Updated Look at the Calgary Flames Assets Under GM Craig Conroy
By Nathan Smith
Craig Conroy has been the Calgary Flames General Manager for around nine months now, and while some haven't been thrilled with every move, it's safe to say that he's delivering on the early promise of making this team younger. On the ice, Calgary have seen the likes of Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil play starring roles, and his asset management certainly has to be praised.
After several big trades over the past few months, Conroy has begun to clean up the mess that was left for him by Brad Treliving, and with the group of pending UFA's out the door, this is now his team to build and mold going forward. So with the 2024 trade deadline in the rearview mirror and the future to look forward too under GM Craig Conroy, let's take a look at the teams assets from the time he began to now.
Ins | Outs |
|---|---|
Two first-round picks, a second, three third-round picks (one conditional), conditional fourth and a fifth. Yegor Sharangovich, Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Artem Grushnikov, Daniil Miromanov, Joni Jurmo, Riley Damiani and Nikita Okhotiuk. | Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Emilio Pettersson, 2024 fifth-round pick. |
Sure, each individual trade may not have blown Flames fans away, but Conroy is doing exactly what needed to be done, and that's get assets in return for players whose futures did not exist in Calgary anyway. The Flames now have 25 draft picks over the next three years, with nine of those coming in the two rounds, and with Brzustewicz, Miromanov and Grushnikov all having potential roles in the Flames blue line over the next few years, the deals continue to look better and better.
On top of this, the Flames had one of their most fruitful drafts in recent memory, with Samuel Honzek, Etienne Morin, Aydar Suniev, Yegor Yegorov and Jaden Lipinski all appearing to be future NHL talents, and the difference from a year ago to now for the Flames organization is truly staggering.
Conroy hasn't been shy about using waivers either (something the former General Manager wasn't inclined to use as much), with Joel Hanley, Brayden Pachal and A.J. Greer all being added via waivers during his tenure. It's too early to tell whether or not Conroy is the man to see this team to the top of the league, but all the moves he's made thus far have instilled confidence in the organization going forward.
Waivers In | Waivers Out |
|---|---|
AJ Greer, Joel Hanley, Brayden Pachal. | Nick DeSimone, Adam Ruzicka, Jordan Oesterle |
With the Flames looking to become competitive by 2026-27 alongside the opening of the new arena, Conroy is making all the right moves, and if the scouting department can put together another two or three fantastic draft classes like the last one, this team could have the building blocks to finally put together a sustained level of success.