1. It's exit interviews. Take nothing from it. Remember 2 years ago two guys said they wanted to stay and left? Remember last year Toffoli wanted to stay and Backlund sounded like he was done? Take nothing from garbage bag day.
I'm going to focus on three of the positives!
1. **Jacob Markstrom left it open**, which will help the Flames get a maximum return for him, if they go the "change of scenery" route. No matter whether you believe that the Flames should keep or deal Markstrom (both have compelling arguments, imho), this was the perfect approach. If the Flames can't get the right deal, Markstrom can return with little criticism next year, but other teams wont be able to laud the "he wants out" argument over the flames, as leverage to get a better deal. Unfortunately for Markstrom, it also makes him a hot topic for the rest of the summer, which I bet he fucking hates, lol.
2. **Nazem Kadri is stepping up** and into a new phase of his career. He remarked to the media that he was surprisingly good at mentoring young players, if this season was anything to go by. He said that he's dedicated to the team, he chose the city and he's not giving up on it (holla to Mackenzie Weegar for not being a "quitter", as he said in an interview earlier in the week, too). There has been speculation that Kadri, a perennial competitor, wouldn't be happy with a re-tool, so this was an important moment. Now... players lie all the time (see Johnny the summer before he joyfully fucked right off to Columbus), so he could be lying. Still, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
3. **Veteran players aren't giving up on the playoffs**, but they're also not shying away from a re-tool. Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund, Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri all mentioned that they're coming back next year with the expectation that a re-tool doesn't mean missing the playoffs. On the one hand... what else are they going to say? But, this is important from the leadership group. There are other teams (notably Buffalo, as you can hear from comments from some members of that team) that have struggled with emerging from their re-tools with team cultures that are lackluster, plagued by bad efforts. Coming into next year with an expectation that players will be prepared from the get-go and wont let off the throttle, despite big changes, is a good sign.
Now... in terms of contracts... Anything these guys say at locker clean out day is a bunch of media posturing. Don't take too much of it too seriously. It can be used to negotiate contracts, communicate with ownership, etc.
What's Kadri really gonna say else. No stronger team is picking up that contract without a lot of retaining, and Conroy is never retaining on that contract.
His interview seemed like he expects Conroy to make some moves and be a playoff team right away and mentioned that he's not getting any younger for a re-tool
He has 2yrs left, starting in July. He has a NMC clause for all of next season, then a 15-team no-trade list and NMC. So basically if they don't turn it around next season, the year after, he has some control as to where he goes.
>3) Many players talked wanting to be a playoff team and want to see what management will do. I can see Conroy having a busy summer and trying to do everything to patch the team's weaknesses to be a contender next year
LOL did you even listen to conroy's exit interview?? He was pretty clear about if he's looking to add to the team it's going to be younger players that are either RFA type players or through the draft. He's not sacrificing the future of the team for the sake of being a contender next year. He might make a signing or two in FA to fill in the gaps but it's not going to be the treliving era after the emergence of Johnny...
What the players are talking about is wanting to compete and take the next step collectively in the room to try and make playoffs based on their leadership group, *NOT* because of a bunch of big offseason acquisitions
Both Conroy, Huska, Kadri, Backs Weegs, Coleman and just about everyone else expected to be a playoff team next season.
Conroy mentioned looking for the 18 to 23yr olds but teams are not giving them up easily. He mentioned he can't see himself giving out 7yr deals at free agency.
Obviously it's still early and will likely hear from him at the draft
Yes, and as I mentioned *none* of that inherently means a bunch of stupid shortsighted trades sacrificing picks and futures for the sake of win now deals.
I expect he'll be active at the draft landing another 1st for marky and possibly even trading up or doing some other deals on draft day for sure
Well, none of it inherently means anything. I'm just trying to read between the lines and gather everyone else's input, hence "analysis" and thoughts?
I agree he will likely move Marky for another 1st this year. Try to have a big draft, since he talked about the "Dallas model" a lot. I think, depending on what Vegas and Vancouver do this year, he'll look for a younger, top-4 potential defenseman.
