Numbers can be weird, folks.

Sometimes numbers recur in your life to the point where it becomes almost spooky. Maybe the recurring numbers mean something. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.

Just over three years into Craig Conroy’s tenure as general manager of the Calgary Flames, the number seven sure does seem to be coming up pretty often in important ways.

When Conroy took over the top job in hockey operations from his predecessor, Brad Treliving, he inherited seven main roster players on contracts set to expire following the 2023-24 season. As a result, his entire first season was dominated by him deciding the fate of seven fairly important players: Mikael Backlund, Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Oliver Kylington, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.

Sticking to his pledge from his introductory press conference, Conroy opted to go younger. Backlund was signed to a contract extension and named captain, but everyone else departed; Kylington into free agency, and Toffoli (to New Jersey), Lindholm (to Vancouver), Zadorov (to Vancouver), Tanev (to Dallas) and Hanifin (to Vegas) were all traded.

After a 2024-25 season where the Flames impressed and barely missed the playoffs – like, by one of the smallest margins in the history of the National Hockey League – Conroy was faced with deciding the fate of another group of seven. This time, it was the team’s new-look leadership group of Backlund, Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar and Ryan Lomberg. With the Flames seemingly on the precipice of pushing for the playoffs, Conroy had to decide whether to accelerate the youth movement or hold onto his vets to buffer the team’s youngsters.

As he did two years previously, Conroy opted to go younger. Backlund was retained (and, again, signed to an extension), as was Huberdeau. But Lomberg left via free agency, while Coleman (to Minnesota), Kadri (to Colorado), Andersson (to Vegas) and Weegar (to Utah) were all traded for other assets.

The next defining group of seven for Conroy may already be in place.

In his four drafts as GM, he’s selected seven players in the first round: Samuel Honzek (2023), Zayne Parekh (2024), Matvei Gridin (2024), Cole Reschny (2025), Cullen Potter (2025), Carson Carels (2026) and Jack Hextall (2026). Or perhaps those seven will be complemented by the existing young NHLers on the Flames, potentially ready to grab hold of larger roles moving forward after their veteran teammates departed.

Speaking to the media last week at Winsport following the Coleman trade with Minnesota, Conroy noted the necessity for a new core group to emerge from within.

“We need them to step up,” said Conroy. “You know, the Frost, Farabee, Coronatos, you know, these guys have been here a little while now. Now we need them to take a bigger role. You know, they can’t just sit and be quiet. You know, we want them to grow, and it’s going to give them a great opportunity to do that.”