[CliffFletcher]

Several insiders reported that Conroy had a deal he liked but it was nixed by someone higher up over retention. We don’t know to what extent that means the money itself or the compensation for retention. I suspect it was both at work - Edwards/Bean don’t like paying millions to people who aren’t working for them, and so Maloney pushed Conroy to ask for more in compensation.

There were also multiple reports that a week to 10 days later the Devils came back with a revised offer that didn’t include salary retention. The reason the Flames turned this down is murkier. It could have been that the revised deal didn’t offer enough hockey value. But we do have reports from Freidman that this second deal was nixed by ownership out of hopes of making the playoffs.

The fact the Flames dealt Hanifin after that date does not invalidate this conjecture. Hanifin was a pending UFA. And the Flames made multiple pitches to re-sign him. They only dealt Hanifin once they had no choice. That’s not the case at all with Markstrom. He’s not a ‘deal him or lose him for nothing’ asset like Hanifin was.

This is all speculative enough that people can believe what they want. Personally, given the track record of this franchise, I have an easier time believing ownership pulled the plug on a deal that Conroy liked than I have believing that several NHL insiders were all manipulated into carrying water for the Devils.