At 16-11-7, the Calgary Flames are firmly in the Western Conference playoff conversation nearing the season’s halfway mark, a better record than many predicted.
The team heads into the holiday break with points in three straight games, including a 6-4 win on Saturday versus Chicago. They have a clearly defined identity and are intent on building off the strong start.
Flames general manager Craig Conroy spoke with TSN’s Salim Valji before the team’s holiday break about his club’s first-half play, potential roster needs, and his New Year’s resolution for 2025.
TSN: I think a lot of people didn’t anticipate the Flames being in a wild-card spot at this point. How happy are you with the progress of this group?
Conroy: I think at the beginning of the year, it might have been a positive, where people were picking us, what people were saying, because it really brought the team together. They're proud guys. It didn't go the way we wanted last year, but we knew there were some unknowns in goaltending, Kevin Bahl, we had some new people coming in. It takes a little time to come together. But the way we started that first game in Vancouver really was a good, good feeling. Then we carried on for a little bit.
There's been ups and downs. We'd like to be better on the road, but lots of positives. I mean, Matt Coronato. I know we sent him down. People were freaked out for a couple days, but he's right back up, and he's doing what we think [he can do].
You see the young guys having progression. I think the line of [Nazem] Kadri, [Jonathan] Huberdeau and [Martin] Pospisil really looks good, especially when they've been put together this time.
So, lots of positives. And I still think there's a lot of growth for us. We don't score a lot of goals. It's hard to win like that night in and out, but the guys are finding a way, and they believe we can play like that. When you get to the playoffs, those are the type of games they are anyways. So, it's good for our young guys to be in these type of games. We want to be competitive night in and out. We might not win every game, but we want to give ourselves a chance to win. That's we've done, and the goaltending has been excellent.
TSN: You mentioned areas of........© TSN