Could the Calgary Flames move up in the NHL Draft?

National Post

4 hours ago

If the Calgary Flames decide they wanted to move up in the first round of next Friday's NHL Draft, it might not be as hard as normal to find a willing trade partner this year.
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That hasn't generally been the case in recent drafts, as teams have desperately clung on to their first-round picks.
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'My first year, I don't think we had a player move or a team move up or down, it just didn't happen that year,' said Conroy, who started as the Flames GM just before the 2023 NHL Draft. 'People really liked that draft, and I'm not saying they don't like the draft this year, but they might be saying 'I can get the same player if I go from position A and move back four or five spots.'
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'They're willing to do that because no one is really locked in and feels like they know exactly the way this draft is going to go. There are good players, you're going to like these players, it's just a matter of which team likes them and where they're going to take them.'
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The Flames have two picks in the first round of Friday's draft, Nos. 18 and 32, and definitely could use a potential first-line centre if one was available. That's true of a lot of teams, of course, but for the Flames in particular.
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If they were to package both of their first-rounders or include a player, they likely could build an intriguing package that could move them into the top-10 if someone they really liked was available.
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Working in their favour, as well, is the way the draft lottery played out. The Utah Mammoth, who are drafting fourth overall, the Seattle Kraken, at ninth, Columbus Blue Jackets, at 14, and a couple other teams are not strictly in rebuilding mode. They're trying to get better as soon as next season.
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'Teams are looking to make trades and use those picks to get players to help their team right now,' Conroy explained. 'Everyone wants to make a push, it feels like, and they say they want to get better next year. With draft picks, they're going to take some time. You'd love to say they're going to play next year, but the reality is you see how many players do that every year and even in that second year, it's not easy.
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'It really is a three-, four- or five-year window before these guys are ready and some teams feel like they're closer and ready to make that push now, whether it's to get into the playoffs or take that next step in the playoffs.'
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None of this is to say the Flames necessarily will make a move and the uncertainty of who will be picked – and when – might actually make it more challenging to pull off trades in advance.