Making the playoffs or keeping our top-10 first round pick 2025?

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

They have. They have some of the worst special teams the PP is a bit better. They have one of the worst offences. We are literally riding Wolf.

We have big holes. It would be a massive mistake to invest in this current squad when you don’t have the elite talent.

Nobody wants the same old crap over and over again. Just because Edwards is smelling some loose change with a playoff spot doesn’t mean this team is even close to being competitive.

To be fair the Flames also have the second lowest cap hit in the NHL. It's obliviously never this simple, but if they could add two Star players with their current cap space, the Flames would be a much better team.

The flames sign a top six center and a top 4 damn, and get continued progression from the young players and they might have something.

The problem with the current Flames roster is that Wolf will keep them out of the elite prospects. So the other option is confined to stockpile lots of picks by trading vets... The issue there is you can only have do many prospects developing and eventually you need quality.

[Paulie Walnuts]

The cap space starts to erode when you start signing Wolf Zary and Coronato.

The team has zero room for any big contracts for vets when you have Huberdeau, Kadri and Coleman signed. Not to mention if they make the mistake of signing Andersson to a long term deal.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

To be fair the Flames also have the second lowest cap hit in the NHL. It's obliviously never this simple, but if they could add two Star players with their current cap space, the Flames would be a much better team.

The flames sign a top six center and a top 4 damn, and get continued progression from the young players and they might have something.

The problem with the current Flames roster is that Wolf will keep them out of the elite prospects. So the other option is confined to stockpile lots of picks by trading vets... The issue there is you can only have do many prospects developing and eventually you need quality.

I am intrigued in this player.

[NewFan]

For me it's: lose our 1st vs. pick top 10.
I don't believe this team is PO team. The team can't win now, and it will harder to win in the second half. But bottom 10 teams are playing worse than us for sure.
So my expectation:
Make POs = no chance
Lose out 1st = most likely
Select top 10 draft = if we trade Andersson or Coleman/Kadri/Weegar

[Dan403]

Tank.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

The cap space starts to erode when you start signing Wolf Zary and Coronato.

The team has zero room for any big contracts for vets when you have Huberdeau, Kadri and Coleman signed. Not to mention if they make the mistake of signing Andersson to a long term deal.

Kuzmenko, Mantha, and Barrie are coming off the books for another combined $10 million and the cap is going up. Wolf has another year. The cap is going up A LOT over the next two years, probably another $10 million total.

Kadri has a great value contract (until he starts to get old). If Huberdeau returns to 70+ points, even his contract will be basically UFA value.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by blankall

Kuzmenko, Mantha, and Barrie are coming off the books for another combined $10 million and the cap is going up. Wolf has another year. The cap is going up A LOT over the next two years, probably another $10 million total.

Kadri has a great value contract (until he starts to get old). If Huberdeau returns to 70+ points, even his contract will be basically UFA value.

Most contracts are signed based on a % of the cap. If the cap goes up they will want more not less or what their value is based off a 87 cap today.

Barrie is a league min vet lol. We probably go into the year with cap space available. Basically Conroy saw Treliving capping us out yearly and is doing the opposite.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Barrie is a league min vet lol.

He's making 1.25M, not league minimum. That's not alot but it's still an extra 1M+ off the books.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

The previous season, over half the teams in the league ended up using LTIR to stay under the cap. There was never another time in the history of the league when cap space was so tight. The only team willing to eat $6 million for a pick was Montreal, and that was only because they already had Carey Price on LTIR. They could pretty much dictate their own terms.

And yet Kadri was unsigned at that point.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Inferno

He's making 1.25M, not league minimum. That's not alot but it's still an extra 1M+ off the books.

The Flames will up with about $40 million in cap space. Maybe another $6.5 too, depending on what happens with Backlund and Lomberg.

It's a truly terrifying thought. This team's history with burning cap space when they have it isn't good.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by blankall

The Flames will up with about $40 million in cap space. Maybe another $6.5 too, depending on what happens with Backlund and Lomberg.

