GM Craig Conroy Gave the Flames Something They'd Been Missing
There is something refreshing about watching the Calgary Flames these days. For years, it seemed as if the organization was caught in that NHL middle ground where it wasn't quite good enough to contend, but wasn't quite willing to admit that it needed to rebuild either. Craig Conroy appears to have finally broken that cycle. And for Flames fans, that may be the biggest positive of his tenure as general manager.
Conroy took over the Flames at a difficult time.
Conroy didn't inherit an easy situation. Calgary had some good players, some expensive contracts and a whole lot of uncertainty about where the organization was going. The temptation would have been to keep trying to patch things together and hope the next season went a little better. Instead, Conroy has gradually moved the Flames toward a genuine rebuild. The returns for players such as Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri have helped change the picture.
More importantly, Calgary is finally accumulating young players and draft capital rather than simply trying to stay respectable. That may not make for a very exciting standings page right now, but it gives the organization something it hasn't had in a long time: a direction.
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Craig Conroy Finally Gave the Flames Something to Believe In.
Sometimes it can be tough coming out of a rebuild. The danger, of course, is that rebuilding is a lot easier to announce than it is to finish. Some of the optimism around Calgary suggests this could all come together in three or four years. Maybe it will. If it were me, I would be a little more patient. Prospects don't always develop on schedule, and some of those shiny young players will inevitably turn out to be something less than everybody hopes.
There are also decisions still to be made about players such as Šimon Nemec, whose talent is obvious but whose defensive game still needs work. But that is almost the point. Conroy has put the Flames in a position where they can afford to find out. For once, Calgary doesn't have to pretend that tomorrow's team is really today's team. And that might turn out to be Craig Conroy's biggest accomplishment as GM.