With the NHL Draft and free agency come and gone, the Calgary Flames and general manager Craig Conroy are well into the 2025 offseason. The Flames had another solid draft, filling their positional needs with a centre-heavy class. As far as free agency is concerned, things were relatively quiet in Calgary, bringing back veteran Joel Hanley on a two-year deal and signing goalie Ivan Prosvetov to compete with Devin Cooley for the backup position, with Dan Vladar departing after signing with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The trade front has been even quieter despite a plethora of rumours surrounding Rasmus Andersson. There is also a sprinkle of discussion about Nazem Kadri linked to Toronto and former Flames GM Brad Treliving.
With a busy week in the Flames front office and around the league, we wanted to know how fans think Craig Conroy’s doing thus far in the 2025 offseason. We asked, you answered.
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Feelings about the Flames offseason?
We presented the following poll to our readers:
A
Roughly 15% of fans who partook in this week’s poll think Craig Conroy and the Flames front office deserve an A thus far. The Flames had yet another solid draft class under Conroy, and although they didn’t sign anyone notable in free agency, I’d consider that a positive, too. All signs point toward a relatively young team in Calgary next season looking to find their way. Going out and spending a bunch of money right now doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an improvement to the team.
Conroy’s playing it patient, and thus far, I think it’s paying off. The Flames still have cap space to work with to take on unfavourable contracts through trades, and they aren’t taking any spots away from the young players in the system through filling the roster through signing veterans. Sure, last season’s group was a Cinderella story of sorts and exceeded expectations astronomically. Not a bad idea to just wait and see how things progress as the season starts.
B
With a majority victory, roughly 55% of fans think Craig Conroy deserves a B for his offseason work thus far. Not great, but certainly nothing to complain about. I’d assume for this faction of fans, much of this reduction comes as a result of the Rasmus Andersson situation. There’s no question Flames fans are sick of watching players enter the final year of their contracts with the team. Although Conroy steered the ship relatively well with the Elias Lindholm trade early in 2023, there’s no question the team was out on a limb with Noah Hanifin come that season deadline.
Conroy looks out for his players. He was a player. He cares. That’s no doubt an important part of being a General Manager in the NHL, but I think Flames fans are worried Conroy is playing this one a little too soft.
Rumours have swirled about Andersson refusing to sign with other teams while offers sat on the table. It sounds eerily similar to the amount of control Conroy gave Hanifin and his camp. It’s all negotiation, of course, but at the end of the day, Conroy has to be the one to put his fur down and make a move when he thinks his value is at its peak. Right now, it’s starting to look like he’s willing to roll the dice on yet another top-four defenceman entering the season as a pending UFA.
C
Roughly a quarter of respondents thought Craig Conroy and the Flames deserve a C for their early offseason. The average grade does seem somewhat fitting for the Flames’ front office, most notably due to their inactivity on the trade market and the sheer amount of chatter that’s been heard around the league about some of the Flames’ veterans. Everyone knows Conroy had offers on the table, and it sounds like the player dictated the situation to some degree. I honestly don’t think this criticism would be as warranted if not for Conroy’s history with Markstrom and Hanifin’s departure.
Beyond the Andersson situation, Nazem Kadri’s name has floated around the rumour mill with connections to the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, moving your bona fide number one centre isn’t the ideal choice when your franchise is starving for guys that can play centre.
Where the frustration from fans emerges is in the fact that this front office has preached about young players competing for a spot while hanging onto too many roster players. Wingers, in particular. Yegor Sharangovich had a disappointing season, to say the least, after signing a five-year extension. Joel Farabee has also struggled to find his footing in Calgary since being acquired, not to mention the market a player like Blake Coleman could fetch.
It might not make sense to move all of these pieces—nor at the same time—but fans want to see this team commit to a younger core in a season where they could afford to increase their lottery odds if things fall apart.
F
Roughly 5% of respondents in this week’s poll think Craig Conroy and the Flames are absolutely failing this offseason. This faction of fans, I would imagine, is all in on trading any players outside of Zayne Parekh, Matt Coronato, Conor Zary, or Dustin Wolf to lose as many games as possible and increase their odds at landing Gavin McKenna. It’s not hard to see that the Flames should regress this season to some degree, and selling veterans as soon as possible increases their chances of drafting a franchise-altering prospect.
It’s important not to lose a winning culture, but I’m a strong believer you can lose games and still learn a lot about how to win. Half of Calgary’s wins last season were stolen by a 24-year-old rookie goaltender in games where the Flames were getting their butts handed to them. What did they learn from those wins?
Keep a few key cultural pieces around like Weegar, Lomberg, and maybe one of Kadri or Coleman, and get rid of anyone else that you don’t consider a for-sure piece of this franchise’s three-to-five-year plan.
It’s an extreme, but it’s the offseason in hockey. What else are we going to talk about?
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