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Flashback Friday: The 25th anniversary of the initial Craig Conroy trade
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Mar 13, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Mar 13, 2026, 16:40 EDT
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It was 25 years ago to the day that the Calgary Flames made a notable move that has made an impact to this day.
In the 1992 draft, the Calgary Flames drafted Cory Stillman sixth overall. Overall had some good seasons for the Flames, scoring back-to-back 27 goals seasons in 1997-98 and 1998-99. But come Mar. 13, 2001, the Flames were well out of the race and they sent Stillman to the St. Louis Blues for Craig Conroy and a 2001 seventh. That’s what we’ll look at in this edition of Flashback Friday.
The Blues were the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners and were in fourth in the Western Conference at the time of the trade. Well, they made it to the Western Conference Finals that season, won a round in the following playoffs in the following year, then were beaten by the Vancouver Canucks during the 2003 playoffs.
Stillman was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning that off-season, helping them defeat the Flames in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. He then went-back-to-back, winning the Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. Stillman played parts of two more seasons with the Hurricanes, a post-season run with the Ottawa Senators, parts of three seasons with the Florida Panthers, and returned to the Hurricanes for his final 21 NHL games.
That seventh was used to select David Moss 220th overall. After four seasons at the University of Michigan and parts of two seasons with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, Moss made his NHL debut in 2006-07, scoring a career-high 20 goals and 39 points during the 2008-09 season. He eventually signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, with his last NHL games coming in 2014-15.
Conroy was a solid middle-six producer with the Blues, scoring double-digit goals in the past four seasons, with 43, 39, 27, and 25 points in that span. After the trade, Conroy added three goals and seven points in 14 games.
On a subpar Flames ‘ team in 2001-02, Conroy scored a career-best 27 goals and 75 points, followed by 22 goals and 59 points in the 2002-03 season. His production waned in 2003-04, scoring just eight goals and 47 points in 63 games, but he made up for it in the Flames’ Stanley Cup run, scoring six goals and 17 points in 26 games.
That was the conclusion of Conroy’s first stint with the Flames, signing with the Los Angeles Kings shortly before the 2004-05 lockout. He returned to form in 2005-06, scoring 22 goals and 66 points in 78 games, but had just five goals and 16 points in 52 games before once again being traded to the Flames.
Calgary is where Conroy finished his playing career, retiring following the 2010-11 season. Both trades impact the Flames to this trade, not because the trade tree is ongoing, but because he began his executive career shortly after retiring. After serving as a special assistant to the general manager and as the assistant general manager, Conroy was announced as the team’s general manager on May 23, 2023.
The early results look great. He’s drafted well and has got a lot of value when trading veteran players. He was also in charge when the Flames came oh-so-close to making the playoffs in 2024-25. We’ll see how those prospects develop, but Conroy has already shown to be one of the better general managers in the league.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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