Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames have had a good offseason

It’s been a very quiet offseason to this point in Calgary. The only trade Calgary Flames General Manager Craig Conroy has made since January 30 was a swap of seventh-round picks on day two of this year’s draft. That January 30 trade was, of course, the deal that saw Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee come to Calgary.

Apart from renewing some players on expiring contracts, the Flames made just two signings since the offseason officially began. On the opening day of free agency, the Flames inked defenceman Nick Cicek and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to one-year deals. Both have very limited prior experience in the NHL.

So, what makes this offseason a success for Conroy and the Flames? It’s the moves they didn’t make, rather than the moves they made.

The Flames still have a lot of cap space

The Flames had a lot of cap space entering the offseason. As of July 28, they have the fifth-most cap space, at $15.4M according to PuckPedia. This means the organization still has significant flexibility to take this team in any direction it sees fit.

There were rumours at the onset of the offseason that the Flames were in on virtually every big name on the market. Notably, the left side of their blue line is a position of weakness. The biggest names on the market a month ago were Bo Byram and K’Andre Miller, and the Flames were linked to both. Byram re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres, while Miller was traded with an extension in place to the Carolina Hurricanes.

While the Flames are still weak on the left side, they did not overextend themselves by going all out chasing one of these guys. That’s a plus, as that additional cap space will help them retain their homegrown talent going forward. Just because they have the cap space doesn’t mean they should spend it.

They must spend their cap space wisely. That could include weaponizing it throughout the 2025–26 season to add more picks. Acquiring a pick to take on a year or two of a bad contract would be incredibly smart management by Conroy. It’s also exactly what a team in the Flames’ position—tons of cap space but not a true contender—should do.

Much-needed roster stability

Over the last two years, the Flames have seen substantial roster turnover. In fact, only six regulars remain from the 2022–23 Flames roster. Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau, Blake Coleman, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar are the only players remaining from that team.

It’s tough to get a team to gel together when there is a constant stream of new faces acclimating to the room. As of today, the Flames will go into the 2025–26 season with essentially the same lineup as they have iced since February. The only difference will be one of Devin Cooley or Prosvetov backing Dustin Wolf up instead of Dan Vladar.

Another question will be whether Zayne Parekh cracks the lineup. His presence could drastically change what that blue line looks like, but he’s competing in a position of strength for the Flames. They already have Weegar, Andersson, Brayden Pachal, and Daniil Miromanov on one-way contracts. Regardless of whether Parekh earns a spot, the bulk of the roster will remain the same.

After a couple of years of turnover and finding out who wants to be in Calgary, the Flames will have some stability on the ice entering this season. That will give us a real look at what this team is and how they stack up against the rest of the league.

The Flames can bet on their drafting and development

While making no big moves gives the Flames stability in the lineup, it also gives them more of a chance to build from within. That’s something they haven’t done in nearly a decade now, when they integrated Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and Rasmus Andersson into the lineup.

In the years since those players were drafted and developed, the rest of the Flames’ core consisted of free agent signings or trade acquisitions. Dougie Hamilton, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Weegar, and Huberdeau were all acquired by trade. Jiri Hudler, Chris Tanev, Jacob Markstrom, Kadri, and Coleman were all free agent additions.

While the Flames’ core still consists mainly of outside additions, not going out and adding some of this summer’s big names is a step in the right direction for the team’s future. Giving big-money, long-term contracts to Byram, Miller, or one of the other guys like Ivan Provorov, Mitch Marner, or Nikolaj Ehlers takes both a roster spot and cap space for years to come.

There’s no guarantee they would even fit into the Flames’ system. Just look in-house at Huberdeau, who didn’t acclimate until his third season in Calgary, which happened to be the second year of an eight-year contract he signed before even playing a game as a Flame.

By not adding one of those players—or any that I haven’t mentioned—the Flames have far more flexibility to integrate their youth. Someone like Jeremie Poirier, Ilya Solovyov, Artyom Grushnikov, or Yan Kuznetsov can push for a roster spot rather than being banished to the AHL. It’s easier for them to push Jake Bean out of the lineup than Joel Hanley, who’s popular in the locker room and just re-signed with the Flames for two more years on July 1.

Flexibility is the key word

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times already, but the Flames have allowed themselves flexibility in several areas by not pursuing big-ticket free agents or trade acquisitions. They have more cap, roster, and lineup flexibility than they would otherwise have. That’s a good thing for the team going forward. Conroy has the opportunity now to let this same lineup take the ice in October and further evaluate it.

This season is key for the Flames’ direction. If they can’t perform, then it’s time to move on from certain players. Andersson will be the first domino to fall, and I can see Coleman being shopped, too. Maybe even Backlund if he wants to move on and chase a Cup. Acquire futures and utilize that cap space to facilitate trades for other teams to bring in more draft picks.

If this lineup can figure it out, then the Flames are in great shape. They just missed the playoffs in 2024–25 with nearly $20.0M in cap space. This group will have to prove that it wasn’t a fluke.

In my opinion, the Flames are in a win-win situation, and I’m feeling very optimistic about next season.