The Flames approach the end of October last in the league.

Calgary came into the season with aspirations of making the playoffs after narrowly missing the post-season last year. But, unless they follow up October with 10 straight wins in November, those hopes may well be dashed by American Thanksgiving.

If the club can’t perform a miracle run next month (not impossible, of course), then Craig Conroy’s in-season priorities will start to change drastically.

Decisions that may have been made at the trade deadline or in the off-season could be accelerated as the opportunity to play deep into April recedes from view.

This mailbag edition focuses on what the Flames GM may do should the club’s results not improve drastically.

Q: When does Conroy start trading vets under contract? Flames seem to have been a bit unlucky to start year but as this hole deepens does Conroy use this as a chance to tear down more adding prospects and picks?

A: The team won’t be in a rush to do this, but I imagine Conroy will be more open to listening to offers if the Flames are still well out of the playoff picture by December.

Rumour mills already are speculating about Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson and Blake Coleman. Each guy brings something tangible to a contender (top-4 right-handed defenceman, second-line centre, two-way specialist).

Andersson is the most likely player to move, no matter what. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and he’s a good bet to leave for greener pastures. Coleman and Kadri, however, will depend more on the state of the club’s post-season hopes and the level of demand in the market.

Q: How big of a haul would the Flames retrieve if they dealt Kadri and retained 3M a year?

A: With a steadily rising cap, I’m not convinced the Flames would have to retain to get a good return for Kadri. The player is 35 but has aged well, managing a career-high 35 goals last season while leading the team in scoring. A long list of contenders in the league would love to add someone of Kadri’s ability and experience as a second-line center.

Kadri’s cap hit is $7 million and extends until 2028-29. Projections for the NHL salary cap have it increasing to $113 million by 2027-28. That means his deal would be worth less than 6% of the total cap in the final year of his contract.

If the Flames and the player decide to part ways this year, I think the team could get a first-round pick and high-quality prospect as part of a trade package.

Q: Assuming the Flames finish last and get Gavin McKenna, what else are they missing from their core/what do they need to acquire for a cohort that can turn them into a contender?

A: A good rule of thumb for building a contender is to ice at least five stars, with a couple of them being superstar-level talents (think: one of the top-5 guys at the position). You typically want a star centre and an elite defender as part of the mix.

You also want a strong supporting cohort, but assembling a bunch of stars in their prime is obviously the most challenging part.

If the Flames do indeed have a shot at McKenna in the summer, then the primary need for the club would become a blue-chip pivot. Cole Reschny is an excellent prospect, but doesn’t quite profile as a star in the making (not yet, at least).

With a McKenna on board, the team wouldn’t necessarily need to land a McDavid-level talent. A high-level two-way centre, like Patrice Bergeron or Aleksander Barkov, would go a long way to pushing the club into contender category.

Q: Given the talent on the wing, is McKenna really the best choice? 

A: Calgary has more prospects on the wing to be sure, but none of them are cornerstone players like Johnny Gaudreau.

Matvei Gridin is having an excellent start to his pro career and will likely be in the NHL sooner rather than later, but he’s probably not going to be a Gaudreau, Tkachuk, or Jarome Iginla.

Everyone else in the system project as support level players at the NHL level.

Related

Calgary’s in dire need of a weapon of mass destruction up front. If they get the chance to draft McKenna, they should take it.

Q: Is the NHL record (82 gms) for the lowest number of goals in danger?

A: That record belongs to the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres, the year they collected just 150 goals (or about 1.83 goals per game). They were paced by 23-year-old Cody Hodgson, who managed just 44 points in 72 games.

Buffalo tanked that year in an effort to get Connor McDavid in the following NHL entry draft. They lost the draft lottery to the Edmonton Oilers and had to “settle” for Jack Eichel (a story for another day).

Shorter answer: No, I don’t think the Flames are quite THAT bad offensively.