Quote:
Originally Posted by browntrout
It's eventually going to catch up with the team, they lack elite players, and the best of the best free agents won't sign here as a general rule.
Do I think the team is trying to delay this, yes, absolutely, is it going to work , doubt it.
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This may be true, but Conroy isn’t finished. He’s managed to maintain a team identity and acquire a volume of good+ prospects, and the early returns suggest a number of these young players are in the process of transitioning to full time status with the team. Depending on the team’s start there are a few more pieces who are likely to move, and the next draft may result in an elite piece, so I don’t think Conroy’s work is trending downward. I would have preferred a tear down when Tkachuk left, but Conroy wasn’t at the helm and in retrospect tearing down what he inherited wouldn’t have necessarily resulted in better prospects than they now hold.
There is still some lifting to do, and if the Flames start slow pieces may begin to move, but with the groundwork Conroy has laid the team is positioned to move a few guys onto the roster without giving them a period of professional adjustment. Yeah, Anaheim and San Jose look like they are acquiring war chests, but the Flames have quietly built a foundation that keeps them in the conversation with those teams. Two years ago that wasn’t the case.
As an aside, I think Reschny and Potter are going to surprise many, in a good way.