It’s not exaggerating to say this week for the Calgary Flames is one of the franchise’s biggest in recent memory.
With two first-round picks (Nos. 9 and 28) at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, and eight total in the first four rounds, the Flames have a chance to truly accelerate the retool general manager Craig Conroy began midway through last season.
But the coming week goes beyond Calgary’s nine selections on Friday and Saturday. Will the Flames use picks to move up the draft order and/or acquire young, NHL-ready talent? And how active will they be when free agency opens on Monday?
We’re diving in on all of it in the latest edition of our Flames mailbag.
The top answer to this question is cut and dried, but not easy to accomplish. Whether it’s with the ninth-overall selection or not, Calgary needs to leave Las Vegas with its next franchise centerpiece.
Of course, we won’t know if they’ve made that happen for several years. But that doesn’t make the premise any less important. From Connor Zary to Hunter Brzustewicz, Sam Honzek, Martin Pospisil and more, the Flames have promising young players to help build around.
At least currently, though, they’re lacking the true cornerstone skaters that are needed when building a contender.
Perhaps Dustin Wolf can fill that role in net, but over the next few years, Calgary needs to find its future No. 1 centre and top defenceman. Possessing their highest pick since 2016, the Flames’ quest begins in earnest on Friday night.
Broadening the scope, the Flames own eight picks in the first four rounds. With that type of capital, a successful haul likely includes that core franchise piece along with two other players who play NHL games for the organization.
And I’ll throw in one more ideal takeaway from this week: an extension for Oliver Kylington. It’s believed Calgary and Kylington have had discussions in recent weeks but are still looking to find a middle ground on a new deal. With everyone in the same city, this week provides a great opportunity for both sides to hammer something out.
The belief is the Flames will indeed be looking to improve the position of their second first-round pick, which currently sits at No. 28. Calgary owns two picks (its own and an additional) in each of the second, third, and fourth rounds, which gives the Flames plenty of capital to help them move up.
If the Flames can package the 28th-overall selection with an additional pick, or picks, and move into a higher ledge in the first round, it makes a lot of sense. Depending on who you ask, this year’s third tier floats around the 13-22 range, which gives Calgary a nice, attainable target.
I’ll preface this answer with an important qualifier: I’m not a scout and I rely on the experts to form an opinion. That said, if the choice at ninth overall were to come down to Cayden Lindstrom of the Medicine Hat Tigers or Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs, I’m leaning slightly towards the former.
Lindstrom’s combination of size and skill down the middle is intriguing, especially for an organization in dire need of a franchise centre. And that’s no slight towards Catton, who’s coming off a 54-goal season as an 18-year-old. While neither are locks to play centre at the highest level, I think most Flames fans would be thrilled with either Catton or Lindstrom.
Interestingly, our Jason Bukala has Catton eighth overall in his final rankings, which is one ahead of Lindstrom at No. 9. Conversely, our Sam Cosentino has Lindstrom going fourth overall to Columbus in his Mock Draft 1.0; he has Catton falling to Buffalo at No. 11.
Ryan’s question refers to the first-round pick Calgary sent to Montreal in the Sean Monahan trade from the summer of 2022. It’s a pick that has numerous complicated conditions attached to it. At leas the scenario has evolved into something much easier to understand than when the trade was completed.
If the Flames end up with a top-10 pick in 2025, they’ll retain it and instead transfer the first rounder originally owned by the Panthers. If they don’t end up in the top 10, the Canadiens will receive the higher 2025 pick between Calgary and Florida.
The expectation is the Flames will be active when free agency opens on Canada Day, which I know scares some in this market. But it’s important to point out that Conroy plans to be careful and judicious when it comes to term.
Conroy knows Calgary isn’t in a place to be handing out six- and seven-year contracts at this stage of a retool. However, with the Flames hoping to be in a more competitive place for the fall of 2027, a couple shorter deals are likely in the cards. Think somewhere in the two-, three-, or four-year range.
Even with the addition of Kevin Bahl in last week’s Jacob Markstrom trade with New Jersey, Calgary is in need of another left-shot defenceman. That’s the position I’m most interested in come Monday. Any one of Brady Skjei, Brenden Dillon, Shayne Gostisbehere or Alec Martinez could really help solidify the team’s top six, even if Kylington and the Flames agree to an extension.
And don’t sleep on Calgary dipping into the free-agent goaltender pool, either. With Markstrom no longer in the fold, the Flames could use an organizational No. 3 that can spend time in the AHL but also jump into NHL action if the need arises. A few interesting names that could fit the bill include Devin Cooley, Eric Comrie, and Chris Driedger.
