While most hockey fans are dialed into the Stanley Cup Final, Calgary Flames fans who have an unhealthy obsession with the team are staying up at night thinking about what the Flames should do this offseason. There are many question marks surrounding the team.
Rasmus Andersson’s days as a Flames are likely numbered, Nazem Kadri is generating lots of interest from teams around the league, and the Flames have over $26M in cap space. The Flames have options in front of them, but what path should they take? We asked, you answered.
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What path do the Flames take?
We presented the below poll to our readers:
Sell and tank
The 2026 draft includes one of the most anticipated prospects since Connor McDavid. Gavin McKenna has broken records, and honesty looks NHL-ready right now. Teams are just waiting for the chance to draft a player of his caliber. The Flames are also in desperate need of a number one centre in their prospect system. They have an elite goalie in Dustin Wolf and an elite defenceman in Zayne Parekh. All they are missing is an elite number-one centre. Even if they don’t get Gavin McKenna, the 2026—and 2027—draft is absolutely loaded with elite talent.
Buy to compete now
The Flames barely missed the playoffs last year, and they have tons of cap space to add to their roster. If they want to try to compete now, don’t be surprised to see them take a massive run at Mitch Marner and other free agents. It’s up to the Flames front office to decide how close they truly feel they are to competing and being a Stanley Cup contender. If they feel like they are close, it’ll be a busy summer assessing the free agent class.
Stay the course
This path would confuse most fans, in my opinion. This is arguably the worst course of action, as it would just guarantee the Flames another finish in the mushy middle. They need to pick a direction, but this isn’t a direction at all. It seems that most fans agree, as this option received the fewest votes.
This summer is key
Craig Conroy needs to decide what the path will be, as this summer will likely decide whether years get added to the timeline of the Flames building up to Stanley Cup contenders. The franchise has a solid prospect pool, but they just need to add some elite talent before they are really set up. Additionally, Conroy needs to decide which players are a part of the long-term plan and which are not.
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