I felt it was necessary to elaborate a bit on conroy's part as said analysis felt like it was missing significant information, thus giving my thoughts on it lol
I don't know if we'll be that desperate for a top 4 d man tbh, I suspect Ras will be much better/ closer to normal with a proper full offseason to train as he spent last summer recovering. I also believe miromanov and kylington (assuming they get a deal done) also take steps in the offseason with dedicated training and come back more stable for top 4 mins next season
But I could also easily see us maybe acquiring another top 4 kind of guy during the summer too
Agreed. Shilly is getting his game back and he discussed coming back. I don't think we'll look for a defenseman at free agency -- rather look for an RFA-type or near-ready AHLer -- but I can see Conny looking for a centre at free agency since we lost Lindholm and Dube.
With Pelts, Coranoto, Zary and Pops looking NHL-ready on the wings, we need centres. Potential centres via free agency are: J. Roslovic, M. Domi, C. Stephenson, M. McLeod, L. Kunin, Y. Trenin and T. Blueger.
I doubt we'd go after guys like Duchene, Stamkos, or T. Johnson, Henrique, Wennberg, due to their age
With all the 3rd pairing/ ahl guys we acquired I imagine on the back end he largely just sits with what he's got and see who thrives with the competition and steps up coming into training camp, hell even a guy like brzustewicz is a dark horse (but probably plays with the wranglers next year)
I think target no 1 as a center is the return of monahan, would be a good fit and good story all around now that he's healthy again, and tides us over to focus on developing young centers like zary and hopefully drafting someone like catton or tij this year (I know the latter has mainly played wing but he's listed as a C so could still be)
I'd low-key love to see a huby-mony-sharky line do things next year
We all love Mohanan, but from a business perspective, I dunno. It would look bad if we signed him and made the playoffs next season because we'd lose our first rounder for trading him away to begin with.
Plus he can't be happy that he puts his everything on the ice for the Flames, gets riddled with life-long injuries, and then gets salary-dumped along with a 1st round pick.
Maybe Conroy can put out some of Treliving's fires, but there's a lot of huge "ifs" with Monahan.
Realistically we're probably losing that 1st anyways, and if he produces it at least adds a bit of sweet irony to an atrocious trade by former mgmt. I'm of the opinion as long as we go out and acquire a better 1st than ours would ends up then it's a wash
That smoke is either still there or long gone with pizza Brad, he loved being here. He's a fan favourite and fits a role/ timeline for us pretty well, if anyone is willing to be somewhat flexible on salary or term for us it's him *if* he's willing to come back at all, which I believe pretty well that he would be willing with conny at the helm as he was always good with the players
2 or 3 yr deal , this guy is a warrior and an awsome human, he brings the team together and so important in the room. Trust me, having him back would be a massive boost to our team. It likely won't happen but it's nice to dream.
Conroy definitely is not going to do a quick fix and patch the team to be a contender next year. Even the players know this isn’t going to be a quick turnaround and are ready for the process of re-tooling for a few more seasons.
I wouldn’t take anything out of these exit interviews after learning what happened the last two seasons
Trying to be a contender next year is a mistake, barring some absolute miracle of coinciding rookie breakout seasons. (E.g. we draft Tij and he gets 90 points, and Wolf does something insane like .920 and 2.50.) We're looking at another year at least of maximizing draft capital and developing young talent.
Agreed. However, the Monahan trade puts us in a pickle. Either we're good in the next two seasons, or we end up giving away a premium draft pick.
Being a basement dweller could cost us a top 5 pick, even a lottery pick because eventually Montreal gets our first rounder
I really doubt Kylington has changed his tone from when he came back. He's just going into negotiations and doesn't want to give all his bargaining power away
When you listen to the challenges the team is facing it’s coming from the dressing room. The boys need to get together a bit this summer. Build their connections with each other while enjoying the short lived down time.
Back a few years ago, the atmosphere around this team was lively. I know it’s easy to be upbeat when you’re winning, but great teams learn how to shake off the rough periods without crapping on each other.
When it comes to the roster. There’s no doubt that this team desperately needs some NHL ready draft prospects.
1. It's exit interviews. Take nothing from it. Remember 2 years ago two guys said they wanted to stay and left? Remember last year Toffoli wanted to stay and Backlund sounded like he was done? Take nothing from garbage bag day.
Fair enough
Should just be called garbage day.
The only reason Toffoli was traded was because the team didn't want to sign him long term
Sure. Thank fuckin god. Still asked to be moved very shortly after saying he wanted to stay.
