By way of his first 16 months as common supervisor of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy has acquired a passing grade from the fanbase. The 53-year-old, who got here in at a troublesome time, given the group’s contract conditions, has navigated the roster tremendously and has helped make the long run look brilliant.
It’s onerous to level out many, if any, errors Conroy has made since being promoted. Some have questioned the returns on the Jacob Markstrom and Noah Hanifin offers, although it’s too early to say if these trades have been losses.
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Conroy has additionally achieved a very good job of releasing up and protecting obtainable cap area. This may increasingly not matter now, however it can when the Flames attain a degree the place they should signal free brokers. Given all the good work Conroy has achieved, the report from Day by day Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli is a serious head-scratcher.
On Flames Discuss with Pat Steinberg, Seravalli talked about that the group is reportedly all for extending Andrei Kuzmenko, who will grow to be an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires this summer season. They acquired the Russian winger from the Vancouver Canucks final season for Elias Lindholm.
“With the best way final season ended up taking part in out, the studies that I received again was that there have been some fairly good vibes,” Seravalli mentioned. “The Flames would think about extending Kuzmenko, unquestionably. They should weigh whether or not the return they might get in the marketplace exceeds what he may present by sticking round.”
Little Sense to Lengthen Kuzmenko
What Conroy has achieved so nicely is make the group youthful whereas additionally including loads of draft capital. That isn’t a plan that ought to be deserted but. Regardless of strong groundwork, the group nonetheless has a protracted method to go earlier than it turns into a contender.
If Kuzmenko performs as he did to shut out final season, the Flames may get an awesome return for him in a commerce. In spite of everything, his 14 targets by 29 video games interprets to just about a 40-goal tempo over an 82-game schedule. Many playoff-bound groups could be prepared to pay a hefty worth so as to add a participant like that to their lineup.
Buying and selling Kuzmenko wouldn’t solely add extra property for the long run, however it will additionally enable them to raised develop their younger expertise. Transferring out a gifted right-handed ahead would create a much bigger alternative for Matt Coronato, who, based mostly on preseason play, seems prepared for full-time NHL motion. That could be troublesome proper now, nonetheless, as Kuzmenko will demand a number of minutes at even energy and on the ability play.
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Kuzmenko is 28, so the probabilities that he’ll nonetheless be in his prime when the Flames are true Stanley Cup contenders are very slim. Most would estimate Calgary to be roughly 4 years away from making any actual harm, by which era Kuzmenko can be 32. Having cash tied up in a diminishing asset makes far much less sense than protecting that cap area open and maybe signing an identical, but youthful, free agent when the crew is able to go deep into the playoffs.
Flames Should Carry on Conserving on
Whereas it’s nice that Kuzmenko has been such an awesome match for the Flames, what would make it even higher is to capitalize on his worth and transfer him for a chunk(s) that can profit the way forward for the group. To date, Conroy has his crew wanting like they are going to be a pressure quickly, and there’s no purpose to divert from that plan. Whereas there isn’t any rush to maneuver Kuzmenko, the Flames could be smart to maneuver him forward of the 2025 commerce deadline.
