Craig Conroy & Co. strict list decisions are made for

You can tell general manager Craig Conroy did his homework early.

The Calgary Flames are about five months away from the start of the 2024-25 regular season, and the rookie Calgary manager has most of his work done. The team has 12 forwards and five defensemen next season, with only Dustin Wolff, Nikita Okhotyuk, AJ Greer and Oliver Kylington to extend if desired.

In other words, the 2024-2025 Calgary Flames are ready to move on from a roster management perspective.

Unless there are several serious issues.

Quality

The harsh truth of the matter is that the current iteration of this group is not going to make the playoffs. Their record as of March 6, the official end of the Hanifin/Tanev era, was 8-13-0. Their .381 fielding percentage put them in the basement (28th) along with the Ducks, Sharks and Blue Jackets.

In fact, Calgary scored worse than Chicago during that time. The Blackhawks are 7-11-1 since March 6 and have a .395 fielding percentage.

If this management and ownership go for what? Excellent. Add in the fact that there will be seven Flames rental prospects whose contracts expire on July 1, 2025, and we're looking at a Flames team that could make a strong push for the first overall pick.

Interestingly, neither Conroy nor ownership (including Murray Edwards) acknowledged that the team was being rebuilt. They can say something with their actions. We'll probably see more of Joel Hanley on the first pair next season, but Flames fans should be ready for the next challenge unless the team is ready to say “rebuild.”

This leads to the second problem.

Cap Space

Remember all those roster spots filled with existing contracts? If “Connie” is content to re-sign Wolf ($1,450,000 Comparable to Samuel Ersson of Philidelphia, Cleington ($3,500,000), Okhotsk ($775,000) and Greer ($900,000), which has about $13,199,167 in disposable income. This is a complete list.

Add in the potential exit of Jacob Markstrom, and the Flames have another one $4,550,000 in space if you factor in Wolf's roster spot.

Fun Money, Stupid Dollars, call it what you will, that's $17,749,167 in UFA decisions. – unless many spots are filled in this team.

Conroy may have some tough decisions to make before training camp. Walker Duer or Dryden Hunt could be considered expendable, but Hunt has earned his spot and Duer deserves the top running back after an injury-plagued season.

Then there is the rest of the anterior nucleus.

Players like Blake Coleman and Andrew Mangiapan had solid seasons but never matched Huska's style of play. Despite fielding a team that uses speed to beat opponents, the Flames have been listed as one of the slowest rosters in the NHL by NHL Edge.

Speed ​​exceeds 20 mph

League Average: 1,692
Calgary Flames: 1,392

Speed ​​is over 22 mph

League average: 77
Calgary Flames: 53

You can't run a speed based offense with a roster of slow players. If Craig Ryan wants to build a team that's more suited to Huska's counterattack, he'll have to act before free agency opens on July 1.

Unfortunately, professional hockey is a business. No job is completely safe when you're being paid to play sports. If Conroy and the Flames want to take a quiet run at a high brain trust draft pick, so be it.

If it ends up like this, Calgary fans will have to admit that Ryan Huska will not be given the ingredients to succeed. In February, its place should be colder than aluminum. For Conroy, choosing between a coach and his franchise could be tough.

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