Friday marked the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, a day rookie general manager Craig Conroy has been alluding to since his inaugural press conference in May of last year. Entering his first offseason as GM of the Calgary Flames, Conroy inherited a few notable pending unrestricted free agents. Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov, Mikael Backlund, Tyler Toffoli, and Chris Tanev were all impact players entering the final season of their deal.
Of those six, only captain Mikael Backlund agreed to an extension with the team. Although being unable to re-sign five key players is disappointing to Conroy and Flames management, none of them left for nothing.
With memories and discussions of the 2022 offseason still fresh in people’s minds, the fast-talking rookie GM was able to collect a healthy return of assets at one of the most pivotal times in the franchise’s history.
The day every Flames fan was anxiously waiting for after Conroy’s hiring last offseason has finally come to pass. After six months of speculation, mock trades, media scrums, and a noticeably stressful Scotiabank Saddledome, it’s finally time to reflect on whether or not Craig rose to the occasion.
Naturally, this week, we wanted to know how you felt about Conroy’s first trade deadline. We asked, you answered.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Did Craig Conroy meet expectations this season?
We presented the below poll to our readers: How do you think the Flames and Conroy did at the trade deadline? The options being: Exceeded expectations, Met expectations, Below expectations, or Unacceptable outcome.
Exceeded expectations
Exceeded expectations was the second-place fan response in the poll this week.
All in all, Conroy and the Flames have made seven trades since their union last year. Conroy’s trade summary is as follows.
OUT: Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Mathias Emilio Pettersen, 2024 Chicago Blackhawks fifth-round (acquired in Zadorov/Vancouver deal).
IN: Yegor Sharangovich, Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, Hunter Brzustewicz, Artem Grushnikov, Daniil Miromanov, Riley Damiani, Nikita Okhotiuk, 2023 Flames third-round pick (Aydar Suniev), 2024 Vancouver first-round, 2024 Dallas Stars second-round, 2024 Vegas Golden Knights third-round, 2024 New Jersey Devils fourth-round, 2024 Chicago fifth-round, 2026 Vegas first-round, 2026 Vancouver Canucks third-round, and a 2026 Dallas third-round.
Six players left the organization, resulting in nine players and seven draft picks coming back in return. If you’re looking at strictly quantity, it’d be easy to vote for ‘exceeded expectations’.
I’d argue that Conroy exceeded his expectations in value as well. It’s no question that he entered this season with a lot of uncertainty surrounding almost every level of the organization. He had a lot of high-value assets to first attempt to re-sign and, second, trade away for future assets. He accomplished both those goals, and the team has even been playing better despite the noise.
All things considered, Conroy did fetch a healthy return for what the team gave up and set the team up to be young, competitive, and at the draft podium more often. It’s really all you could’ve asked for and more in my eyes.
Met expectations
With a resounding majority of fan votes, Craig Conroy met your expectations in his first season as GM. You could argue that he was dealt a tough hand to begin his career, with a lot of pressure on him from fans and ownership alike.
A lot of money either needed to be shelled out or shipped away.
Tyler Toffoli has effectively been replaced by Sharangovich, while Zadorov caused a noticeable rift early in the season, leading to his exit. Zadorov’s departure turned into Nikita Okhotiuk and another future pick. Lindholm was undoubtedly the splash of the season at the time, bringing back Kuzmenko, a first-round pick, and two defensive prospects. Kuzmenko has out-produced Lindholm statistically since the trade and has Vancouver fans questioning why they made the move at all.
Chris Tanev was a warrior and a notable trade chip entering the deadline. Although rumoured to have been on the table for a first-round pick, he fetched prospect Artem Grushnikov, a second-round pick, and a conditional third in 2026. Hanifin was the last big fish to go, fetching Daniil Miromanov, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2024 conditional third-rounder. Finally, a minor league swap of Mathias Emilio Pettersen for Riley Damiani and a fifth to the San Jose Sharks for Nikita Okhotiuk.
No matter where you sit on the push for the playoffs vs. team tank spectrum of Flames fandom this season, you have to be at least satisfied with what the organization got in return under the circumstances.
Conroy effectively retooled the team, gained future picks, and replenished the prospect pool. Not much more you can ask for, and he met expectations for the vast majority of Flames fans.
Below expectations
Slightly less than the ‘exceeded expectation’ faction, ‘below expectations’ finished as the third highest response to this week’s poll. I’d imagine a large portion of these fans have issues with the way Jacob Markstrom’s situation was dealt with. Maybe there’s some disappointment that the Edmonton Oilers reportedly offered their first-round pick for Chris Tanev, and it wasn’t accepted? Or potentially how Noah Hanifin and Sean Monahan could effectively fetch the same return for their respective teams once draft pick conditions are all said and done. Yes, the same Monahan we traded to Montreal with a first-round pick in order to free up cap space. But alas, we’re in the Craig Conroy era and, in my eyes, Conroy’s job this season has evidently been to clean up the mess Brad Treliving created.
But still, I can see where these fans are coming from. Not capitalizing on the peak of Jacob Markstrom’s trade value is a tough one to watch pass by the wayside. There could be suitors in the summer, but it was heavily reported that the team had a deal served up on a silver platter from New Jersey. Sure, the Flames were winning, but the team was far from getting more competitive at that point.
It was obvious that Tanev and Hanifin were also on their way out, so why hang on to an aging goaltender playing at his peak with your franchise guy waiting in the wings? Moreover, management seemingly has pissed off said aging goaltender to the point he will likely be gone this offseason after a mediocre playoff exit—if the team makes it there.
Aside from the Markstrom situation, I really don’t see how Conroy could’ve done much better. He overachieved on the Lindholm deal and maybe had some arguably lackluster return on the Tanev and Hanifin deals.
Most importantly, not a single high-profile free agent will be leaving the organization for free this season. I’m not sure where you had the bar set for Conroy coming into this season, but I certainly expected at least one to slip through the cracks for an inevitable Murray Edwards bottom third of the standings playoff push.
Unacceptable outcome
We still accept you as a Flames fan, but we do want to check in. Are you okay, one percent vote? What did Craig do to you? Were you cut off on Deerfoot by a charismatic but extremely tired NHL executive headed to the Saddledome on March 8?
Could the one percent be a quiet but harsh former coach and GM, known all too well to fans to be sitting in his farmhouse living room, catching up on late-night highlights?
Or maybe the one percent is the man himself, Craig Conroy….
On to hockey
Although the deadline has passed, the future of the Flames will still be a hot topic of conversation for the remainder of the season. Focus will shift onto the newly acquired prospects and players the organization brought in the last week.
With the Flames eight points back from the final wildcard spot, time will tell whether or not the team can catch Noah Hanifin and the Vegas Golden Knights to snag a chance at the Cup.
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