The lads are paid to say that, and as Kevin Bahl suggested, there\u2019d be no point in showing up with your hockey bag every fall if you didn\u2019t have spring hockey as a goal.<\/p>\n
Management and ownership would cherish post-season hockey, too.<\/p>\n
But the most important thing about how Conroy conducts himself this summer is that he follows through with the lane he picked at the trade deadline, when he traded two aging pillars for a boatload of picks and prospects: the long road ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conroy said the plan, as of now, is to make all 11 picks in this summer\u2019s draft, including both first-rounders and four seconds.<\/p>\n
However, the GM hedged his bets aplenty by adding that the plan can easily be altered a tinge if he can move up in the draft or find a trade partner looking to shake up their roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is an opportunity to make a trade for a player that we feel is someone that can help us now and in the future, absolutely we\u2019d grab that player,\u201d said Conroy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will leave no stone unturned.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already been out scouting most of the top six prospects, a window in which the Flames are guaranteed to pick regardless of how the May 5 draft lottery goes.<\/p>\n
Would he make a trade to move into the top three if the lottery balls fall in a manner that keeps them in fourth spot, or drop a slot or two?<\/p>\n
Absolutely, said Conroy. But he\u2019s excited about the fact that regardless of which of those half dozen prospects he ends up with, it\u2019s going to be an impact player \u2013 something his organization is woefully short of.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we want to pick No. 1, but no matter who we pick in there, I think the people here are going to be very happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew Tkachuk was No. 6, Sean Monahan was No. 6. You know, I\u2019d take those guys any day, so I’m not stressed about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With very few top players available anymore via free agency, the only way to up their ability to add high-end skill is to do it via the draft \u2013 a route Conroy is poised to lean heavily into again this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re going to go and try to do whatever we can to help the team and make it better, but a lot of it is going to come from within,\u201d he said of the internal growth the organization will count on for the next few years from emerging young pillars like Matvei Gridin, Matt Coronato, Zayne Parekh<\/a> and Hunter Brzustewicz.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t want to rush the players. Definitely, there was talk about signing some of the guys we drafted a few years ago (like college hotshots Cole Reschny or Ethan Wyttenbach), and maybe get them to turn pro. But we want to do the best for them long term. It’s not about just getting guys in here for one year and turning this thing around. We want to do it the right way for the next 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Which brings us to the captain, Mikael Backlund<\/a>, who was asked how quickly he thinks his 29th-place team can return to challenge for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n And while an acceptable response would be, \u201chow long is a piece of string?\u201d Backlund and the veterans want it to be next season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s also up to management,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of prospects and picks, and it’s up to them, \u2018what do you want to do?\u2019 – if they want to keep collecting, or if they want to make some trades, make things happen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s an exciting summer for the organization, for sure, with one high pick and lots of other picks and prospects. It’s an exciting future for the organization, and we want to turn it around quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe million-dollar question is what do we improve, and how do we get to that next level,\u201d said another veteran, Blake Coleman<\/a>, whose future with the club will also say plenty about the long-term vision.<\/p>\n \u201cI think obviously our high-end production leaves a little bit to be desired. I think the leading scorer is in the 40-point range and it\u2019s hard to go too far with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure is, but that\u2019s OK for a team willing to be patient and develop their next scoring leaders from within.<\/p>\n Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n![\"32](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/32THOUGHTS_500X500_ICON_V2-500x360.jpg\"){kind=icon}
32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n