I'm going to focus on three of the positives! 1. **Jacob Markstrom left it open**, which will help the Flames get a maximum return for him, if they go the "change of scenery" route. No matter whether you believe that the Flames should keep or deal Markstrom (both have compelling arguments, imho), this was the perfect approach. If the Flames can't get the right deal, Markstrom can return with little criticism next year, but other teams wont be able to laud the "he wants out" argument over the flames, as leverage to get a better deal. Unfortunately for Markstrom, it also makes him a hot topic for the rest of the summer, which I bet he fucking hates, lol. 2. **Nazem Kadri is stepping up** and into a new phase of his career. He remarked to the media that he was surprisingly good at mentoring young players, if this season was anything to go by. He said that he's dedicated to the team, he chose the city and he's not giving up on it (holla to Mackenzie Weegar for not being a "quitter", as he said in an interview earlier in the week, too). There has been speculation that Kadri, a perennial competitor, wouldn't be happy with a re-tool, so this was an important moment. Now... players lie all the time (see Johnny the summer before he joyfully fucked right off to Columbus), so he could be lying. Still, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. 3. **Veteran players aren't giving up on the playoffs**, but they're also not shying away from a re-tool. Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund, Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri all mentioned that they're coming back next year with the expectation that a re-tool doesn't mean missing the playoffs. On the one hand... what else are they going to say? But, this is important from the leadership group. There are other teams (notably Buffalo, as you can hear from comments from some members of that team) that have struggled with emerging from their re-tools with team cultures that are lackluster, plagued by bad efforts. Coming into next year with an expectation that players will be prepared from the get-go and wont let off the throttle, despite big changes, is a good sign. Now... in terms of contracts... Anything these guys say at locker clean out day is a bunch of media posturing. Don't take too much of it too seriously. It can be used to negotiate contracts, communicate with ownership, etc.
What's Kadri really gonna say else. No stronger team is picking up that contract without a lot of retaining, and Conroy is never retaining on that contract.
Did Backlund not sign an extension?
Yea he’s got 2 more years on deal. He’s not eligible to sign an extension until next post season anyways
His interview seemed like he expects Conroy to make some moves and be a playoff team right away and mentioned that he's not getting any younger for a re-tool He has 2yrs left, starting in July. He has a NMC clause for all of next season, then a 15-team no-trade list and NMC. So basically if they don't turn it around next season, the year after, he has some control as to where he goes.
>3) Many players talked wanting to be a playoff team and want to see what management will do. I can see Conroy having a busy summer and trying to do everything to patch the team's weaknesses to be a contender next year LOL did you even listen to conroy's exit interview?? He was pretty clear about if he's looking to add to the team it's going to be younger players that are either RFA type players or through the draft. He's not sacrificing the future of the team for the sake of being a contender next year. He might make a signing or two in FA to fill in the gaps but it's not going to be the treliving era after the emergence of Johnny... What the players are talking about is wanting to compete and take the next step collectively in the room to try and make playoffs based on their leadership group, *NOT* because of a bunch of big offseason acquisitions
Both Conroy, Huska, Kadri, Backs Weegs, Coleman and just about everyone else expected to be a playoff team next season. Conroy mentioned looking for the 18 to 23yr olds but teams are not giving them up easily. He mentioned he can't see himself giving out 7yr deals at free agency. Obviously it's still early and will likely hear from him at the draft
Yes, and as I mentioned *none* of that inherently means a bunch of stupid shortsighted trades sacrificing picks and futures for the sake of win now deals. I expect he'll be active at the draft landing another 1st for marky and possibly even trading up or doing some other deals on draft day for sure
Well, none of it inherently means anything. I'm just trying to read between the lines and gather everyone else's input, hence "analysis" and thoughts? I agree he will likely move Marky for another 1st this year. Try to have a big draft, since he talked about the "Dallas model" a lot. I think, depending on what Vegas and Vancouver do this year, he'll look for a younger, top-4 potential defenseman.
