With the Jacob Markstrom trade complete, the Calgary Flames are still in for an interesting offseason. The team has now freed up about $24 million in cap space, leaving GM Craig Conroy with lots of room to make some moves. Free agency is an exciting time for many teams, as GMs look to make the next big signing for their franchise. For the Flames, however, things are going to be done a bit differently. Calgary is going through a period which will dictate the future of the franchise. Conroy traded a majority of the team’s high-profile UFAs and has paved a new direction for the future. The Flames have publicly said that a retool is the ideal scenario and aren’t interested in a full-on teardown. That said, picks and prospects are very much still on their radar. After the Markstrom trade, the Flames will have six first-round selections in the next three drafts. In the 2024 Draft, the Flames will have two selections in the first round including the ninth overall pick. Calgary is also considering potentially flipping draft assets for young, NHL-ready players.
For free agents, the Flames won’t be contenders to land big-name players. Instead, expect the team to sign players to shorter-term deals allowing for more flexibility down the road. When it comes to contracts, term can be more problematic than a player’s AAV. Teams often prefer to pay a player more for a few seasons rather than have them stick around long-term or commit to too much time, especially as players age. For the Flames, it makes little sense to sign players to long contracts. With that being said, you still need players to help hit the cap floor and to build an NHL-worthy team. Conroy will need to balance signing enough players to ice a competitive roster while focusing on developing and strengthening their prospect pool to ensure stability in the future. This is where short-term deals come in. The Flames are more likely to give shorter two or three-year deals to middle-six players who can provide a veteran presence for their youth. This provides flexibility for the team as those players can be used as trade bait later on if needed. After all, the Flames aren’t going to be competitive anytime soon so signing these contracts isn’t going to hurt them in the long run.
On Sportsnet’s Flames Talk Podcast, Pat Steinberg and Aaron Vickers discuss potential UFA options for the Flames. They mention forwards such as Jake DeBrusk, Anthony Duclair, and Jason Zucker as being potential middle-six options. For defense, they mention names such as Tyson Barrie and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for depth options on the blue line. These players would obviously be signed short-term and would have the opportunity to raise their trade values as well as provide veteran leadership. Another way the Flames can also maximize asset management is taking on bad contracts from other teams, obviously within reason. Despite promises of a retool, the situation in Calgary is trending towards a rebuild. The Flames only have six players left on the team from the 2021-2022 season, and more turnover could happen in the future. The trend with all these trades the Flames have made is the acquisition of future assets being the main part of the return. If the Flames kept Markstrom, a retool would still be justifiable as he would allow the team to still be somewhat competitive. But with Markstrom gone, arguments for the Flames being a playoff team in short order are hard to make. Trading Markstrom was the best for the player and the team’s long-term vision. With his departure, it’s hard to picture the Flames turning this around quickly. It’s also unlikely Conroy tries to fill in holes throughout the lineup through signings and trades, as that just wouldn’t be wise. Regardless most Flames fans are in it for the long haul. The team finally has a solid direction and Flames fans are pretty confident that Conroy has a long-term vision. However, only time will tell.
