Craig Conroy Needs to Pick a Lane

[kehatch]

Craig Conroy has been GM of the Flames for just over two years now, and it feels like he’s been letting the situation make the decisions for him. The team calls it a “retool,” but let’s be real—that’s just code for not fully committing to anything. They’re not rebuilding, but they’re also not trying to be competitive right now.

That kind of in-between approach has left the Flames stuck. Not terrible, not great—just a bit below average—a position fans are pretty used to.

To be fair, Conroy was busy in his first year. He had to deal with a bunch of expiring contracts and a crowded goalie situation. But since trading Markstrom before the 2024 draft he has made one move. One. A midseason trade that brought in Frost and Farabee—a smart gamble regardless of direction, but that’s it. One trade over two summers and a full season.

Last season was a weird one. The team overachieved, played above expectations, and came within a point of the playoffs. It was exciting for the fans and good for development, but it might’ve been the worst outcome long-term. It gave the illusion that this roster is better than it really is. The truth? They were propped up by strong goaltending and a relatively injury-free season. That’s not sustainable.

Now, don’t get me wrong—Conroy has done some solid work. He’s drafted well, hasn’t thrown money around recklessly, and hasn’t made any long-term moves that will come back to bite the team. You could nitpick a few signings or trades, but overall, he’s been smart and he has a few gems on his resume.

But at some point, he has to make a choice. Waiting around to see if the bottom falls out isn’t a plan. It’s time for Craig Conroy to stop reacting and start leading.

[topfiverecords]

[Scroopy Noopers]

Conroy has been great so far in my opinion. I also think it’s too soon to really make a call one way or the other.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Conroy has already picked a Lane. Aiden. Sixth round, 176 over-all.

[Locke]

I dunno...I was expecting this team to suck long and suck hard.

Barely missing the playoffs with a pretty patch-work team and then having a guy like Wolf hit it out of the park?

Its a pretty fluid situation. But, once more, I anticipate that this upcoming season is going to be all kinds of grim.

Pick a lane? Make a decision? About what? He's solidified goaltending, the forwards have all either seen too many winters or too few and he'll ship Andersson out and...then what? Thats just Weegar and bunch of kids.

This is all 'House money' and the Roulette wheel is going to keep spinning for a bit.

[kyuss275]

He has picked a lane and has been somewhat true to his vision. You just don’t happen to share the same vision.

[Jiri Hrdina]

What do you think he should have done?

[Rhett44]

I know you're about to get eviscerated on here, but I agree with you to an extent. Many of us don't want a retool, but it is what we are going to get and what the message has always been.

So in that sense, the Flames have picked a lane. Even if I don't agree with it fully.

[Badgers Nose]

Flames went from prospect laughing stock to NHL player factory under his direct or indirect leadership. That alone gets him to #2 OA Flames GM in my book. Maybe I am overly bullish but I see a pipeline of 8-10 solid NHLers waiting in our system right now, with really promising college and junior players behind them.

As for the current team, I think we'll know the plan by Christmas. Whether the team starts strong or stumbles, he'll have some tough decisions to make (already does).

Some of those decisions will have to be made in the next week.

He needs a star centre. The elite goalie and probably defenceman are in place. No idea how he gets one, but it has to be the top priority. He has multiple generations of wingers and solid defensemen coming up through the system.

It’s been 10 years since I was this bullish on the Flames. That’s because of him.

[PepsiFree]

Everything I don’t understand is actually because someone else doesn’t.

[Roof-Daddy]

He's literally traded pretty much every single aging FA and some aging players who were under contract.

He's also not signed any big ticket UFAs

I don't care what they want to call it, it's a rebuild and he's 100% picked a lane lol

[Snuffleupagus]

Craig Conroy has a boss

[gvitaly]

I thought Conroy picked a lane, and stuck to it. Here's what he has outlined:
1. Drafting and development as a strength
1.b. Finding out what we have in our prospects at the NHL level
2. Trading for guys under 25 that haven't gotten the opportunity, or the team thinks can pop
3. Not spending money in free agency, only chasing star caliber players.
4. Not losing players to free agency for nothing
5. Building a team players would want to be a part of

I thought the Flames have done a pretty good job at not making any big mistakes, while making gradual improvments in all areas. They aren't batting a 1.000, but this team is a lot more fun to cheer for, compared to the mess we had when Conroy took over.

