With the trade deadline approaching, the Calgary Flames are approaching another benchmark in their rebuild/transition period. It won’t be anything like the 2023–24 trade deadline but that doesn’t mean Craig Conroy won’t be working the phone. The Flames once again leave fans with more questions than answers.
Are the Flames buyers or sellers?
Thanks to Dustin Wolf’s standout rookie performance, the Flames are looking for a chance to steal the second wild card spot from the Vancouver Canucks.
Their current roster is not built for the postseason. Your sixth and seventh defencemen should not be logging top-pairing minutes. Craig Conroy should be looking to flip Tyson Barrie or Joel Hanley. Draft capital is the name of the rebuilding game. This is a project that is going to take more than one offseason to fix.
Rasmus Andersson’s name has been floating around as a trade target. The 28-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract. He would be a great addition to any team’s top-four. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher why Conroy wouldn’t explore the possibility of trading him. He’d likely bring in a haul similar to Elias Lindholm if not more. Is there a world where you send Andersson out for that coveted right-shot centre you’ve been dreaming about?
Conroy has talked about rewarding his team’s hard work with better players. He brought in Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost because of their unprecedented success. The trade has a lot of upside and you hope to see more of this from Conroy.
Andersson’s extension
Another point of contention is Conroy’s determination to sign Andersson long-term. Andersson is eligible for an extension on July 1, 2025.
Andersson is a homegrown player. The Flames drafted him 53rd overall in the 2015 draft. He paid his dues in the AHL and worked his way to the Flames top pairing.
Not only is Andersson a great player but he has the heart of a lion. He will leave it all out on the ice and has no problem speaking to the media. There is a sense of competitiveness and resiliency that makes him likable. His love for the city along with his passion for winning makes you want him to lift the Stanley Cup as a Flame. He’s earned it.
However, we can’t always have a Hollywood ending. We hear all the time about how hockey is a business and decisions have to be made. It’s never personal, just a decision that benefits the team.
If the long-term plan is to get younger and win, how do you do that with an aging defenceman? There’s already been a noticeable drop-off in his performance this season. Is this something you want to be stapled to for the next seven or eight years?
Huska and his lineup
Head coach Ryan Huska has had an interesting approach to his lineup. He isn’t afraid to get creative and switch up some lines but it isn’t the swapping that’s confusing. Rather it’s the line matching.
36-year-old Mikael Backlund led the Flames in ice time (20:37) against the Seattle Kraken. This is a decision that leaves many fans and analysts stumped.
Another head-scratcher is not allowing Rory Kerins more time to prove himself. Kerins has four points in his five games. He added the much-needed energy to the lineup and proved that he earned that spot. For one reason or another, Huska found that fourth-line centre Kevin Rooney was more worthy of that roster spot.
The team is in a transitional period where they need to be integrating as much youth as possible. Kerins has been denied time and time again despite having exceptional seasons in the AHL. The Flames can’t afford to write Kerins off after five games.
Connor Zary suffered a lower-body injury on January seven against the Anaheim Ducks. Zary is listed as out indefinitely but has been skating in a limited capacity.
The offence could receive a much-needed boost if Zary does return this season. There’s no need to rush him back but it feels like the break may have come at the perfect time.
If Zary returns, will we see him back at centre or will Huska continue to switch up his responsibilities?
Are the Flames still on track?
This season’s success has added yet another question to the list. Are the Flames still on track to rebuild rather than stick with the decade-plus-old process of sneaking in?
The Flames want to be competitive. Craig Conroy has said he knows the team has to take a step back to be contenders. One top-ten draft pick is not going to fix that.
Rebuilding, retooling, or whatever you’d like to call it, takes time. It is not a one- or two-season project. Dustin Wolf’s immediate success could push things along but it does not make up for the lack of offence.
The new arena and facilities should be motivating enough to make the necessary moves. They have to do whatever they can to make Calgary an attractive destination.
It’s not about the right now but rather three or four years down the road.
Can Conroy stick to the plan and not be blinded by the unexpected success?
Many questions left unanswered
The upcoming six-game road trip feels like a good way to indicate how the trade deadline will go. The season could easily slip away on this road trip or it could put them back in that wild card spot. Before the break, the Flames lost five out of their last seven.
The team went from being within striking distance of third in the Pacific to dropping out of a wild card spot completely. It’s not a great way to build any semblance of momentum and it just leaves more question marks as the team is once again caught in the mushy middle.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
