Calgary Flames Continue Their Rebuild

The Calgary Flames continue their rebuild under General Manager Craig Conroy as he shipped goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils for a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2025 and a defenseman Kevin Bahl.

NHL Trade: The Calgary Flames Finally Send Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils

New Jersey and Calgary have been trade partners before with the Tyler Toffoli and Yegor Sharangovich trade. However, Conroy is continuing with his mission of getting this team younger and has done a brilliant job of getting assets for players who no longer want to be in Calgary.

It started with Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom.

As TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button said on SportsCenter with Jay Onrait, Conroy got assets for a player who controlled the marketplace, along with picks and players who can help the Flames move forward.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy Restocks The Cupboard

Jay Onrait: “You talked about what the Flames get back that 2025 pick is top 10 protected Craig, I know that’s gonna be a real strong draft. So then, if they decided to kick it down the road, it would be 2026. Overall, you know, you talked about the no-movement clause that obviously is a factor, but are you happy with what Craig Conroy got in exchange for his goaltender?”

Craig Button: “Yeah, I’m gonna go two ways here. Jay. The first place is, you know, a new arena is coming to Calgary at the beginning of the 28 season. And I think that when you look at the moves that Craig Conroy has done with his unrestricted free agents, getting draft picks in 25 and getting draft picks in 26, it really continues to point towards the opening of a new building when these players will be three and four years into their careers from being drafted and, you know, setting up your team to be in a space where you can be competitive and they’re ready to come in and play in a new arena.

That’s number one. Number two, and this is always fascinating to me, you know when I hear, and I heard this about Chris Tanev, the Calgary Flames undersold by Chris Tanev. Do you really think, Jay, that Craig Conroy turned down a first-round draft pick and a regular roster player for Chris Tanev? Do you really think that there was a better deal out there for Jacob Markstrom, considering that he had a no-move clause?

NHL Rumors: Flames GM Craig Conroy Continues To Get Value for His Players

There wasn’t, and the fact that people get out there and say all they sold low on, on Chris Tanev. Oh, this isn’t a great deal for Jacob Markstrom. This is the marketplace. And Craig Conroy understands the marketplace. And he made a deal that satisfies not only the understanding of the marketplace but also the understanding of where their team is at and where they want to be when that new arena opens.

So I would say that with the defense corps being built up in a lot of different ways with a lot of different types of players, that’s going to be an area of strength. They have some good young players up front, and as you just pointed out, they have a lot of draft picks and a lot of opportunity add more skill into the lineup through the draft.”