Things have been absolutely insane around the Calgary Flames since the pandemic shortened season in 2021. There might not be a team in professional sports that’s had a more chaotic five years than the Flames.

But this off-season feels like things have finally calmed down. The culture has been cleaned up. The players are happy in Calgary. There is stability behind the bench and in the general manager’s office.

Having said that, there are still some major storylines to follow this summer when it comes to the Flames. They have a lot of important decisions that need to be made.

Let’s dive into four storylines that will define the 2025 off-season for Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames.

This is easily the biggest piece of business Conroy and his staff are going to have to deal with.

It’s been reported that Andersson and the Flames are not close on a contract extension. All signs point to Andersson’s time coming to an end between now and the 2026 trade deadline. The 54th overall pick int he 2015 NHL Draft has been a very good player for the Flames over his 10 years with the organization.

But all good things come to and end. In Andersson’s case, it makes sense to move on because where the Flames are in their current winning cycle, and Andersson’s age and contract status.

The best time to move Andersson is between now and the first round of the NHL Draft. That is when teams have the most flexibility to make moves both from a salary cap and asset perspective.

It’s also a seller’s market. The only team in the NHL looking to sell their players for future assets is the Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s it. Conroy needs to take advantage of the next few days to create a market around Andersson.

The last thing you want is Andersson starting the season with the team next year. You have to worry about injuries, especially with the way Andersson puts his body on the line night in, night out.

And what happens if the Flames are in a playoff spot come the deadline next season? Do we really trust that ownership will let Conroy move their second best defenceman in the middle of a chase for a playoff spot?

On top of that you don’t need Andersson’s future becoming a distraction for the team.

Those are just some of the compelling reasons why trading Andersson sooner than later makes sense for the organization.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out.

One thing that is not getting talked about enough in Flamesland is the defence heading into next season.

Let’s explore this topic assuming Rasmus Andersson will not be part of this group for the 2025-26 season.

You have a great player in MacKenzie Weegar leading the group. After that, it drops off considerably.

Kevin Bahl, who should get signed this summer, is a solid #4 defenceman. I don’t think you want him playing top pairing minutes. But he is a solid option for your second pairing.

Then you have Brayden Pachal, Jake Bean, and Daniil Miromanov. All guys who are depth, #6-8 defencemen on good teams.

Finally you have your rookies. Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, Ilya Solovyov, Yan Kuznetsov, and Artem Grushnikov.

Put that group together, and it’s not looking pretty.

Conroy has made it very clear that he does not want this team to bottom out. He wants them to remain competitive while getting younger with an end goal of making the playoffs.

If Calgary wants to get back to the post-season, they are going to need to add some significant pieces to this back end.

Improvements are going to come via trade or offer sheets. The free agent crop of defencemen is underwhelming to say the least. That group features Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt, Ivan Provorov, and Vladislav Gavrikov. I don’t know if I see any of those players wanting to come to Calgary unless they get a massive contract.

Bowen Byram, K’Andre Miller, Noah Dobson, Erik Karlsson, Mattias Samuelsson, Sam Girard, Morgan Rielly, and Damon Severson are all defencemen who are on Daily Faceoff’s trade target board. Could the Flames make a trade for one or more of these players?

Nic Hague, Ryker Evans, Dylan Samberg, Cam York, Zach Jones, are all RFA defencemen who could be offer sheeted.

Conroy is going to have to get creative if he wants to get this defence core up to playoff standards.

The Calgary Flames have a good, not great team as currently constructed. They are built to finish between 8th-11th in the western conference standings. The mushy middle. The worst place to be in professional sports.

How do the Flames get out of the mushy middle?

There are two options.

1. Bottom out.

2. Become a legitimate playoff team.

We know the Flames are not going to try to bottom out. Conroy has said so many times since he took over as general manager in May of 2023. This organization refuses to do a full rebuild.

The other way to get yourself out of the mushy middle is to push your chips to the centre of the table and start acquiring younger, talented players to help make you a legitimate playoff team.

Anything in-between feels like a waste of time.

Will Conroy be willing to trade draft picks and other assets to bring in players to improve this roster?

Marco Rossi, JJ Peterka, Elias Pettersson, Bowen Byram, K’Andre Miller, Noah Dobson, Jordan Spence, Nic Hague are all younger players who are on trade boards across the NHL that would fit with the Flames age scheme. Could Conroy pull off a deal to acquire two or more of those players?

If he runs the same team back from last season, they will be destined to finish in the same vicinity that they did last season. That’s not good enough if you’re trying to build a future Stanley Cup calibre team.

Conroy and the rest of the Flames management team still have a lot of work to do when it comes to re-signing their remaining RFA’s.

Connor Zary, Morgan Frost, and Kevin Bahl all need new deals heading into next season.

And we haven’t heard much when it comes to these negotiations.

It feels like a bridge deal is the most realistic option for the player and team when it comes to Connor Zary. We don’t know if he is a centre or winger. Injuries plagued his 2024-25 campaign. It’s hard to get a read on what exactly Zary is going to become at the NHL level.

Because of that, a two year bridge contract in the $3.75-$4 million makes sense.

Morgan Frost is a tricky situation for the Flames. The 26 year old is only one year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. A one year contract extension from the Flames would walk him to UFA status.

And the Flames might not want to give him a long term deal because of his inconsistencies as a player.

Like Zary, a 2-3 year bridge deal might make the most sense for both sides. Frost will have a couple years to prove he is a 2nd or 3rd line centre in the NHL. And the Flames make a low risk play. if things don’t work out, they can move on from Frost easily.

Kevin Bahl feels like the one guy they should sign to a long term contract. The soon to be 25 year old is coming off a breakout season with the Calgary Flames. He was able to play big minutes alongside Rasmus Andersson in the top four.

He looked like a guy who could handle second pair minutes for his prime years.

There is not a lot coming up in the pipeline for left shot defencemen with top four upside. Etienne Morin, Ilya Solovyov, Yan Kuznetsov, Artem Grushnikov and Joni Jurmo are all left shots. Morin probably has the best chance to become a top four defenceman but he is still a long way from becoming that player.

Getting Bahl signed long term for his prime years makes a lot of sense.

Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you’re tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.