The risk is that the Flames aren't actually this bad and the most valuable asset to a rebuilding team is their own pick(s)
This is essentially the same team that had 96 points last year.
How they got 96 points last year - Personally I'll never understand. But they did which shows between some combo of Grit, Effort, Give a F, etc they are capable of being better then last in the NHL
When you are bad, you want to be REALLY bad. There is not pride or development finishing 5th-6th-7th etc last. You just deprive yourself of better odds of a star.
The biggest risk the Flames face this season is other teams pull the plug early on their season while we wait for "the best return" Or - god forbid - Keep players until next year hoping for a bounce back season, and start playing better
Using
https://puckpedia.com/pickvalue for pick value - Because it was the best I could find, the first overall pick is worth 100 pts. The 5th overall is worth 50
So if the Flames don't fully embrace this season and drop to 5th, what does that mean value wise?
Well last season the Flames own first rounder (32nd) was worth.....10 pts. But realistically a late first can be anywhere from 24-32 - Playoffs are a bit of a crapshoot. Let's use 24th. It's worth 15 pts.
Effectively (If we believe this site) The Flames dropping from 1st overall to 5th overall is worth3-5X late 1st round picks.
This is why worrying about extracting maximum value out of Coleman and Kadri is overblown. The most valuable asset the Flames will own is their own 1st.
Sure if we knew we were finishing last then try to extract maximum value. But we easily could move up multiple spots - Especially if other teams embrace a tank and sell off
I don't think we need to "give away" guys like Kadri and Coleman (Or Andersson who i believe is 100% gone) but if the Flames end up drafting 4-7 this year it will be a catastrophe for the rebuild