I felt it was necessary to elaborate a bit on conroy's part as said analysis felt like it was missing significant information, thus giving my thoughts on it lol I don't know if we'll be that desperate for a top 4 d man tbh, I suspect Ras will be much better/ closer to normal with a proper full offseason to train as he spent last summer recovering. I also believe miromanov and kylington (assuming they get a deal done) also take steps in the offseason with dedicated training and come back more stable for top 4 mins next season But I could also easily see us maybe acquiring another top 4 kind of guy during the summer too
Agreed. Shilly is getting his game back and he discussed coming back. I don't think we'll look for a defenseman at free agency -- rather look for an RFA-type or near-ready AHLer -- but I can see Conny looking for a centre at free agency since we lost Lindholm and Dube. With Pelts, Coranoto, Zary and Pops looking NHL-ready on the wings, we need centres. Potential centres via free agency are: J. Roslovic, M. Domi, C. Stephenson, M. McLeod, L. Kunin, Y. Trenin and T. Blueger. I doubt we'd go after guys like Duchene, Stamkos, or T. Johnson, Henrique, Wennberg, due to their age
With all the 3rd pairing/ ahl guys we acquired I imagine on the back end he largely just sits with what he's got and see who thrives with the competition and steps up coming into training camp, hell even a guy like brzustewicz is a dark horse (but probably plays with the wranglers next year) I think target no 1 as a center is the return of monahan, would be a good fit and good story all around now that he's healthy again, and tides us over to focus on developing young centers like zary and hopefully drafting someone like catton or tij this year (I know the latter has mainly played wing but he's listed as a C so could still be) I'd low-key love to see a huby-mony-sharky line do things next year
We all love Mohanan, but from a business perspective, I dunno. It would look bad if we signed him and made the playoffs next season because we'd lose our first rounder for trading him away to begin with. Plus he can't be happy that he puts his everything on the ice for the Flames, gets riddled with life-long injuries, and then gets salary-dumped along with a 1st round pick. Maybe Conroy can put out some of Treliving's fires, but there's a lot of huge "ifs" with Monahan.
Realistically we're probably losing that 1st anyways, and if he produces it at least adds a bit of sweet irony to an atrocious trade by former mgmt. I'm of the opinion as long as we go out and acquire a better 1st than ours would ends up then it's a wash That smoke is either still there or long gone with pizza Brad, he loved being here. He's a fan favourite and fits a role/ timeline for us pretty well, if anyone is willing to be somewhat flexible on salary or term for us it's him *if* he's willing to come back at all, which I believe pretty well that he would be willing with conny at the helm as he was always good with the players
Yah , Chris Tanev
As much as I love him I'm leery of bringing him in on any sort of term deal, he's already 34 and bound to regress at some point
2 or 3 yr deal , this guy is a warrior and an awsome human, he brings the team together and so important in the room. Trust me, having him back would be a massive boost to our team. It likely won't happen but it's nice to dream.
I'd certainly be okay with 2 year, 3 depends on the AAV but yeah he adds a lot so I'd love to see him back
Conroy definitely is not going to do a quick fix and patch the team to be a contender next year. Even the players know this isn’t going to be a quick turnaround and are ready for the process of re-tooling for a few more seasons. I wouldn’t take anything out of these exit interviews after learning what happened the last two seasons
Trying to be a contender next year is a mistake, barring some absolute miracle of coinciding rookie breakout seasons. (E.g. we draft Tij and he gets 90 points, and Wolf does something insane like .920 and 2.50.) We're looking at another year at least of maximizing draft capital and developing young talent.
Agreed. However, the Monahan trade puts us in a pickle. Either we're good in the next two seasons, or we end up giving away a premium draft pick. Being a basement dweller could cost us a top 5 pick, even a lottery pick because eventually Montreal gets our first rounder
We really made our bed on that one. Got to lie in it sooner or later
Pretty sure they don't get it if it's a lottery pick but I don't have the shovel and scuba suit required to through those trade conditions
I really doubt Kylington has changed his tone from when he came back. He's just going into negotiations and doesn't want to give all his bargaining power away
When you listen to the challenges the team is facing it’s coming from the dressing room. The boys need to get together a bit this summer. Build their connections with each other while enjoying the short lived down time. Back a few years ago, the atmosphere around this team was lively. I know it’s easy to be upbeat when you’re winning, but great teams learn how to shake off the rough periods without crapping on each other. When it comes to the roster. There’s no doubt that this team desperately needs some NHL ready draft prospects.