thoughts on the offseason so far?
hey Claire! Thanks for the ask :) let’s talk puck
I’m not the happiest with the offseason so far, but I think that has more to do with my own sentimentality than the hockey business itself. Let’s run through what we’ve seen so far, transaction by transaction.
first, let’s talk young players, ELC signings, and the draft.
Theo Stockselius (2025 second round pick) signed his ELC in May, but he’ll be loaned to Djurgardens for another year. Mace’o Phillips (another 2025 second round pick) will play a year in Medicine Hat before heading to college. Jakob Leander (2025 seventh round pick) was selected by the Hitmen in the CHL import draft and will play in Calgary next season. Kirill Zarubin, a young goaltender out of the MHL, signed a deal and will likely report to the Wranglers next season, in a tandem with Sergeev.
these are all moves I’m quite happy with. It shows a promising focus on developing young players and an attention to detail that the org sometimes lacks.
with regards to our draft picks, I’m also very happy. Carels is obviously going to be an NHL’er, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make his debut with the new arena. Hextall, I think, is a sneaky good pick, but will likely take longer to develop and may not be a long term option so much as a trading chip. Harrington is a bit iffy for me as a second rounder, but Trejbal is an awesome second rounder.
I think Iginla in the third round is the smartest move Conroy has made all summer. He scored two goals in the prospect scrimmage yesterday and the crowd adored it. I think adding him to the org represents a real generational shift in terms of focus. We are moving from the era of one Iginla—Jarome, 2004, and so on—to the era of another—young players, young talent, and the future.
the final three picks in the drafts seem perfectly reasonable. Nothing is egregious, but no one stands out to me like Wyttenbach did last year.
now let’s address the trades, free agency, and our signings.
the nemec deal. I’m iffy on this one. It’s a big commitment to Nemec, a former second overall pick and RFA who we’ve yet to sign at the time of writing. However, if it pans out—if all Nemec needs is a change of scenery—it’s going to be worth it. Our right shot defence would be set with him and Zayne, while the left would run Bahl and Carels. I think the picks were a bit steep in terms of price, but the comfort is that they’ll likely both be late picks as they belong to Vegas and Colorado. Étienne Morin, the only player in the deal on our side, would have had no opportunity to advance past the AHL with us, so my hope is that New Jersey can give him something more, or at least keep him out of the ECHL. Not sure what the move is with Tsyplakov—he carries a bit of a heavy cap to send to the AHL, and he’s a KHL veteran who probably wouldn’t appreciate that anyway. He may well be bought out, or he’ll slot onto the fourth line. Idk.
the Middleton deal. I understand why it had to happen, but I hate it anyway. Coleman played a huge, huge role on this team. He killed penalties, he was on the powerplay, and he played top six minutes. His leaving opens up a huge opportunity for young guys to step up—Gridin, Honzek, Zary come to mind, but I think Gridin is the name the org will be looking for. Let’s also remember that Zary is being shopped, and has been probably since the new year. Määttä had to go, unfortunately, as there was absolutely no space for him on the team, nor did he fit into the rebuild in anyway. Arguably Middleton doesn’t either, but I see him as a big-bodied, defensive left-shot defenceman who can babysit (for lack of a better word) one of our younger guys (Nemec or Parekh—likely Nemec). We also get some trading chips for down the line. I’ll never say that building draft capital is a bad thing. Middleton himself can and likely will get flipped at the 2028 deadline.
In free agency, we lost five players: Lomberg, Olofsson, Beecher, Kirkland, and Bishop. Lomberg means a big loss in terms of culture, and it’ll be interesting to see who steps up to fill that. Olofsson makes sense—like Määttä, there was no room for him on the team. Beecher was a birdbrained waivers claim and I’m sorry to have dragged him across the continent just for him to have to go right back. Kirkland, unfortunately, has been chased from his chance at 4C by the abundance of centres we’ve drafted in recent years.
bishop is interesting, though. He’s been with the wranglers since their inauguration and served as captain last season after Sutter’s retirement. With him leaving, as well as Martin Frk (who has never played for the Flames), our AHL affiliate seems to also be shifting towards a focus on the youth. There are two options for captain of the Wranglers as I see it: Rory Kerins, or Sam Morton. Both have a very real chance to make a case for the Flames’ perpetually vacant 4C. Whoever seems least likely to get it (and therefore more likely to spend the year with the Wranglers) will be the captain, I believe. I’m inclined to say the org tries to keep Kerins up as much as possible—you can do the rest. If the org is truly dedicated to focusing on the youth and the future, it’ll be as I outlined it above. If not, Dryden Hunt will wear the C.
the wranglers were gutted by free agency and lost over half their roster from last season. In terms of defence, the only skater who played last season and remains on the team is Hunter Brzustewicz, who we’ll remember ended up finishing the season with the Flames. Is there room for him on the NHL roster? Should there be room for him on the NHL roster? I think so, but as it stands (because of the trades that have been made) there isn’t.
last summer, the Flames did almost nothing. They were barely squeezed out of the playoffs and had the thought of running it back, adding Parekh as seemed necessary, and barging forward with an easy retool finished in four years. The result was the hockey equivalent of a slap to the face. Perhaps to Murray Edwards, perhaps to Conroy, but either way it did what was necessary and made it clear a complete and aggressive rebuild is needed. In that sense, im satisfied with what’s been done even if I would’ve done some parts differently. The focus remains on the youth, building long term success, and giving young players ice time all season long. Am I wondering with some trepidation who’s going to kill penalties next season? Sure I am, but that’s okay. Someone will step up or someone will learn, and the chances are that guy will be under the age of twenty-five. We are on track!
