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Originally Posted by Hackey
I have slightly more faith that Conroy won't spend picks as recklessly as Treliving but I also think he's in a position where it makes far less sense.
Do we have a Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, Bennett, Lindholm, etc. in the system yet?
I think we take for granted how extremely lucky we were to obtain some of those players and how difficult it is going to be to replicate something similar unless they bottom out for a few years. Tkachuk at 6 and Gaudreau in the 4th round are very rare.
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I wouldn't say we were fortunate. Every contending team have impact players from the later rounds. The Flames were a bit unlucky with Monahan getting hurt and Bennett not having an earlier impact (though much of that is on them). Plus, they exited the rebuild a bit early.
As for Conroy, I am not concerned with him squandering picks for rentals and bit pieces, at least at this stage of the rebuild. But I wont be shocked if he takes a swing on an offer sheet or a big trade for a young player.
People give Conroy a lot of credit. A lot of it earned. But his first choice wasn't to trade Lindholm, Hanafin, and Andersson. He tried and failed to sign these guys. He also tried to take a big swing or two this summer. That concerns me. In part because he couldn't get it done. In part because failing to sign those guys is dodging a bullet. And in part because it speaks to the desired direction.
On the positive side, Conroy is a great drafting GM. He manages assets well. He is great at finding value. He values youth and has implemented a strong development pipeline.
On the caution side, his trades have mixed returns. His contract signings have been mixed as well. He also seems slow to pull the trigger.
For criticism, he won't pick a direction between rebuilding or winning. He hasn't been able to sign players, make a splash, or find a way to action his intent a lot of the time.
I like him as a GM. Being a transition GM is hard, and he had a mess to clean up. Plus he is a likeable guy with a positive history with the Flames. But I would love him to committ to a rebuild. Fewer hockey trades and focus on futures. Trade players earlier for value. Stop trying to retain UFAs unless they clearly want to be here for a rebuild. Weaponize the cap space.
I think having a drafting GM like Conroy with some high picks and focused on a proper rebuild has a real chance of creating a contender. The Flames just need to committ and recognize we aren't going to be super competitive for a few seasons. Last year almost everything went right and we still missed the playoffs. Stop working so hard to keep is in the middle.