Ever since Craig Conroy was brought in as GM of the Calgary Flames, questions have always come up about his vision on building the team back up. It’s been known for a while that the Flames weren’t exactly going to do a full-on teardown; rather, they would be looking to slowly implement more youth into their lineup alongside their veteran players. A team that has been regularly brought up as a comparable within Flames media and personnel has been the Dallas Stars.
The Stars never did a full teardown during their rebuilding years. Instead, they chose to implement young players into their lineup while keeping a core of veterans on the team. They also drafted extremely well, resulting in many of their draft picks becoming franchise cornerstones.
Dallas has been a team brought up many times by Conroy as a comparable to the Flames’ current process. While this certainly could work, it also could severely backfire. Should the Flames look to follow a similar path Dallas took to build the team they have today? Or should they get their inspiration elsewhere?
Why the Flames are looking to follow the Stars’ path
So why are the Flames even looking to Dallas as inspiration for their rebuild? Well, roster construction is a huge part of the reason.
Like the Stars, the Flames have some veterans who are making some significant money. The Stars have Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, while the Flames have Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar. Huberdeau in particular, is making $10.5 million per season, while Seguin for example, is making $9.85 million per season. However, Seguin’s contract will be ending soon at the end of the 2026-27 season, and Benn will be a UFA this summer.
There’s also the fact that the Flames are very unlikely to “tank” and go for a teardown. The thought of this team rebuilding may even be foreign to some, as the franchise has never properly rebuilt in its history. Keeping a consistent core of veterans also contributes positively to a team’s culture, and we know the Flames are high on that.
In general, the Flames seem to be eyeing this way of rebuilding as the best thing for the franchise moving forward, but is likely to work? Let’s look at the next big aspect about Dallas’ plan and that’s drafting.
Drafting is a huge part of the Stars’ model. Flames need to replicate it
The biggest reason why the Stars got where they’re at today was their incredible drafting. Here’s a chart of all the current young core players on the Stars, and the position and year they were drafted:
| Player | Draft position | Draft year |
| Miro Heiskanen | 3rd overall | 2017 |
| Jake Oettinger | 26th overall | 2017 |
| Jason Robertson | 39th overall | 2017 |
| Thomas Harley | 18th overall | 2019 |
| Wyatt Johnston | 23rd overall | 2021 |
As you can see, the 2017 draft was life-changing for the Stars. They drafted three players in Miro Hieskanen, Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson who are all now important members of their core. What’s even more remarkable is that out of all of these players, Hieskanen was the only top three pick, which says a lot about the Stars’ scouting staff.
We all know that Conroy had an amazing 2024 draft, so the Flames scouting staff certainly aren’t fools. On the flipside, the Flames will need to replicate that type of success if there’s any hope of finding a franchise player in the later rounds. It won’t be easy, but hence why the team needs to focus on drafting skill and upside with every selection. The team cannot afford to whiff on picks, especially ones in the late-first to second round.
Risks that come with this type of plan
Following a plan like this has no shortage of risks that are associated with it. Just like any rebuild, if there’s mismanagement or impatience that is shown during this process, it can erase all the progress teams make while having the goal to build up to a contender.
Starting off with the obvious issue being draft picks that don’t turn out. If you’re not depending on high draft picks for elite talent, you cannot afford to miss out on your later picks, ensuring that your scouting and draft personnel know their stuff.
Secondly, there’s the potential for rushing the process due to impatience. When having high-profile veterans on the team, their goal is to compete. Kadri for example, is hungry for postseason action, but at the same time isn’t stupid and realizes it may be a while before the Flames get back into contender status. Obviously with Kadri being 34, he doesn’t have much time left. The last thing the Flames should do is appease their veterans by rushing the rebuild when it still needs time. It happened before with this team, and the last thing we want is history repeating itself.
Has the Stars’ model led to success?
The Stars have reached the postseason six times in the last seven years, reaching the conference finals in the last three seasons. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. There’s no doubt that Dallas’ emergence as a contender can be traced back to their model. However can it truly be considered a success?
Well, Dallas has had playoff success; they’ve never seemed to get over the hump of the conference finals. Most recently, the Stars were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in five games, marking an embarrassing series for the team.
While Dallas hasn’t truly won yet, their core is still young and has time to mature. Dallas will continue to be a contender for years to come, but the story will always be whether they can take their play to the next level. In many ways the team has seen much success, but at the same time they haven’t. It’s truly based on perspective.
Final thoughts
Regarding the Flames, building their team in a way similar to Dallas will be no easy task. They’ll have to have an elite drafting record over the next few seasons. Additionally, they’ll have to resist the temptation of rushing the process to cater to veteran players. I think it can be done, but yet again, it’ll require smart and meaningful decisions from Flames’ management, also assuming that ownership doesn’t attempt to meddle in the process.
One thing is for certain: the Flames are starving for elite talent. The day this team acquires or drafts a franchise player will change everything. Having elite, game-breaking talent is how you win in this league, and if the Flames don’t have a plan to acquire it, they’ll have a very hard time competing amongst others.
