Here's what Conroy said after Calgary Flames' massive trade with Flyers
The Calgary Flames picked up a big win 4-1 over the Anaheim Ducks last night, but all the talk afterward was focused elsewhere.
Early on in this game, it was apparent that something was brewing, as Andrei Kuzmenko was a late-game scratch. Jakob Pelletier was then removed from the game after the first period, and by the time the dust settled, it was confirmed that both had been traded to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kuzmenko and Pelletier, along with a 2025 second-round pick and 2028 seventh-round pick, were traded to the Flyers in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
“We had a plan moving forward on what we wanted to do,” GM Craig Conroy explained. “It’s not always easy, I know people always want something to happen really quick. We felt at this point these two players are going to be a huge bump in our lineup. Especially, we get a centre — maybe not a right-shot centre — but we get a centre, age-appropriate, something we were really looking for.
“Joel Farabee is a proven two-time 20-goal scorer, he brings some jam… We’re really excited about the guys we’re bringing in.”
While Conroy made it clear on several occasions that he is extremely excited about the new additions, moving out two others was difficult.
“We [lost] some great people in Kuzy and Pelts. Those are the hard parts of the job, those really are. The draft picks are the draft picks because we don’t know them, but those two guys, especially Pelts who’s been here right from his draft all the way through. He was emotional. I was emotional for him. I know what it’s like to be sitting on that other side, it’s not easy.”
Despite being very open and honest about his desire to add a young centreman to his roster this season, these two teams hadn’t been talking trade for long before this deal came to fruition.
“This came together pretty quick today, this morning, to be honest,” Conroy said. “We’ve talked about the players maybe even last year, this year, but I think it never really made sense… it just wasn’t the right time, or it wasn’t the right return.”
Because of how late it came together, head coach Ryan Huska wasn’t given much time to tinker with his lineup ahead of last night’s game.
“I think [I knew at] about 5:30,” said a grinning Huska. “It was late, for all of us. I haven’t even really talked to Conny, to be quite honest with you. It was something that came together, so at that point, we had an idea that we weren’t going to play Kuzy tonight, and it just kind of went from there.”
Huska, like Conroy, expressed his excitement about the deal but also spoke about the bonds he had formed with both Pelletier and Kuzmenko. He was emotional to see them go, as was everyone in the dressing room.
“It’s interesting, for sure. That’s professional sports. It sucks when you lose some good people that are well-liked in the dressing room and popular in here,” Nazem Kadri admitted. “Especially when it happens to younger kids that, typically this might be the first time they’re in a situation like this. You feel for them.
“It sucks, man. It’s hard to stay focused, obviously, it caught everybody’s attention, but at the end of the day, we got the job done.”
The Flames are off tomorrow but will be back in action on Saturday night versus the Detroit Red Wings, and it sounds like both of their new additions will be in the lineup.
“Both [will be in],” Conroy said. “That’s the plan.”
What was overshadowed last night was that with the win, the Flames have jumped back over the Vancouver Canucks for a playoff spot. With their new reinforcements, it is a real possibility that we see playoff hockey in Calgary this April.
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