Flames moving forward under new GM Conroy

[DeluxeMoustache]

I wanted to pull out a few things I heard from Conroy today that really resonated, on a few subjects of interest over the past year.

Trying to piece things together and see what we can expect moving forward.



Captain
Definitely they are going to have one. You need a player to go talk to the coach. This year, with no captains, the guys sat in the room looking at each other and no one went to talk to the coach


Asset management
He believed Johnny was going to re-sign. He did not like the outcome of losing one of the best players in the league for nothing and views it as a lesson learned

Lindholm
He wasn’t in exit interviews. Lindholm is the kind of player you build around. He will be one of his first calls. Reading between the lines, I took that he understood where Lindholm’s problems lied at the end of the season, and that he needs to see where he stands now.
He said he thinks Lindholm wants to be here.

Huberdeau
He will not revisit last season. Huberdeau has been a top 5 player in the league over the past few years. He needs his swagger back. They want to see him use his skill and creativity. He said Huby knew how the year was going and almost looked like he felt bad when he went down there.

General style of play / coaching
You need structure in the D zone, wants to see creativity on offense.
He and the coach need to be aligned. He won’t let the coach pick players. The coach may tell them what kind of player he thinks he needs for a certain role, but it will be up to management to get that type of player
Coach needs to let players know - if you do this, you are playing, if not, you’re sitting.
The team has to enjoy coming to the rink.

Calgary as a destination
He knows they are on some no trade lists. He wants players that want to be here, but guys just coming for a contract (I’m thinking Neal, maybe even Naz, though he didn’t say it). He believes the city offers a lot as a world class city, is a great place to raise a family, has the mountains for guys that like to hike, fish etc

Iggy
Nothing really about a future role.
He and Iggy are good friends and talk a lot. Sounded like they may have talked about one day working together in a capacity like we all are imagining.
Iggy has a sharp hockey mind. Sometimes he would chat with Iggy to get an outside perspective.
They bring different perspectives, Connie being a defensive oriented player and Iggy offensive. Iggy watches a ton of video in his current role and knows a lot about the kids out there now because his son is playing against them

Young players
Giving looks in camp to outside veterans can take opportunity away from young players they are trying to develop


Just a few things I heard. Lots to like. Agree / disagree?

Anything else you all picked up on that was encouraging?

[dammage79]

Both he and Nonis saying they're building through the draft moving forward. Which I believe goes hand in hand with the whole Destination aspect. You aren't at the front of the line at the feeding trough when it comes to attracting players to your city/team so how do you solve that? By drafting..

I'm with Conroy in that mindset. You draft and draft and draft.

Yeah a Hamilton type trade is good at certain points but I don't think Hamonic or Toffoli type deals are the answer. I believe you have to do a draft build in cycles. Anyways, their drafting ideology hit all the right chords. No more short sighted moves.

[DazzlinDino]

Said he didn't like the grey areas, and that he preferred a black and white approach. If you are not contributing you will benched I think that is a good approach, it puts the onus on the coach and not dividing the players among themselves. In the past too often certain players tended to be passengers. Can't have players causing the team to miss the playoffs.

Was happy to hear he didn't like losing a player for nothing, made me think Treliving's approach may not have aligned with others in the organization. Conroy seemed fairly.confident and content at the time that Johnny was going to get signed.

Conroy comes off as having a bit more of an edge, if he doesn't like how something is playing out he is going to say it. I think he is going to be a good fit, for the coach, players and management.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Asset management
He believed Johnny was going to re-sign. He did not like the outcome of losing one of the best players in the league for nothing and views it as a lesson learned

It's not just leaving for nothing. The Flames had a legitimate chance at a Stanley Cup run last year. Had they won, and everything played out the way it has since then, I doubt anyone would be complaining about asset management.

There's value in not breaking up a team at the trade deadline and allowing a season to play out. If you want to complain about the offseason prior, that's fair.

[Snuffleupagus]

"Lindholm is the kind of player you build around. He will be one of his first calls."

As long as he remembers Lindholm is 29 this year and doesn't sign him to a crazy 7 or 8 year contract I'll be happy, if that's what it'll take then trade him now.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

"Lindholm is the kind of player you build around. He will be one of his first calls."

As long as he remembers Lindholm is 29 this year and doesn't sign him to a crazy 7 or 8 year contract I'll be happy, if that's what it'll take then trade him now.

He also noted that Lindholm, given his complete skill set, is a guy who will still be effective several years in the future, even if it is as he moves a bit down in the lineup

Backs is a good example of a guy who similarly has a complete 2 way game. Sharp as a tack, and who was pretty darn good last year at 34, and then you also have guys like Gio or Pavelski who are good deep in to their 30s. Sure they are rare, but perhaps some players with certain traits project better into the future than others

But for sure, the price would have to agree with the likely trajectory

4-5 years would be awesome. But capwise, maybe a realistic Lindy accepts a deal that works on both sides

[curves2000]

Probably not the right thread for this but the stadium was brought up a few times in the press conference and I am a bit curious just how bad it is down there if anybody knows? Conroy pretty much had nothing to say to defend the Dome other than they are excited for the new rink.

I am talking about pure player perspective. Is the dressing room, medical rooms, players lounge and gym just a total piece of garbage? Lack of space, privacy, equipment etc. Has ownership not spent a lot of money since the 2013 floods on updates? Was the 2013 flood reno done on the cheap?

I understand it's an older building and that more modern buildings have more modern amenities, luxuries etc but I am starting to think there's more to this than that. It's almost like a purposeful lack of investment into the building from a players perspective perhaps?

There are a LOT of NHL buildings that were designed 30+ years ago, or about 10 years prior to the Dome. Buildings for the Ducks, Bruins, Panthers, Blues, Habs and more come to mind. I recall a few times that the Oilers spent $1 million + on a dressing room renovation and when Katz bought the team, spent almost $4 million on a reno in 2008?

[stemit14]

Very happy with the Conroy choice. And very happy to hear that he wants to embrace bringing in young players. I’m confident he will pick a choice that fits that mentality too. I think the flames coaches have been guilty over the years trying to make young players “perfect” rather than just embracing their strengths. Not every young player needs to be a defensive star who never makes a mistake. That seems to scare young players from trying to make plays and keep them from ever reaching their potential.

Bennett was a great example. I know he needs to take responsibility for his own problems developing here as well. But it felt like every time he made a mistake… it was back down to the 4th line to play with brouwer for a month. We also saw it with Pelletier this year… he was playing better and better every game until he made a poor choice in overtime. Then he was eating popcorn.

Not saying the kids should get away with everything but it’s pointless to draft these young guys with high skill and then scare them away from trying anything for fear of getting benched/sat.


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[Paulie Walnuts]

Couple of things I'll add from his interview today.

Top players need to play especially during critical points. Too many times he looked down with is down a goal and wondered why aren't top players on the ice.

Not having a captain bugged him a lot. It's starting to bug me now because it may have been a reason why Tkachuk left with Sutter needing to be the captain.

He talked about the strategy using Wolf's waiver status in using all 3 goalies.

Creating a environment that is fun but about hard work and winning makes things fun.

The more he talks about changing things up the more it seems like Treliving leaving was the best thing to happen.

Also love the structure in our end and free wheeling with the puck and be creative and do things you do in practice. That team looked miserable last year.