TSN: MIke Johnson and Craig Button discuss the Calgary Flames rebuild and wonder how far they should take it as they head to opening their new arena in 2027. Changes started last season and should continue this year.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“The Calgary Flames are a team in transition. They were really good team with a bunch of good players that had a window of opportunity to be successful, didn’t, didn’t quite hit it. So they’ve gone into a rebuild.
Got rid of a whole bunch of really good players last year, and they’re going into this year thinking about the future new building, future draft picks, future prospects, Craig, the one big question for the Flames is, how deep should this rebuild go?
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Button: “I believe deep. Now I’m going to go to the future. I’m going to start in 2027. That’s when they get their new building. They want to be competitive in that space when they start that season.
’26 Oh, Gavin McKenna, available as the best player available for the draft. Do you want to position yourself to be in the best spot to be able to have the odds to potentially get a franchise changing player.
And now Mike, it goes to this year, this season. Four really good players. You got (Nazem) Kadri. You got (Blake) Coleman. You got (Rasmus) Andersson, and you got (MacKenzie) Weegar. Teams that are competitive, that want to win, have to be interested in those players. Which gives Calgary a real opportunity to significantly add prospects, draft picks, players to the future.
Johnson: “That’s exactly right. How deep should it go? As deep as their owners are willing to absorb the financial implications of having a really bad team for a year or two.
And that’s not nothing there is. There’s a financial component of perhaps ticket sales or interest, or whatever it might be if you were to bottom out close to the very bottom of the league.
But you’re exactly right. I think being stuck in 25th place, 26th place, that’s not great. You want to be down in 32nd or 31st if you’re going to go for a rebuild, which the flames are.
And you mention those players, and just think about, if you’re a play, a team trying to win a Stanley Cup. Do you want Nazem Kadri on your team? Yes. Do you want a Blake Coleman? Yes. Defense are going to be at such a premium. Right-shot defenseman. MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, all immensely talented, really high-end players that could play and fit into any different kind of system. Would thrive playing in the playoffs and that style of game. We know this around the NHL. So they have really incredible bargaining chips to work with.
Now, there may be some contractual stipulations, trade provisions they got to work through. But I think those players are also understanding of where the flames are headed and what the next couple of years will look like, and at this point in their careers, they probably would be open to go playing for a team that is close to be competitive right now than the flames might be.
So I think there’d be flexibility and being able to work with all those guys to potentially find a new spot for them and bring in more future assets. Will also get yourself in the right spot in the standings for a couple years away, as you have mentioned.
So it’s not easy, but with all the excitement about the future, with that new arena finally coming to Calgary, it seems like the exact right time to take this rebuild deep, down in the studs, strip it bear and really build up a couple years in the future when you can be maybe a competitor once again.
Button: “Craig Conroy last year showed that he can maneuver in a lot of different ways to get a return on the players that he traded away. And he’s going to be in a really positive situation again this year with the players that we just talked about. And their contracts are good, and some of them are a little bit longer term, but with the cap going up. And as you pointed out, those four players are all really good, and they’re really competitive, and they would strengthen any team that they end up on.
And I believe that where the Calgary Flames, we saw with (Jacob) Markstrom, it’s not that he wanted to leave Calgary? He just saw where it was going, and he wants something different right now. And the Calgary Flames want something different.
And for 2027 being in a new building, they have a lot of good young players. A lot of those good young players are starting to show that they can be more than capable. It’s not like they’re starting now and you’re looking at 2029. The timing is right, as you point out.
Johnson: “And I think Craig Conroy has got the patience and the perspective to do it. I also think the market is savvy enough to understand what would be happening and willing to support the organization through what might be a couple tough years in the standings, knowing better days are ahead.
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So while the Flames may look like they might be competitive to start the season, I’d imagine by the end, Craig, some of those really good players, will no longer be on the Flames. Prospects and picks me on their way in and will have a better outlook in a year or two for the Calgary Flames.