Training camp has nearly arrived and Calgary is no closer to solving its UFA puzzle
Top-line center Elias Lindholm insists he is open to signing a new (read, long and valuable) contract with the Calgary Flames
Top-pairing defenseman Noah Hanifin says he, too, would ink a contract extension, albeit he wants to see how the season plays out first.
Mikael Backlund, whose 900-plus game career has all been with the Flames, has been up front that remaining in the Flames will be based on the club’s direction and title hopes as much as any dollar amount.
Welcome to the quagmire at the feet of new general manager Craig Conroy with those three players due to become unrestricted free agents after the coming season.
With the Flames hosting their annual charity golf tournament on Wednesday — essentially day one of the season— optimism abounds 2022-23’s disappointing and dismal campaign can be parked in the rearview mirror and a playoff berth is possible going forward.
Even so, the Flames remain at a difficult crossroads to maneuver.
Should the Flames roster remain status quo, a return to the Stanley Cup tournament is entirely possible. (Actually winning the championship is less likely, but let us put that aside for the moment.) After all, with bounce-back seasons from most, if not all, of the players who struggled last season, an infusion of youth and good luck, the Flames very well are a playoff contender.
Throw in having a new coaching staff after the often acerbic Darryl Sutter was jettisoned, and the atmospheric change can not be ignored.
But deciding the organization's direction is not simple. On top of the aforementioned trio of pending UFAs, three other defensemen are in the same boat in Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington.
Who stays and who goes is no easy call for a squad already tied with long-time commitments to thirtysomething forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
All of Calgary’s potential UFAs can not be kept in the fold, so which ones are would be worth retaining and at what price point? Of course, which of them actually want to remain? Not to doubt the sincerity of any player with their comments, but we all remember how the Johnny Gaudreau saga played out, and nobody wants to relive that movie.
All of Calgary’s potential UFAs would have trade value at the deadline, which could make for one whale of a rebuild with plenty of assets.
Conroy, who managed one off-season trade with a pending UFA by sending Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils for Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round draft choice, has one heck of a conundrum today, and decisions would be even more difficult if the Flames are firmly in a playoff position when the trade deadline arrives on March 9, 2024.
Even if the Flames are actually a playoff team once the puck drops, there may be even more excitement off the ice.
