succeed under General Manager Craig Conroy.
The young core of Matt Coronato, Matvei Gridin, Zayne Parekh and Dustin Wolf showed flashes in 2025/26, but if the organization is to follow in the footsteps of teams like the Montreal Canadiens, they'll need some major hits in the draft. That's not the only way to land elite level talent however, as there are trades and free agency, and while we're expected to see some more trades coming from Calgary soon, it's unclear what the team could do in free agency.
Now, Conroy himself has addressed that, and given the lack of superstars available that fit the Flames timeline, it's no surprise that on the latest episode of the Missin Curfew podcast, he all but revealed that Calgary won't be doing anything in free agency.
"Free agency’s not really going to be a thing for us in the next few years - we’re really gonna have to draft and develop."Craig Conroy
"Free agency’s not really going to be a thing for us in the next few years - we’re really gonna have to draft and develop" - Flames GM Craig Conroy @DKNetwork | #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/F7XAAHzOSe
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) May 19, 2026
This is a very similar path to Montreal, who used a mega trade with Vegas to land captain Nick Suzuki, but beyond that, they focused on drafting and developing players like Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Jakub Dobes and Ivan Demidov, all of whom now play starring roles in the Eastern Conference Finals squad. While the Flames prospect group doesn't look that star studded yet, with Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter, Ethan Wyttenbach, Andrew Basha and Samuel Honzek all to find roles at the NHL level, the quantity is there, now they just need the elite level quality.
In the 2026 NHL Draft, Calgary will have the No. 6 pick along with a late first, four second-round picks and two third-round picks, giving them ample opportunity to land that star. Then, they'll have another multiple firsts over the next two drafts beyond 2026, and with the team having plenty of depth already, ignoring free agency is the best possible move for Conroy and the front office.
Add us as a preferred source on Google