It appears as though the Calgary Flames almost made a major splash on draft day. Eric Francis has reported that the Flames made a significant push to acquire centre Mason McTavish before he was eventually sent to the Blues for a pair of first round picks.
What it means
The news isn’t exactly surprising. The Flames have long been linked to McTavish and similar players given the obvious fit as a young top-six centre. After dealing three draft picks for Simon Nemec last week, it appears as though Craig Conroy isn’t done just yet and is still looking for ways to add more young talent to the Flames roster.
It’s also not surprising the Flames weren’t able to match the eventual return either. A 15th overall pick along with a 29th overall pick is a hefty price to pay for a player in McTavish who really struggled last season. The Flames likely would’ve had to package one of their top prospects along with their 30th overall pick to get the deal done. That price just doesn’t make sense for a Flames team who has plenty of time to figure things out still.
With that said, it’s clear Conroy is looking to be aggressive and may go to a secondary option this summer after missing out on McTavish.
