kehatch

Both guys were pending RFAs with their teams backed into a corner. They still got comparable returns. Lindholm was a 27 year old C a year removed from a 42 goal selke caliber season, and he was on one of the best contracts in the NHL. The Flames had the option to retain salary increasing his value even further. I get the market was tight due to cap constraints. But in this case that should have increased Lindholms value as he was a top 6 C available for 3m in cap space. Conroy was trying to sign him which is why he didn't trade him. Again, the return was fine. It just wasn't the home run you hope it is when trading your top C.

I have been pretty clear in my opinion that Conroy waited to long to trade his best pieces. If he traded Lindholm in the summer we would likely have received more value and not be facing another middle of the road draft pick. That said, I think the return is decent. It's just not as much as you would like when trading your top center. Especially one that was recently a 30 goal scorer and Selke finalist.

This was a decent trade. The standard template for a high profile player is a first, a great prospect, and a decent NHL player. Conroy got the first. I am not high on Kuzmenko, but he fills a need and is someone we may be able to flip for another asset. The prospect is decent. If that was it I would say the trade was just okay. But adding another mid pick and prospect improves things. I don't think this is a home run like some are suggesting. But given Lindholm's play this year it's a very decent return.

I am okay with swapping Mangiapane and Huberdeau. I would have preferred they try Huberdeau with Kadri / Zary as it just hasn't worked with Lindholm and I think Zary is the right kind of player for Huberdeau. But maybe the emergence of Sharangovich makes it work with Lindholm.

There are too many players underachieving in their current spots. Pospisil has 2 points in December despite being on the offensive line. Not his fault, he just isn't that type of player. Huberdeau is miscast on a defensive line. Mangiapane has 1 goal in December and has been borderline invisible. Try Huberdeau with Kadri and Zary. He has looked great with Zary in a limited sample. Move Mangiapane back with Backlund and Coleman. That's two simple and obvious solutions. The Lindholm line is a harder nut to crack. Keep Sharongovich there as he has looked decent. For the third either call up someone (Kerins, Coranato, Petersen) or try one of the depth guys. Greer or Pospisil gives you some grit. Ruzicka could surprise. The rest are on your fourth line. Except for Dube. Scratch him. Waive him. Something. He has no points in December, is a minus three, and he has been generally terrible. The coaches have to do something to manufacture some offense. Sometimes it's shuffling deck chairs on the titanic, but we have seen with Zary how finding a little chemistry can ignite a line.

I don't think speculation around the Kylington/Zadorov timing is off base at all. Rooney, Pelletier, and Kylington look like they are close to returning and the Flames needed to create cap space. Now if you are getting into conspiracy theory territory that's a different story.

This is what is saving the Flames this season, and hopefully into the future. Zary, Pelletier, Coronato, Wolf, Pospisil, Solovyov, Oesterle, maybe Kylington, etc make it a lot easier to swallow trading guys like Lindholm and Hanafin. Especially when the alternative is losing them for nothing or a 60 million dollar contract that may go to waste if the Flames have to rebuild. I still won't be shocked to see an extension. Hanafin has played well, and the Flames don't have any big name D prospects. I think Lindholm is traded as he hasn't shown chemistry with anyone, but he is still a top 6 C so who knows. But I don't think the Flames will risk losing these guys for nothing.

This was not a good return for Zadorov. It would have been fine if not for the 2026 date on the 3rd. Teams simply didn't have the cap space this early in the season. I don't blame Conroy on this one. Clearly they felt they had to move Zadorov now. Either they needed the cap (Kylington, trade flexibility) or Zadorov was becoming an issue. But I would like to see Conroy execute a transaction that doesn't need a lot of explanation and justification. Between inactivity, lack of direction, and marginal returns it hasn't been a strong start as GM. The one exception being the Backlund extension, which was a clear win.

Agree. Huberdeau worked with Backlund and Pelletier last year, so this might be the best bet. I would like to see them try Huberdeau with Zary, but it doesn't make sense to disrupt things with Kadri and Zary clicking to well. Maybe putting Huberdeau with those two is worth a shot. But he has had terrible chemistry with Kadri, and either Huberdeau or Zary would have to play their off wing. Either that or move Zary to C on the line, but that's probably not a great idea either.

Last year the Flames were dominating every area except the scoresheet and the power play. We just couldn't finish and every mistake went in the net. They spent the season flirting with a playoff spot and finished just shy. This season we have the same issues but are no longer dominating possession or staying competitive in the standings. It's a clear step back. I am not saying it's all on the coaches. This roster isn't good enough. But the team has regressed from the previous coaching staff with a pretty similar roster.

I am not a Huska fan and was pretty clear I didn't like the hire. I get the Flames ownership didn't want to pay for a high profile coach since they are still paying Sutter. That limited the options, and there was value in maintaining continuity by sticking with Huska. But I still think there were better options, Mitch Love being at the top of my list. I think Huska is part of the team problem. The Flames play five on five like they are trying to kill a penalty. They can't break out, and that is a big part of the excessive turnovers. I also wonder if guys like Zary look so good is because of the coaching they got BEFORE they got here. That said, I don't think Huska owns the Zadorov trade request. Its pretty apparent he wants to stay in Calgary but the Flames aren't ready to negotiate with him. I don't think the ice time helps, but I don't think its the reason for the trade request. I actually agree with Huska on how he has deployed Zadarov. Zadarov looks great because he is being properly utilized.

5v5 this season Calgary has given up 6 more goals then expected and are dead last in team save percentage. That is a continuation from the previous season where things were very similar (and where we were still good enough to just miss the playoffs). As far as watching, I watch them all. The team needs to be better in front of the goalies, but it looks a lot worse when every mistake goes in. Last night Vladar did play well in the third. But he let in four goals on the first 15 shots before that, three of them were very stoppable and at least one was downright soft.

I agree that he was fired because of his antics and how he treated the players. But I also think that if the Flames made the playoffs and looked good in the playoffs he doesn't get fired. Regardless of the hypotheticals, there is some vindication. A lot of people thought this team would be successful under a new coach and so far that isn't true.

It's unacceptable to me that you have two sub 900 goalies getting starts while your AAA NHL ready goalie prospect is wasting his ELC on the farm. Especially when you have been flirting with last place. Hopefully Wolf capitalizes on this situation and forces the GM to make room for him on the main roster. Kipper paved the way for the 2004 run. We saw the impact Zary has had on the roster. Give Wolf a real chance and see what he can do.

The poor start hasn't improved my opinions of the GM so far. At this point the Huska hire is terrible. The team never looked this bad under Sutter. Keeping Sigalet is still confounding. Both goalies look meh at best. The Toffoli trade has backfired. The Flames lacked scoring before the trade, particularly at RW. Sharongovich hasn't looked good outside of the fourth line. The decision to not deal with the pending free agents during the summer looks particularly dire now. The Flames are in a position of weakness and are going to really struggle trading these guys during the season. Especially if they want to do it early season, and especially if they are insistent in trading for established talent. Not trading Vladar when they had offers is a predictable whiff. The idea that they could somehow fit starts in for Wolf when they struggle to get starts for the back-up was silly. From the sounds of it, the Flames want to retool the roster to try and find chemistry with the contracts they can't move (Kadri, Huberdeau). I understand the direction, even if I don't agree with it. But at this point I don't trust Conroy in making it happen. Hopefully he makes a couple of solid moves to give us fans something to get excited about.