Flames GM Conroy has fared well after being placed in extremely difficult position
Craig Conroy was thrown into the fire immediately when the Calgary Flames named him general manager in May.
The Flames were in complete disarray at the time. There were reports several players wanted out due to a tumultuous 2022-23 season under former head coach Darryl Sutter. When he first took over, the Flames had several pending UFAs in Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Mikael Backlund.
Conroy was able to sign Backlund to a two-year extension while also naming him captain in late September. While contract extensions were discussed with several others, none came to fruition, as all the others listed above have since been traded. The last of the bunch to go was Hanifin, who was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights last night.
It’s rare to see a GM come in and make this many changes in such a short time. It’s even less heard of to see one forced to make such changes, which Conroy was. For some, it could be too much to handle, but Conroy was able to keep collected and remained true to his original plan of building for the future.
Though fans weren’t thrilled with the return for Hanifin, Conroy was able to add yet another first-round pick to his collection. He nabbed a first-round selection for Elias Lindholm as well, along with a very intriguing blue line prospect in Hunter Brzustewicz. He was also able to bring in talented and young forward Yegor Sharangovich, who appears to factor into the Flames’ long-term plans. Andrei Kuzmenko, who was also acquired in the Lindholm trade, has played well in the early going and may be flipped ahead of next year’s trade deadline for even more future assets.
For now, the future of Jacob Markstrom will be the biggest talking point surrounding the Flames. The 34-year-old was nearly flipped to the Devils in February, but talks ended up falling through. It is clear that the Swedish goaltender isn’t happy with how things played out, which has many believing a trade will happen in the offseason. Moving an elite goalie such as Markstrom won’t be easy, but will allow Conroy to continue improving this team in the years to come.
Not all the returns Conroy has gotten have been perfect, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan base that agrees with each and every move their team’s GM makes. Considering how much pressure he has faced since taking over, it seems safe to assume that the Flames are in good hands with Conroy at the helm.
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