Here's the year end press conference with Conroy. Worth a listen in the context of this debate, particularly between around minute 5 and 17, which talk about next year and what he's trying to work on and create:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/960/flames-...up-the-season/
My take aways (and a lot of this has been said before):
Conroy is going to target 18-23 year olds with some of the draft capital he's collected. He acknowledges trading for younger players is tough, but teams like Montreal have pulled trades like this off recently. (Very clearly looking for an age group that can push them through the rebuild and not just filler players)
They'll also "weaponize" their cap space if they can to get more assets.
They don't think a Canadian fanbase will support a complete rebuild (he describes it as trading every one on the current team and try to lose), so they've basically traded the key veterans that they couldn't reach an agreement with and they're moving forward through strong drafting and smart trades (the Dallas model... which he acknowledged included having a really fantastic draft).
He expects younger players to take another step forward, and prospects to have a great summer and try to push for a job (he mentioned Honzek).
"Intent" is to make the playoffs and win -- but this is ultimately on the players as Conroy can't score goals, block shots or make saves, which in my mind is why we heard from guys like Weegar, Coleman and Kadri the late season message that guys have to work harder to win (more on this below). Mostly, even through the rebuild, he wants to create a winning culture and for every player, veteran and young, to commit to this culture.
From listening to it and spending a decade working in media relations/public relations, guy is clearly sending a message that he wants the team to maintain a winning culture and for the leadership and veterans to hold the team accountable and take responsibility for where they land. His goal appears to be the playoffs, but I get the sense that even though he'd like that, he has every expectation that the team may struggle next year and he just wants them to work hard and maintain that culture and take steps forward.
I don't get the sense, even trying to read between the lines, that he expects the rebuild to last much more than next year and he'll likely make trades and deals (for young players if he can) to be back in the playoffs by 2025/26. I suspect this is the message he's giving to Coleman/Backlund/Kadri so that they feel that they're a real part of this hopefully quick retool.
What's going to be interesting is whether they can actually pull it off or if they'll have to pivot again if they lose a lot of games -- like they had to pivot this year, when the UFAs didn't want to resign. Gonna be an interesting offseason and couple of years.