The NHL Draft is over, free agency is well underway, and the Calgary Flames have not been all that busy. After coming to an agreement on contract extensions to Kevin Bahl, Joel Hanley, Morgan Frost, Nick Cicek, and Ivan Prosvetov, the Flames have been lurking in the shadows, seeing if anything available could come their way.

As they wait for that to happen, a situation is playing out like it did last year. The Flames have too many wingers on their roster at this point in time. There was a logjam at the start of last season, and it continued when the Flames made the trade for the aforementioned Frost and Joel Farabee. Now, into the offseason, they are all still here.

Craig Conroy said in his press conference on Tuesday that if any of the “kids” want spots, they will have to come and take them. Well, as it stands, there won’t be any jobs to take.

A logjam of middle-six players

We know all too well at this time that the Flames don’t have any true superstars up front. They have some good players, like veterans Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, and some up-and-comers like Matt Coronato. Outside of that, however, the Flames have too many players lodged into the middle-six, where younger players would most likely take spots.

Right now, the Flames don’t have any forwards coming in red hot to take a job for next season. The closest might be Rory Kerins, who would probably max out as a third-line player. The problem becomes trying to carve out roles for the guys on the roster whom they are trying to develop, like Connor Zary. They dug themselves into a deeper hole when they brought in Farabee, and he found himself on the fourth line to end the season in the most important games of the year. Not great for a guy you just brought in.

When the season opens up in October, the Flames will have nine different players looking to secure a spot on the wings:

Jonathan HuberdeauConnor Zary Blake Coleman Matt Coronato Yegor Sharangovich Martin Pospisil Ryan Lomberg Joel Farabee Adam Klapka

There are certain guys the Flames need playing up in the lineup. Farabee and Zary are musts. Farabee needs a bounce-back season in a major way, and getting Zary big minutes will be huge for his development. Adam Klapka showed promise at the end of the year, while Martin Pospisil was a spark plug on whatever line he played on. It is a major logjam, and it should be figured out sooner rather than later.

Who could the Flames move on from?

I think realistically, the Flames could trade one of four players off the current roster to open up some room on the wings to ensure they have everyone playing a specific role.

Blake Coleman

Blake Coleman has been a very good player for the Flames since they signed him back in the summer of 2021. He has been everything they could have asked for. He’s brought tenacity, a solid two-way game, and leadership on top of that. He has been worth every penny.

However, he is going to be turning 34 in November. With him still playing at a nice level, a contending team would probably love his services in their lineup. If Coleman wants a shot at winning a third championship, a trade would make the most sense for him.

Yegor Sharangovich

This one would be a long shot, but moving on from Yegor Sharangovich might be for the best. After a stellar first season in Calgary, it was a large fall from grace in his second season. Only scoring 17 goals after inking a massive contract was a major disappointment, and the Flames saw his play dip in every facet of the game. He came on strong by year’s end, but by then it was too little, too late.

With his new contract kicking in for this upcoming season, he would be almost impossible to move. That said, maybe someone would take a flyer on him, hoping for a bounce-back.

Martin Pospisil

I mentioned earlier that Pospisil is a spark plug, and he can pull anyone into the fight. That is true, but this season showed that there are far too many inconsistencies in his game. When he is on, he is great, but when he is just even a bit off, he becomes a complete liability.

I love having a guy on the team who creates havoc all the time, but with only a year remaining on his deal, the Flames could be wise to sell him for an asset.

Joel Farabee

Yes, the Flames did just acquire Farabee, and he has only played 31 games as a Flame. However, Farabee is carrying a $5M cap hit until 2028. It is a hefty amount of money for a player who found himself in Ryan Huska’s doghouse in his first little stint with the Flames.

There is some good here, though. Farabee is a two-time 20-goal scorer, and he acknowledged that he played poorly when he came over in the trade. I expect him to be better next season, but he may be on a short leash.

A trade should happen

All in all, the Flames need to move someone out. Development will be key over the next few years as we gear up for a new wave of Flames. For that to happen, roster spaces need to be available. Maybe it comes with some guys playing less. Ryan Lomberg does not need to be in the lineup every night, but we know how much he means to the locker room and the team’s culture.

A trade would be the best way to get this done. If I were Conroy, that would be at the top of my list of something to get done this summer.

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