The season is already cooked. The pace required to get to 97 points is realistically unobtainable for this group. How would you approach this as Conroy, not wanting to embrace a losing culture? It seems like a tough spot for a GM and org committed to always trying to win.
FlamesNation Mailbag: Starting November with reader questions
Photo credit: Mike Gould
The Calgary Flames won a game on Sunday in regulation, beating the Philadelphia Flyers by a 2-1 score. That doubled their season’s total of regulation wins to two. It’s been that sort of start to the season, gang.
As we turn our attention to what’s going to be a hectic November, with 15 games over 30 days, let’s dive into the mailbag!
If I’m Craig Conroy, I try to maintain a long-term view of things. You don’t want to gut your current team, because then you’re throwing your kids to the wolves. But if there are players that aren’t necessarily in your long-term plans, perhaps you entertain moving them in the near future so you can audition some younger players in those spots.
I would use the term “strategic sell” to describe what I would look at doing. (I think Pat Steinberg used the term awhile back, so if you like that term, please give him credit.) You don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, but you look at what you can do to help your team move their process along a bit. If there are opportunities to open up spots to audition key youngsters, you probably want to explore those possibilities.
But you’re not doing things just to do them.
Do you think the flames’ first trade of the season will be a buying or a selling move?
When the flames sell, aside from the three names we constantly hear about, who else could you see being moved?
I think that once the standings math becomes a bit too daunting for the Flames that they’ll start entertaining some offers for some of their veteran assets. I think the most likely player to be moved, because of his contractual status, is probably Rasmus Andersson. But I think others could be in play like Nazem Kadri or Blake Coleman depending on what those players want to do going forward. The Flames aren’t going to be pushing anybody out the door, but if someone is willing to consider a potential move they’ll try to find them a good landing spot.
Can you give an update on some of our Wranglers prospects? Really interested how you think guys like Kerins, Gridin and Brzustewicz among others are doing so far. Thanks Ryan!
I’m going to single out Matvei Gridin and Hunter Brzustewicz a bit.
Gridin is 19 and he’s playing top six minutes in the AHL. Not only that, he’s driving play, making smart decisions away from the puck, and he’s finding ways to contribute on the scoresheet each game. The Wranglers are 6-0-2 since he was sent down by the Flames and that’s not a coincidence. He’s been a positive difference-maker for them, and he’s still learning and improving.
Brzustewicz turns 21 at the end of November and he’s essentially playing on the Wranglers’ top pairing alongside Nick Cicek. Brzustewicz is playing in most offensive-oriented situations and doing a lot of good things in all three zones. He’s primarily scoring on special teams, but he’s generating a lot of scoring chances in all game situations and finding the right times to pinch or join the rush. He’s really poised for someone who’s playing just his second season of pro hockey.
Why is Morin not playing? Is this not a similar situation to Parekh in the NHL he needs to play make mistakes and learn. Maybe he’s hurt but if not this seems inexcusable.
The short answer is that the Wranglers are carrying eight defenders. The top two pairings have stabilized with Yan Kuznetsov with Jeremie Poirier and Nick Cicek with Hunter Brzustewicz. That leaves a third pairing mix that basically has to include Daniil Miromanov on the right side, since he was sent down by the Flames to get game reps and get things going again. So far, the Wranglers have opted to put the offensive-minded Miromanov with a defensive-minded partner in Artem Grushnikov and a veteran all-arounder in Turner Ottenbreit rather than with a 20-year-old Etienne Morin.
We completely understand the logic behind the deployments, but we’re curious when Morin will start getting more regular game reps.
Any updates on stockselius's injury? Looks like he is still not playing
Via our pals at the Flames site (and their Future Watch updates), Theo Stockselius suffered a cut from a skate early in October and he’s been recovering from that since then.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)
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