Report: Flames Ready To Make Another Major Trade
Conroy told Daily Faceoff the organization is now prepared to use its cap space, prospects, and draft picks to add NHL-caliber talent rather than continuing to collect futures. "Absolutely, we're looking to do both," Conroy said.
A Shift From Years Of Selling
Since taking over in 2023, Conroy has traded away 11 NHL regulars, including Elias Lindholm, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar, while stockpiling draft picks and prospects along the way.
"I think there was a lot of uncertainty with our veteran players especially," Conroy said. "Whether it was Elias Lindholm, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, there was a lot of uncertainty. Even for us, is this the group we're going to win with, or do we need to make some changes?"
Some buildings hold events. But in Calgary, our home held everything else.
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 2, 2026
One last ride starts tonight. pic.twitter.com/JirOGF8zr4
That uncertainty appears to have settled.
Conroy pointed to Calgary's acquisition of defenseman Simon Nemec from New Jersey as the kind of move he's prepared to make again. "If there's an opportunity to make trades and use some of the picks we still have, like we did to acquire Nemec, we're gonna do that," he said.
The Numbers Behind The Ambition
Daily Faceoff projects Calgary to have just under $66 million in cap space by the March 1 trade deadline, giving Conroy as much flexibility as any GM in the league.
The Flames are also carrying two second-round picks in each of the next three drafts on top of that.
Calgary has already shown a willingness to get creative with that financial muscle. Sportsnet's Eric Francis reported this week that the Flames were involved in trade talks around Kirill Marchenko as a third-party cap facilitator, even though the deal ultimately came together directly between Columbus and Toronto.
#Flames at practice on Friday:
— Pat Steinberg (@SteinbergYYC) October 2, 2026
Gridin-Frost-Coronato
Honzek-Backlund-Farabee
Zary-Strome-Sharangovich
Tsyplakov-Pospisil-Klapka
Othmann
Bahl-Whitecloud
Hanley-Nemec
Middleton-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Pachal
Wolf
Cooley
Not everyone is on the same page, however.
A recent FlamesNation piece argued the organization should keep selling this season, pointing out the roster still lacks the kind of star power that usually defines a true contender and suggesting Conroy continue converting veterans into picks rather than spending his assets now.
