Flames GM Craig Conroy doesn’t think Andersson situation will be a distraction: 'He’s a professional'

When Craig Conroy became Calgary Flames general manager in 2023, he inherited a team in a bit of flux… and several prominent players on soon-to-expire contracts.

It was a bit of a mess.

The 2023-24 season, in particular, was messy despite everyone’s best efforts. The Flames never quite found traction with their game under new head coach Ryan Huska, something not at all helped by the club parting ways with four pending unrestricted free agents in-season in Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin. It’s a bit of a minor miracle they stayed near the playoff pack as long as they did.

Flash forward to this fall, and the Flames seem poised to enter the regular season with blueliner and alternate captain Rasmus Andersson on the final year of his contract. Speaking at the Flames’ season-opening golf tournament on Tuesday morning, Conroy downplayed notions that Andersson’s situation could be a distraction for the team.

“Rasmus and I talked, we’re good,” said Conroy, via Flames TV. “I mean, we know what we’ve talked about behind the scenes. And we’re good with where he’s at and what he’s doing and how he’s going to be. I mean, he’s a professional. The one thing, he’s very competitive. And to kind of be where we need to go, we need him to be at his best right from the start. I don’t think it’s going to be any kind of distraction.”

Conroy elaborated a bit when describing Andersson’s approach to the season.

“We talked to him yesterday,” said Conroy. “And, you know, the one thing, I mean, it’s a similar, you know, we’re not going to close the door on anything either. You know, we’re just going to, we need Rasmus to come in and be the player we think. He looks like he’s in great shape. He’s ready to go. He’s motivated. And the one thing, he wants to win. I mean, he’s a competitive guy that wants to win night in and night out. And, you know, if you talk to him, he wasn’t overly happy with the season last year. You know, and he knows he’s got another level. And I know with the Olympics, he’s motivated. He wants to be on that Olympic team. And he wants to win here in Calgary. So, you know, I think with all the good stuff, I just expect Rasmus to come in and do what he does and play hard for us.”

Andersson bristled a bit when discussing some of the off-season trade rumours, but also noted that he doesn’t think he’ll be a distraction.

“I’m not the first player in history to go in with one year left, and I probably won’t be the last either,” said Andersson, via Flames TV. “So, you know, it is what it is, and I’m here, I’m ready to play, and, you know, I’m quite excited for the season.”

A second-round pick by the Flames way back in 2015, Andersson has emerged as a really important player for the hockey club. He had a bit of a down year in 2024-25, though, punctuated by a minus-38 plus/minus rating – third-worst in the entire NHL. It’s not like Andersson was truly bad on the ice, but you can understand his hesitance to lock himself into a long-term deal with the Flames – or anywhere, for that matter – coming off a year with such blah numbers.

For what it’s worth, Andersson also wouldn’t close the door on returning to the Flames.

“Yeah, for sure. I mean, like, I’ve grown up in this city, and I said it at the press conference at the end of last year,” said Andersson. “I mean, I’ve loved every second of it, and that will never change. And now it’s the business side of it, and, you know, it’s smart of me to resign now after last season. I don’t know. I mean, I’ve read all season how much I suck, so, you know, it is what it is. So I just got to come out of the gates hot and just worry about myself and get the team in the best position possible.”

The Flames open main training camp next week. The regular season begins on Oct. 8 in Edmonton.