It's a truly terrifying thought. This team's history with burning cap space when they have it isn't good.

Very true, but I think we have a GM now that values players with more than just "truculence".

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Inferno

He's making 1.25M, not league minimum. That's not alot but it's still an extra 1M+ off the books.

League minimum is $775k, so an extra $470k off the books. So you're saving very little IF you replace him with a league minimum guy.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by blankall

The Flames will up with about $40 million in cap space. Maybe another $6.5 too, depending on what happens with Backlund and Lomberg.

It's a truly terrifying thought. This team's history with burning cap space when they have it isn't good.

I am not too worried. The owners let the GM’s run the team they want to run. It is pretty much the only explanation for the night and day difference between how Conroy has ran the team and how Treliving did.

The likelihood that under Treliving that the Flames would enter a season with the second most cap room in the NHL, 10 picks in the first 3 rounds of the next two drafts and have been in a playoff position or on the bubble for the first 34 games of the season and not pulled the trigger on burning that draft capital is zero. Not only has Conroy done that, odds are that he tries to add to the draft capital this season.

If he blows a little money in the offseason I won’t lose much sleep over it. Fact is he might have to just to make the cap floor.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I am not too worried. The owners let the GM’s run the team they want to run. It is pretty much the only explanation for the night and day difference between how Conroy has ran the team and how Treliving did.

The likelihood that under Treliving that the Flames would enter a season with the second most cap room in the NHL, 10 picks in the first 3 rounds of the next two drafts and have been in a playoff position or on the bubble for the first 34 games of the season and not pulled the trigger on burning that draft capital is zero. Not only has Conroy done that, odds are that he tries to add to the draft capital this season.

If he blows a little money in the offseason I won’t lose much sleep over it. Fact is he might have to just to make the cap floor.

Conroy definitely seems like he's being patient. My worry is that I don't see this team getting worse in the next 2-3 years, so acquiring top end talent from the draft may not be possible, and the Flames may be forced to explore the UFA market.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by jayswin

League minimum is $775k, so an extra $470k off the books. So you're saving very little IF you replace him with a league minimum guy.

It's still an extra 1.25M you can use towards another player. Whether it's someone already in your system or someone you acquire via trade or signing.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by blankall

Yeah it's really amazing how bad some of the other teams are this season. Was expecting it to be difficult to hit the bottom five, but this season is just out of control. Teams that I thought would go okay gave just given up a couple of months in. Plus the same group of perpetual losers is showing no signs of improvement.

Lots of folks around here felt bottom-five was a lock for the Flames. That prediction assumed a bunch of bottom 10 teams would get better and few middle 10 teams would get worse. But the Flames roster in the offseason did not look any worse than SEA, UTA, PHI, MTL, NYI, PIT, STL, CBJ, etc. Projections based on the record in the last 20 games of last season were never persuasive - the goaltending was awful in that stretch, and the locker room was demoralized by the unending rumours and sell-offs. This Flames rosters always liked like an 18th to 24th ranked team to me.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Utah St. Louis. And Pittsburgh have better rosters.

Seattle could be a dark look into the future if we can’t get elite talent through the draft.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Utah St. Louis. And Pittsburgh have better rosters.

Seattle could be a dark look into the future if we can’t get elite talent through the draft.

Seattle is fine, they have bad two top 5 picks and an 8th overall pick. All you have to do is suck bad enough to get a couple top 5’s and you have the elite talent.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Seattle is fine, they have bad two top 5 picks and an 8th overall pick. All you have to do is suck bad enough to get a couple top 5’s and you have the elite talent.

One of the picks was a gift for coming into the league. Francis isn’t very good though.

[Hackey]

I really hope Conroy tries to move a bunch of guys at the deadline again this year. Anderson for sure and hopefully a surprise or two. This middle ground isn't building anything.