An Alberta rival and a team with two former players excelling is not a pretty sight for the Calgary Flames as they face difficult roster decisions about what comes next, says Adam Proteau.
Calgary Flames fans may look at this Stanley Cup final and cringe.
The Edmonton Oilers are in one corner. The provincial rivals struggled in the NHL standings for so long that they got Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins through the draft while the Flames pushed hard for the playoffs.
In the other corner, the Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup final for the second straight season. With former Flames forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett thriving for Florida, questions of what might have been in Calgary probably haunt Flames fans.
Had Bennett played like he is now in Florida and had not been traded in 2021, and had Tkachuk not been dealt one year later – it’s safe to think Calgary would’ve been a playoff team this season.
That said, there was enough talent on the Flames’ roster heading into the season to get Calgary into the post-season. Even after trading veterans Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Noah Hanifin this year, they were expected to be better than they were.
But now, the Flames are in a situation where they need to move on from most of their veterans and rebuild from the ground up.
In many ways, that won’t be easy. Certainly, the contract of winger Jonathan Huberdeau, which carries an average annual value of $10.5 million for the next seven seasons, will be incredibly difficult to move.
The 30-year-old has a full no-trade clause for the next five seasons, but if Calgary GM Craig Conroy makes it clear to Huberdeau that it will be a long road ahead, perhaps Huberdeau will welcome a move to a new team.
The problem is, which teams want to assume that cap hit and that amount of contract term? That’s a bigger cap hit than many teams will have on their roster, and that’s for a player who has averaged just 53.5 points in the past two seasons. On a better team with a better fit, Huberdeau and his numbers would improve. But Conroy will have to be extremely creative to make a Huberdeau deal happen.
Forward Nazem Kadri's contract also has many years left for the Flames. The 33-year-old has five seasons left at a cap hit of $7 million.
Kadri did say at the end-of-season press conference that he wants to stay with the Flames and be part of this next phase of the team.
While he improves whoever he plays with, his Cup-winning pedigree and versatility will make him a more attractive trade option for teams seeking a trade fit with Conroy if it helps the team in the long term. And although Kadri also has a full no-move clause, if the right team comes along and pitches him a chance at winning another Stanley Cup, it could be worthwhile.
But the most intriguing piece the Flames have – yes, even more intriguing than veteran goalie Jacob Markstrom, who very likely will be dealt out of town – is veteran defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
The 30-year-old blueliner is signed for the next seven seasons with a very manageable cap hit of $6.25 million. If Calgary does the right thing and strips down the roster, why would Weegar want to stick around? He could get the most of any Flames asset on the trade market, and the draft picks and prospects that would come Calgary’s way make a Weegar trade very palatable.
Conroy’s previous wheeling and dealing have paid off with several additional draft picks for Calgary. The Flames have two picks in each of the first four rounds of the 2024 NHL draft, and that’s an excellent start for their rebuild. But the more picks Conroy can pick up, the better and faster Calgary’s makeover will turn out to be.
The Flames’ underachieving ways this season have led management to a crossroads, and the veterans on the team are going to pay a price for that. There’s no place for the “mushy middle” for this Calgary team. Another “almost good enough, but ultimately not good enough” season will be indefensible.
The Flames must make bigger moves – even if it means taking a backward competitive step. They must give their fans the feeling the organization is willing to bite the bullet and rebuild the group in the most reliable manner: through the draft and through acquiring younger players whose best years won’t arrive for a few years. The team to their north did exactly that.
Flames fans are mature enough to accept short-term pain for long-term gain. Just as they accepted the trading of Hanifin, Lindholm and Zadorov this season, they’ll accept trades for Kadri, Weegar, Markstrom and more.
Even if it means seeing more of their current veterans succeed elsewhere – the way Tkachuk and Bennett are succeeding now – the Flames have to roll with the punches fate has brought them and do what they can to turn things around the right way.