I think Warrener hit the nail on the head on BB. The phrasing he used to describe a non-egregious tank: A "Dignified Tank".
I think that's what Calgary was after last season. They just got on a roll and exceeded expectations.
This season, Conroy doesn't seem to be doubling-down on last season (at least so far). Rasmus is likely going to be traded for a rumored "futures package". That isn't helping the team today. He didn't sign any vets really. He didn't make this team better this season.
I think that's still the plan. What Conroy doesn't want is an environment where you tell the kids it is ok to lose, as he feels it is unfair to then ask them to flip the switch. I mostly agree with that, but there are plenty of cases that show this to not be that big of a worry. Burke pointed at Colorado for egregiously tanking and forcing the NHL to change the lottery rules. Remember Giguere complaining about the terrible culture there? They go on to win a cup.
What about Chicago? That rebuild is going terribly. They have been rebuilding since 2018!! That's already 7 seasons!!
You make that statement if you are lazy and assume just because a team misses the playoffs, that this is year 1 of a rebuild. Dig deeper.
Chicago WANTED to rebuild, but players with full NMCs refused to leave and compete. Remember what Toews did? Kane wasn't traded out until 2022-23 deadline. They traded some players the off-season before that, but they literally had their hands tied trying to still compete without anything in the pipeline.
What about Buffalo? What about them? They tried to compete for too long when it was obvious they didn't have the horses. Then they did an egregious rebuild the likes we haven't seen since Pittsburgh tanked for Lemieux. Then they tried to flip the switch, so they go and sign guys like Skinner to bloated deals? Hire piss-poor GMs and coaches? Surprise that a badly managed team was unable to find success before the rebuild, or since the rebuild.. but it has to be because of the rebuild, right? Let they forever be a warning to any other team who thinks about rebuilding. Heck, they bitched and whined about not winning the lottery in public, pissing off their new franchise player that every other team would kill for - Eichel - then they forced him to have a medical procedure he didn't want. Don't point at them as a model of what a tank is - they are just the model for a badly run organization, full-stop. They were bad before the rebuild, they remain bad now.
Want to have a successful rebuild?
- You better have your drafting and development org sorted. (Check!)
- You better have a good teaching coaching staff (Check!)
- You better have some decent vets kicking around (Check!)
- You better draft a handful of stars as you bottom out (not yet completed)
- You better have some good depth in the pipeline before the rebuild starts (check)
Flames are just missing those high franchise picks to add to Wolf, and Parekh. No, Coronato is not a core piece, nor is Zary. Yes, they may develop into one. As can a handful of other players - and I hope they do. What they do have is a lot of depth. They probably have another star or two in the organization (maybe it is Coronato or someone else mentioned, maybe some others). What the Flames do not have is are blue-chip core pieces to build around Wolf and Parekh at this point. Draft some that project to be those, hopefully you develop well enough that some of your already drafted players become those, and away you go.
Teams suck at rebuilding because they are bad organizations. It is like we learned nothing from Chicago. Bad owner who was constantly rebuilding had Chicago being a terrible team for many, many, many years. He dies, son takes over, a real rebuild happens, and they build a dynasty. "But they haven't been in the playoffs since 2018!!", ignoring the facts as stated above.
Interesting circumstances:
What a complete waste of an opportunity not to bottom out this year - and maybe next year. Not only are there two glorious franchise-altering players available in the next two drafts, but all of the teams that bottomed-out are trying to improve, including Chicago (which will be better, but likely last still). Imagine bottoming-out through the years including 2019 when there were a handful of teams were bad, and the draft had: Hughes, Kakko, Dach, Byram, Turcotte, Seider, Cozens, Borberg, Zegras as the top 10. Sure, some good players there, but that's awful. Teams won't need to bottom-out nearly as far down (at least as of now) to get a top 3 pick. Everyone is improving.
I just don't think the plan is really playoffs, any more than it was playoffs when Feaster called it after Iginla and Bouwmeester were both traded. Flames in 2015 banded together and exceeded expectations, just as the 2025 Flames banded together and exceeded expectations. They fell back down to earth and drafted Tkachuk the year after that, even after acquiring Hamilton. That was a better team then than this team is now, and I don't think Conroy is an idiot at all.
He didn't add to the group at the deadline, and he hasn't added to the group thus far in free agency. I believe this to be a dignified tank. I guess we will see if it is or not (or what Conroy does or not).
