It might be Craig Conroy‘s first year on the job, but he’s already showing the value of having a young, progressive mind behind the wheel.
This year, the Flames have added three NHL bodies to their roster via waivers.
- October 9, 2023: A.J. Greer
- February 4, 2024: Brayden Pachal
- March 5, 2024: Joel Hanley
They’ve also lost two players to waivers this year.
- January 24, 2024: Nick DeSimone
- January 24, 2024: Adam Ruzicka
Conroy has been the most active GM in the league when it comes to adding from the waiver wire, and it has already paid dividends for the Flames.
Not only have the players he’s claimed played important roles on the team, he’s been able to add two depth defencemen and a depth forward without giving away any of his own assets. Not a single draft pick, roster player, prospect, or future consideration was relinquished in acquiring these players, which just goes to show how shrewd Conroy has been with asset management as GM.
This is a very smart bit of business for Conroy.
His predecessor, Brad Treliving, gave up two draft picks to bring in Ilya Lyubushkin from the Ducks. Not Conroy, though, he went and acquired useful depth for free*.
*Teams do pay a nominal fee when they claim a player off waivers, but it’s just a small amount of cash and has no salary cap implications.
How often do players get claimed on waivers?
The waiver system is very rarely used to add players to other teams. Over the course of this season, starting from the first big chunk of waiver activity on September 28, 2023, players have been placed on waivers 369 times. 339 times have resulted in the player clearing waivers, and just 27 times has the player been claimed by another team.
In the 2023–24 NHL season, just 7% of players placed on waivers have been claimed by another team. That means that a player has a 93% chance of not getting claimed if they’re placed on waivers.
Three teams have made three waiver claims this season, including the Flames. The other two are the Anaheim Ducks (Gustav Lindstrom, Ross Johnston, Lassi Thomson) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (Matthew Phillips, John Ludvig, Jansen Harkins).
| Team | Claimed Players | GP from Claimed Players |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 3 | 68 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 3 | 61 |
| Calgary Flames | 3 | 59 |
| New York Islanders | 1 | 38 |
| San Jose Sharks | 1 | 30 |
| Washington Capitals | 1 | 27 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2 | 26 |
| Nashville Predators | 2 | 16 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 1 | 13 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 1 | 11 |
| Minnesota Wild | 1 | 9 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 2 | 8 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 5 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 1 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 4 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 1 | 3 |
| New Jersey Devils | 1 | 0 |
| Ottawa Senators | 1 | 0 |
How have the Flames’ waiver claims performed?
So far, two of the Flames’ three waiver claims have played games for them. Since Hanley was just claimed yesterday, he won’t play his first game with the Flames until their game against the Lightning on Thursday night.
However, both Greer and Pachal have played important roles on the team this season.
A.J. Greer
Greer mostly played in a fourth line role before an injury landed him on the IR. With the Flames, Greer was a positive possession player on both sides of the ice, generating offence at a decent rate and preventing chances against very well.
Greer has played 47 games for the Flames so far, averaging 8:18 TOI at 5v5 and 8:44 overall. He has scored six goals and 10 points.
Brayden Pachal
Pachal has mostly played as a third pairing defenceman, most frequently paired with Oliver Kylington before the Tanev trade, and with Jordan Oesterle after the Tanev trade. With the Flames, Pachal is a defensively sound player, limiting chances against but not driving positive offence.
Pachal has played 12 games for the Flames so far, averaging 13:06 TOI at 5v5 and 13:37 overall. He has one assist on the season.
Joel Hanley
Hanley hasn’t played for the Flames yet, but with Dallas he has served as a 6/7 defenceman. He’s skated in 32 games for the Stars, averaging 13:14 TOI at 5v5 and 13:41 overall. He’s been excellent defensively and average offensively, exactly what you need in a defensive role third pairing guy. Hanley has three assists on the season.
Conroy is a smart GM
So far, everything we’ve seen from Conroy has shown that he’s a smart, capable, progressive general manager. He’s using avenues that others rarely do to bolster his team, and it’s great to see.
He’s sure to be active this week as the trade deadline approaches, and based on his body of work so far the Flames should be in good hands.
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