Craig Conroy went on Sportsnet 960 immediately after the NHL Trade Deadline to chat about his decision to not make any moves during the deadline. He spoke about the different opportunities that the Flames had going into the deadline.
Let’s get into the biggest tidbits.
On the Flames staying out of action
When asked about whether or not it was always the plan to stay out of the Trade Deadline this year, Conroy would say:
“It’s easy to get caught up in [the trade deadline] because it’s exciting and there are good players out there but like we said before, we need age appropriate guys, guys who can grow with us and than consider what it’s gonna cost to acquire these players. Some fans might be saying that I didn’t do anything but sometimes not doing anything is better for the team.”
On keeping the Flames together
Craig Conroy had been adamant from the start that he wanted to stick with the group that he currently has. When asked if he thinks that the message that they are going to keep the current core together is an important one, Conroy would say:
“This team believes in itself. Where we started in the year and where people thought we were gonna be, to now be in the playoffs on deadline day. I am just so proud of them and what they have done. Hopefully they can keep it up over the next 20 games.”
On utilizing Calgary’s deadline cap space
With the Calgary Flames currently sitting on $18M worth of cap space. Craig Conroy was asked if there was ever any thought put into trying to retain cash for other teams. The Flames’ GM would say this:
“There was a couple [teams] the other day that wanted us to do deals that would require us to retain two years’ worth of salary and they just didn’t feel quite right to do. We were hoping to do one year retentions this year but we weren’t able to do it and that was the disappointing part. We were hoping for one of those calls today but they didn’t come and they didn’t come for anyone to be honest.”
On deadline day prices
We ended up seeing multiple players at this year’s deadline moved for rather spectacular prices. Depth players like Brandon Tanev were traded for a second-round pick, much more than a player of his calibre would regularly cost. When asked about the abnormally large prices that we saw during the trade deadline, Craig Conroy said this:
“There were so many teams that were buying and so few teams that were selling. If you were a [selling team] than it was a great day but overall, it always comes down to what you feel is fair. It was definitely interesting to watch it from the outside and just to know that we weren’t at [that point] this year.”
Here comes the final stretch of the season
Craig Conroy seemed to believe that all things considered, the choice to stay out of this year’s deadline was the right one. With his team currently still fighting to hold on to their second wild card spot. Whether or not it ends up being the right decision remains to be seen.
