Following the trade deadline, the Calgary Flames lost relevancy, and it showed in the standings. But as an organization looking to retool what had been a lineup guilty of falling short on more than one occasion, selling at the deadline and collecting much-needed cap space was the right way to go as they approached the 2024 offseason.
There could still be movement within the organization as a few players the Flames held onto at the deadline did not move, like goaltender Jacob Markstrom. With Dustin Wolf’s emergence, there is a good chance Markstrom goes elsewhere, and that would save the Flames even more cap space.
And the Flames can use it, as they are in the middle of the league with nearly $21 million. Moving Markstrom could further signal the start of an organizational teardown should Calgary head in that direction, so the number listed above could rapidly increase.
Calgary Flames could undergo a teardown in the 2024 offseason
Looking at the state of Calgary’s current roster, they have eight players who would be pending unrestricted free agents in 2025. If they wanted to kickstart the teardown in 2024, it would be a good idea for general manager Craig Conroy to undertake, especially with many of those 2025 free agents like the duo of Andrew Mangiapane and Andrei Kuzmenko taking up 13.5 percent of the organization’s total cap space.
But you can also argue that Conroy won’t tear down the organization, as players like Magniapane and Kuzmenko are still young enough to be long-term assets in Calgary, and you can say the same for Yegor Sharangovich, Kevin Rooney, and Michael Backlund.
Overall, it’s true that the Flames could start over, continue with the players they have, and build around them, or even take on a role where they start bringing up more prospects and restructuring, as opposed to rebuilding, the big club.