Perhaps Craig Conroy was practising his sales pitch.
Not a bad idea.
While the Calgary Flames are unlikely to make a big splash during Tuesday’s free-agent frenzy, there is optimism that Scotia Place — the brand-new arena/event centre that is now under construction across the street from the Saddledome — will be a major lure for future fishing expeditions.
Just ask the general manager. As Conroy rattles through some of the features of Scotia Place, which is slated to open for the 2027-28 season, you can’t miss the excitement in his voice.
“I think it’s going to be huge for us,” Conroy told Postmedia. “Guys love the new, shiny things. I think they’ll love all of the amenities, right from the place that you go in to have your breakfast and then the shooting rooms and kick-around rooms and just all the other stuff that comes with it.
“And then to also have a practice rink right in the building with you, that’s a home run for us. The new gym … I mean, if you have ever seen our gym here, we do the best we can with the space we have, but just everything is going to be state-of-the-art.
“You already hear guys talking about it on other teams, just because they drive by and see the hole. Next year, they’re going to see so much more. People talk about it, and it’s going to be great for us moving forward. You can’t really know until it’s time, but I think it’s going to make a big difference in guys’ minds, for sure.”
It can’t, of course, be the only draw.
If you flip Tuesday to the signing shows on Sportsnet or TSN, you won’t hear a player — patched in via FaceTime from their lakefront cottage or the sixth hole of their favourite course — say, ‘Well, the team stinks and the money was way better elsewhere but, ooooh boy, how about that barn?!’
For that reason, there are two crucial construction projects happening concurrently in Calgary.
The plans for Scotia Place call for 41,000 cubic metres of concrete, 9,000 metric tonnes of rebar and nearly 4,500 kilometres of wire throughout the walls.
Conroy, meanwhile, is trying to estimate how many goals he can expect from Matt Coronato, how many assists from Zayne Parekh, how many saves from Dustin Wolf. He’s projecting how much longer Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau can remain in first-line roles and how soon Cole Reschny — the No. 18 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft — might be ready for big-league duties.
As crews work round-the-clock at Scotia Place, Conroy is constantly game-planning how to acquire the other pieces and parts necessary to someday hoist hockey’s 35-pound trophy.
He can’t, just to be clear, do anything about Calgary’s winter weather. That will always deter a few guys from signing at this latitude.
“There are some other things that impact a free agent,” said Flames core part MacKenzie Weegar, a workhorse defenceman who made headlines when he stressed the need to replace the Saddledome during an end-of-season interview in April 2023. “Is your team good? Is there a shot at playoffs? Is it a great city? Is the money the right amount?
“But the arena is definitely on the list of what they look at. It’s the facilities, if you have a practice rink or not, a great arena, great fans, which that’s all going to bring.
“I know, at the beginning, I said we need a new arena and blah blah, but it really does help. I think it’s going to add a lot. If it’s not going to attract, it’s at least make them think quite hard. And not just the depth players. I think it is going to attract some big-name guys, which helps a lot.”
The biggest-name guys this summer are Mitch Marner — please pretend to be surprised Tuesday when he inks with the Vegas Golden Knights — and Stanley Cup final scoring-machine Brad Marchand.
(Editor’s note: Several hours after this was published, the Toronto Maple Leafs shipped Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade, then Marchand re-upped with the Florida Panthers.)
The Flames are shopping for a backup netminder, a lefty blue-liner and maybe a right-shot centre. They could potentially target a bounce-back candidate like Tanner Jeannot, but they already have a lot of wingers.
While Conroy may not go on a spending spree this summer, he expressed optimism in his draft-recap media conference that, “I do think we’re going to be a destination, at some point, for UFAs.”
At some point like … 2027?
Flames fans have already been checking the list of could-be UFAs for that summer. They have honed in on a superstar defenceman who just happens to be raised in this city. (Is it tampering if we mention he just won his second Norris Trophy?)
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Whoever is in the crosshairs then, you can bet that Scotia Place will be a big part of the pitch. Crews will be busy with the finishing touches on a venue that will seat 18,400 for sporting events and will also be home to the AHL’s Wranglers, WHL’s Hitmen and NLL’s Roughnecks.
“It’s exciting for us to be able to say, ‘Ok, we’re going to have the newest building in the NHL,’ ” Conroy told Postmedia. “That, I think, is going to be a big selling point for us.”
Echoed Weegar, who is signed for six more seasons and is considered a frontrunner to be the Flames’ next captain: “It’s exciting for me to think about, because there’s obviously a lot of cap space we have and we want to attract those free agents. That will be a selling point, I’m sure, for Conny, and even for me when I try to throw in a word here and there to a player I know. It’s huge.”