The day he was announced as the new general manager of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy pledged to keep an eye on asset management when it came to the club’s seven pending 2024 unrestricted free agents. Referencing what happened in the 2022 off-season with Johnny Gaudreau, he noted the team wouldn’t let players walk away for nothing.
On Wednesday night, Conroy took care of the final lingering piece of business when he traded Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Conroy signed Mikael Backlund to a two-year extension during training camp. Oliver Kylington returned from a 20-month absence in January and all indications are things are trending towards a contract extension for him as well.
Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Hanifin were all traded.
Assets In | Assets Out |
F Yegor Sharangovich F Andrei Kuzmenko D Artem Grushnikov D Daniil Miromanov F Aydar Suniev (2023 third-rounder) D Hunter Brzustewicz D Joni Jurmo 2024 first-rounder (VAN) 2024 second-rounder (DAL) 2024 fourth-rounder (NJ or VAN) (cond.) 2024 fifth-rounder (CHI or CGY) 2025 first-rounder (VGK) (cond.) 2025 third-rounder (VGK) (cond.) 2026 third-rounder (VAN) 2026 third-rounder (DAL) (cond.) |
F Tyler Toffoli D Nikita Zadorov F Elias Lindholm D Chris Tanev (50% retained) D Noah Hanifin (50% retained) |
The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff results that would maximize the Flames’ draft capital would be as follows:
The Flames have used up two of their three salary retention spots. They enter the last two days before the trade deadline with, to be blunt, oodles of flexibility in terms of their roster, their contract structure and the salary cap.
If nothing else, Conroy has done what he said he would do. No matter how painful it may have been to do, Flames management has moved five significant players on expiring contracts for future assets rather than let those players walk to free agency and leave the Flames with nothing to show for them.
Where the Flames go from here – both in the short and medium term – is going to be fascinating.
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