NHL Trade Deadline Grades: Calgary Flames

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Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Remember last year when the Calgary Flames were the talk of the NHL trade deadline? Yeah, those days are over. This time around, general manager Craig Conroy and the Flames were the human embodiment of a shrug emoji. Zero trades. Nada. A big ol’ goose egg.

Now, to be fair, Conroy did his work early. The Flames already made their splash back in January when they sent Noah Hanifin to Philadelphia in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. That move aligned with Conroy’s vision: bring in “age-appropriate” talent to help the team both now and in the future. So when the trade deadline rolled around, the Flames sat back and watched the chaos unfold around them.

https://twitter.com/JamesJohnsonYYC/status/1897377408468312529

What the Flames Did:

  • Assigned Adam Klapka and Ilya Solovyov to the AHL to keep them eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

That’s it. That’s the list.

Why the Flames Stood Still:

Sitting at 29-23-10 and clinging to the final Western Conference wild card spot, Calgary was in a weird spot. They weren’t full-fledged buyers, but they weren’t selling off pieces either. Conroy made it clear he wasn’t interested in short-term rentals, and no “hockey trades” materialized.

“If you’re just jetting guys out of here, that sends the wrong message to the team,” Conroy said. “Everybody loves draft picks, but they’re not helping you today.”

Instead, the Flames are rolling with what they’ve got, banking on their young core—guys like Connor Zary, Matt Coronato, and Dustin Wolf—to keep developing.

The Verdict:

Honestly, it’s tough to grade a team that didn’t do anything. But in some ways, standing pat was the right move. The Flames aren’t in a position to push all-in, nor did they need to strip things down further. Instead, they’re betting on internal growth and looking ahead to what could be a more active summer.

With 20 games to go, Calgary’s fate is in their own hands. Maybe this team sneaks into the playoffs, maybe they don’t. Either way, Conroy made one thing clear: he’s not rushing this rebuild, and he’s not making moves just for the sake of it.

Final Grade: C+ – No moves, no chaos, no real impact. But in this case, maybe that’s not the worst thing.