[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.

[dammage79]

Conroy and co have most definitely picked a lane. He's rebuilding without the scorched earth effect. And I don't think scorched earth would ever be on the table with this ownership.

If you don't want to operate under an ownership mandate then you don't get the job. I'd much prefer Conroy who knows this organization inside and out trying to build this thing up than some random GM who has no clue what's in this organization.

I think Conroy has done a pretty effective job dealing with Trelivings leavings while getting the direction set. Plus rebuilds aren't linear. It can take decades for a team to have a Wolf situation fall into their laps. It can take years to land a Parekh.

Only thing Conroy in my estimation has fallen short of if by his own words, land a top 6 young RHS center. It's the top of his personal wishlist. I applaud the patience though, he will get one, just a matter of when.

[FleeceGang]

I can understand this sentiment but I feel like most folks see what they want to see. The people in the rebuild lane tend to forget the fact that last season was effectively the first season that teams weren’t hamstrung by the flat cap. Every one has been doing cap gymnastics to make their teams work and things are finally opening up. You can’t expect teams to just make trades for the sake of it under those conditions. Which leads to the next point that there has to be a market for these vets to be traded in. You can’t just will that to happen, there has to be logic on both ends of the trade. If mgmt values kadri at a first+ they aren’t going to settle for a 3rd and a 4th. Which is currently similar to the Anderssen situation. The market isn’t at the point that we are getting the offers we want. And Selling low on all your vets is probably the dumbest way to start a rebuild. I’d rather Conroy properly value assets and get market value for them instead of strip it to the studs, get pennies on the dollar, and then ice a team that gets caved in nightly. Taking it slow and calculated is never a bad strategy. Just because things aren’t working in your perceived time horizon doesn’t mean the end destination isn’t the same.

Don’t sell your house to buy a vacation home because you’ve effectively just down sized your home and increased your commute.

[DeluxeMoustache]

The OP doesn’t make much of a case about or for anything

Conroy has been effective. That’s a good thing

[dammage79]

I'd also like to add I am big fan #1 of this franchise landing a top 3 overall pick. But I also accept that it's not gonna happen under the Flames own choosing. Other teams have to grind this team into dust for that to happen. And good luck doing that since this scrappy ragtag group managed to land 96 points while being 3rd worst in the league at scoring.

[fotze2]

At least 65% of fans prefer trades to anything else. Trades for trades sakes, drafts picks all day.

[getbak]

I think one of the biggest problems is that people remember all the years where the Flames finished in the so-called "mushy middle", either making the playoffs as a low seed or just missing the playoffs (often finishing with more points than a team that made the playoffs in the East). Remembering those years, people look at last season and see it as more of the same.

The difference is that those teams were built with the intention of being contenders and they underachieved (or in 2009's case, they were hit by late injuries and couldn't recover come playoff time).

Last year's team was more like the 2014-15 team, built to finish near the bottom of the league and hopefully do well in the lottery, but a US-born rookie had other plans and pushed them further than expected.

I think there's a good chance this year has a similar result to the one that followed 2015.


In the summer of 2015, Treliving traded for Hamilton and they thought they were closer than they were. In the summer of 2025, Conroy did not make any similar types of moves.


I don't think there was any point last season where the Flames' payroll wasn't bottom-3 overall in the league, and was often at the very bottom. I expect them to be bottom-5 most of this season (Puckpedia has them 6th-lowest right now, but in a virtual tie with Pittsburgh and Detroit). You don't have that much cap space if you're really trying to be a contender.

They have a tough start to the season, with 12 games in October: 7 on the road and 5 at home. 2 back-to-backs. 2 games against Vegas, 2 against Winnipeg. I think if they have something like a 4-8 record at the end of the month, it can start to snowball and they could be near the bottom of the league by US Thanksgiving. They also have a lot of road games in November, and three more back-to-backs.