[ForeverFlameFan]

Some really good input here, and really puts into perspective the many varieties of concerns and great reasoning on why we as fans should be concerned. Who is manning the ship of this disaster? How is Conroy going to be able to fix the mess Treliving made? Is ownership going to start kickstarting the arena build with the shovels to the ground? How are they going to promise the fans that things are going to get better within this decade? Is our scouting good enough to continuously draft players and give them opportunity to flourish in the NHL? Even though it's been a short stint, is Huska even fit for this job, or will the coaching carousel continue? Here is my order, from most concerning to least concerning:

Spoiler!

1) Core - We just simply don't have it. Have some really good players but not elite players. After Gaudreau and Tkachuk left, that was the PERFECT time to rebuild/retool. Sure, we got Huberdeau and Weegar out of the Tkachuk trade, but those assets could have been flipped. I still think Huberdeau is an elite players, just needs the right players to be that kind of player.

2) GM - #2 not because of Conroy, but because of Treliving. His mess is equivalent to what Chayka did to the Arizona Coyotes, and then left. We don't have the same luxury as Arizona as being a dumping ground, given Canada likes to ice teams that are trying to be competitive, but Conroy has his work cut out for him, I hope he knows that. I didn't expect him to be handed such a mess but the Kadri trade really hand-cuffed the Flames not only present but also future. It was a lose-lose trade, and we're getting penalized for it. I have faith that if Conroy remains patient and doesn't go the band-aid route to fix major holes like Treliving did, we will eventually get out of this with a better team and a better future. It starts with selling when the time ie to sell (this year), and NOT extendning Hanifin and Lindholm is a must. Those future assets are far more beneficial for this organization, especially the additional cap space that comes along with it.

3) Ownership - It would have been #1 or #2 if it weren't for the arena plans made. Edwards needs to figure out now that there will be upcoming losses with this team. May as well go for a legitimate retool/rebuild while the arena is in the process of being built. You need a direction for this team, I see none. Don't even have an identity either. Far too long has this organization been going back and forth on making the playoffs. Inconsistency is the only concistent word that can describe the Calgary Flames at this very moment. Fix that.

4) Coaching - Another one I wish I could rate higher, but I can't, because the other three are far more concerning. The coaching carousel continues. Since our first initiation of the rebuild in 2013, we've had Hartley, GG, Peters, Ward, Sutter, and now Huska. I think we can find where some of the inconsistency lies. Every coach has different philosophies, ideas, ways to coach, blending the lines, etc. It would sure be nice to find a coach that could coach this team for longer than 2 seasons.

5) Leadership - This group has always had good leadership with Iginla, Giordano, but then for whatever reason we didn't name a captain for a few seasons. I don't mind Backlund as captain, but after the remarks from the offseason I didn't really want him to become captain. Yes, he was the right option, but in my opinion it was probably time for him to part ways with us. Maybe there wasn't a deal in place, but aside from that I just see no fight, no drive to strive to be better with the current leadership we have right now. It's not the least concerning point, but it's also not the worst. It's something to keep an eye out for as the season progresses, especially with this club that is bound to have 40+ losses if they don't change the course of this season pronto.

6) Core's Supporting Cast - I don't think we have a problem signing free agents or acquiring players that fit really well on this team, as COMPLEMENTARY players. I could go on a whole list of acquisitions and signings, but the majority of them save a select few (Neal, Brouwer, possibly Kadri) we've been alright. I feel the signings we've done far outweigh the bad ones. Hudler, Tanev, Markstrom, Toffoli, Hamilton, Weegar, Huberdeau, etc. are solid additions. We just lack the franchise players to really boost these players.

7) Scouting - I've never had an issue with scouting post-Feaster era. When we've had picks and haven't had them traded like candy from Treliving for stupid depth players (Bollig, Fantenberg?, Gustafsson, etc) we've done quite well with drafting players. What the Flames need to do with our current scouting staff is provide them way more picks to choose from. I am going to use the Coyotes again as an example, acquire as much picks as possible. We may not get as much since we're not a cap dumpster, but we can at least trade players on expiring deals and take on players with 1-2 years of bad cap and get a good pick out of it. Utilize the cap room we can make and try to help contending teams spend their picks and top prospects to us for a couple of years. Our scouting department can take care of the rest.

TLDR spoiler: Flames have a lot of concerns, cannot pinpoint one. Best course of action: Ride out this season, DON'T sign Hanifin or Lindholm, trade those two and Tanev, maybe Zadorov, Vladar, etc. This team should be on a fire sale. We need to get a top pick from a draft that is top 5 heavy again. Could even explore a trade with Mangiapane if there is a team that has the franchise player(s) to really make him explode.