Flames Are Positioned For A Busy Offseason

The Calgary Flames could be one of the NHL’s most fascinating teams this summer, as they remain among the few teams firmly entrenched in a rebuild. What makes Calgary unique is not that they’re rebuilding, but where they are in the process. They are in a position to accelerate their timeline over the next 12-18 months through shrewd trades involving their remaining veterans, a process general manager Craig Conroy has been pursuing over the past few years, moving out older veterans while stockpiling draft picks, prospects, and salary-cap flexibility. The real heavy lifting begins now.

The Flames enter the offseason with a strong core of young players, including Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh, Matthew Coronato, Connor Zary, and Matvei Gridin. Conroy has said most players are available via trade, but one would have to believe Calgary remains committed to building around its younger core rather than executing a full teardown or chasing quick fixes in free agency.

This summer, Calgary is in a strong position to do a lot of business if they are so inclined. The Flames have a ton of cap space, which they could use in any number of ways, whether it’s to acquire pricey young talent to upgrade the NHL roster or to take on unwanted contracts in exchange for additional assets. The Flames could go either way but combining their cap flexibility with their draft capital would give Conroy many options to improve in the future.

Then there are the veterans who will attract significant interest on the trade market. Forward Blake Coleman will certainly be available and should draw interest given his playoff experience and leadership qualities. He is entering the final season of his current contract, and it’s hard to imagine him having a future in Calgary beyond this season. Ryan Strome is another player who could be moved, but his market may be limited after a poor showing last year. Strome is in the final year of his contract, so he could be moved near the NHL Trade Deadline, but it’s hard to imagine him having much of a market unless he can return to the level of play, he showed in the seasons before last year.

The best pending UFA in Calgary is probably Morgan Frost, who remains an intriguing two-way option at just 27 years old. Frost isn’t going to wow anyone offensively, but he is a consistent 40-point forward and a solid defender. Given his age, he could be an extension candidate in Calgary if they are looking to keep some of their younger veterans in the fray.

Beyond a few pending UFAs, Calgary has some veteran players with term remaining on their deals who could be of interest to teams seeking short-term upgrades. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a former Stanley Cup Champion, came to the Flames in the Rasmus Andersson trade and would be sought after if Calgary makes him available. He is just 29 and has two years remaining on his deal, with a cap hit of $2.75MM, making him a strong option for a third-pairing role. Whitecloud won’t score much or wow anyone, but he plays an honest game and can take on the defensive role alongside a more offensively minded partner.

Speaking of defensive defensemen, Olli Maatta is also an option for Calgary to move, as he has two years left on his deal at $3.5MM per season. Maatta is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion who has bounced around the league a lot since the Pittsburgh Penguins traded him seven years ago. He is playing for his fifth team since then but remains a steady presence. He probably isn’t suited for top four duties anymore but can fill in if needed. Maatta played sparingly in Utah last year before being dealt, but after the trade he logged 22:30 minutes a game with Calgary and fared reasonably well, posting two goals and 12 assists in 21 games.

Now, with Calgary in its current position, there isn’t much pressure to win, which should allow management to show some patience and perhaps capitalize on more desperate teams looking to acquire talent this summer. The Flames have a few players on long-term deals who aren’t veterans but may not fit Calgary’s current timeline. Yegor Sharangovich is a name that comes to mind, as he is signed to a lucrative long-term deal and didn’t produce much offence last season. With four years left on his contract at $5.75MM per season, the Flames need more than 29 points from the centre and could look to move him if teams are seeking a struggling player with offensive upside. Sharangovich is just 28, so he could still turn things around, but the last two seasons have been an offensive grind for the Minsk, Belarus, native.

Outside of moving guys out, the Flames have a pile of draft capital and could move up in this year’s NHL Entry Draft or turn picks into prospects or young, NHL-ready players who can play alongside Calgary’s young, NHL-ready prospects. The Flames have some good young pieces in Wolf, Zary, Coronato, and 2024 9th overall pick Parekh, and much of their timeline will hinge on the development of those four players. Zary and Coronato look like future top-six wingers, and they will need to be supported by other young, NHL-ready players to take the next step. Gridin is another intriguing young player in the Flames pipeline who will have a big role when Calgary emerges from this rebuild.

One thing the Flames are unlikely to do is spend heavily in free agency. That doesn’t mean they won’t make any moves, but at this stage of their rebuild, they will be looking to add pieces who can complement their core players beyond this season or serve as short-term options to move for future assets. The Flames could also use their sizeable cap space to bring in older players on bad contracts to grab assets from cash-strapped teams, as the Pittsburgh Penguins have in recent seasons, but it remains to be seen whether they will pursue that.

For the Flames, at the end of the day, this summer is about using their flexibility to set the table for next summer and beyond, when they can begin to push their chips all in around this core, which should see an infusion of young talent in the coming seasons.