Craig Conroy inherited a mess when he walked into the Calgary Flames’ front office in May 2023. The roster had already been rocked by the losses of Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, veteran players were looking for the exit, and there were seven pending UFAs to sort through in Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington. On top of that, the prospect pipeline was thin beyond Dustin Wolf and Matt Coronato, the core was aging and expensive, and the room needed work.
Three years into the job, Conroy has done plenty to reshape the group, and a big chunk of that work has come through trades. He has made 21 deals in all, though this series focuses only on the 15 NHL trades.
Draft pick swaps and minor league moves are being left out. First up is the Tyler Toffoli trade.
The return on Toffoli was Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round pick that became Aydar Suniev. At the time, it was a reasonable haul for Calgary. A 31-year-old winger with one year left on his deal was not bringing back a massive package in that market, especially with players like Taylor Hall, Max Pacioretty and Oliver Bjorkstrand moving for very little or late picks.
Sharangovich started slowly, but his second half in 2023-24 changed the picture. Over his final 46 games, he led the team with 20 goals and 37 points, and that finish earned him a five-year extension at $5.75 million per year.
Looking back, that deal came too early. His strong run and his desire to stay in Calgary, when many others did not, helped push Conroy into the extension.
Suniev, meanwhile, is coming off his first year in pro hockey and has already shown flashes of brilliance. He still looks like a player with a chance to become a full-time NHLer down the road.
That makes the overall Toffoli return solid, but not a slam dunk. If Conroy had dealt Sharangovich after the winger’s 31-goal season, this one could have earned an A. Instead, the contract has dragged the grade down to a C.
Letter Grade: C
The Nikita Zadorov trade to Vancouver came with ugly context. Zadorov asked for a move after Calgary’s 5-4 shootout loss in Toronto on Nov. 10, 2023, and that left Conroy with far less leverage.
Other teams knew he wanted out quickly, and that made the Flames’ position tougher. Twenty days later, Zadorov was dealt for third- and fifth-round picks.
For a player built like a playoff problem - huge, physical and able to skate - the return felt light. Conroy likely could have done better if he had waited closer to the trade deadline, when more teams might have been involved. But the situation in the room forced his hand.
The picks eventually became Joe Iginla and Nikita Okhotiuk. Iginla was not ranked by most scouting services, while Okhotiuk played only nine games for the Flames before signing in the KHL. Zadorov went on to help Vancouver reach Game 7 of the second round and later signed a six-year, $30 million deal with Boston.
There’s some sympathy here because of the spot Zadorov and his agent put Conroy in. Still, the return was underwhelming, and the end result may be one of the weakest trades of his tenure.
Then came the Elias Lindholm deal, and this one swung the other way in a big way. Calgary sent Lindholm to Vancouver and got back Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick that became Matvei Gridin, and a 2024 fourth-round pick that turned into Luke Misa.
That is a strong package for three and a half months of Lindholm. Kuzmenko was later included in the trade that brought Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary.
Brzustewicz has become one of the better defensive prospects in the system and showed he can play in the NHL last season. Gridin looks like a future top-six forward, and the Flames also avoided tying themselves to an eight-year extension that would have been tough to stomach.
Letter Grade: A
In Other News...
Jonathan Huberdeau Now Faces One Huge Question In Calgary
Jonathan Huberdeaus future in Calgary is being viewed through a very different lens this summer, with his recovery from hip resurfacing the central storyline rather than any immediate on-ice production. The procedure, done in March to address a chronic hip injury, put him in rare company among NHL players, and it has naturally led to comparisons with others who have gone through similar surgeries as the Flames try to figure out what comes next for one of their most important veterans.
For fans, the uncertainty has turned into a wide range of expectations for the 2026/27 season, from simply getting back into the lineup to dreaming on a 70-point rebound. That spread tells the story as much as any projection does: there is belief that Huberdeau can still matter in Calgary, but also plenty of waiting to see how his body responds before anyone can really know what kind of player the Flames will have on their hands. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Quietly Made Four Staff Moves Right Before Camp
The Flames made a few quiet but notable additions to their hockey operations staff just before prospects camp and main camp get rolling, filling out some of the off-ice support that helps a team run smoothly when the on-ice work ramps up. Calgary announced four hires: Justin Warsylewicz as massage therapist, Mike Antone Jr. as video coordinator, Dusty Nickel as emergency backup goalie and Dean Seymour as player development and skills consultant.
It is the kind of housekeeping move that rarely draws much attention outside the organization, but these jobs matter once the pace picks up and players start filtering in for camp. The staff shuffle also adds another layer of experience around the Flames' development group, with Seymour stepping into a role tied to player growth and skills work while the club gets its camp infrastructure in place. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Middleton May Matter More To The Flames Than Fans Realize
The Calgary Flames went into the deal for Jake Middleton looking for more than just another name on the blue line. Craig Conroy made clear the veteran defenseman fits the kind of role the club wanted, a stay-at-home presence who can bring some leadership and stability to a group that needed both. Middleton arrives with 381 career games under his belt and is expected to settle into a bottom-pairing spot, which is often where the least glamorous jobs on a roster end up mattering the most.
What makes the move more interesting is how much the Flames had to give up to make it happen, with Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta heading to Minnesota as part of the return. Calgary also added three draft picks, giving the trade a longer runway than a simple one-for-one swap. The immediate question now is whether Middleton can become more than a depth piece in the eyes of the coaching staff, because the early impression around the club suggests there may be more to his fit than the box score will show. [Read more 🡒]