FLAMES HAVE ASSETS TO MAKE A MOVE UP THE DRAFT BOARD
GM Conroy happy with No. 9 pick, but capital is there to tempt a team in a trade
Could the Calgary Flames move up in the draft?
It's not something Craig Conroy seems to think is particularly likely.
The Flames general manager saw his team officially get the
No. 9 pick in the June 28 draft during the lottery Tuesday evening and there are going to be some very good players available when they step to the podium.
But the higher your pick, the better the chance of hitting a home run, right? And for a Flames organization that insists it is trying to retool and compete instead of a full-on rebuild, hitting a home run might be the goal next month.
If a guy like Tij Iginla is going to be available at No. 5 but not a couple picks later, it only makes sense for the Flames to try to package a few of their assets and move up, you'd think.
Speaking with Flames TV after the draft lottery, though, Conroy acknowledged that moving in any direction isn't as easy as it sounds these days.
“You're going to talk to those teams,” Conroy said. “Is there a chance to move up or are teams interested in moving up? You're looking at those options, but I really think at No. 9 we're in a real good spot. It'd be tough to move out of that position.
“You never know, maybe you could move up, but once you get a top 10 you don't see a lot of movement, especially in the last four or five years.”
Conroy might be playing his cards close to the vest. There would be no reason for any GM to come out six weeks before the draft and declare his intentions.
But he's going to be talking to rival teams' management and weighing his options, he acknowledged that much. And that only makes sense.
The Flames are extremely well-positioned heading into the draft. They've got two picks in the first round, with the second coming to them by way of the trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks.
They've also got two second-rounders and two more in each of the third and fourth rounds, so the Flames have the potential to put together a nice package to tempt a rival if they want to jump up a few places in the draft.
There's also the possibility of the Flames trading a veteran before the draft and acquiring more picks, which should not be discounted.
And it's worth noting that if you go back to late February when Conroy spoke with Postmedia following the trade that sent Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars, he was open even then about a willingness to keep draft picks in further trade conversations.
“I've been telling the scouts all year, we're going to have more picks so we have to dial in and get ready,” Conroy said. “The other thing is with picks, you can make other trades. There might be something to get a younger player in another trade and use these picks. It's not just the picks, there's lots of different things you can do with them.”
Of course, the most likely outcome is that the Flames stay at No. 9. Conroy said as much in his interview with Flames TV on Tuesday night. Look around at most mock drafts and you'll see that beyond Macklin Celebrini going No. 1, there isn't a ton of consensus about who will go where.
But there is optimism about the talent available. Perhaps there was a general sense that this might not be a deep draft a year ago, but that changed as the year went on.
Whether the Flames try to move up or stay where they are on June 28, Conroy has every right to feel confident about the player he'll get with his team's top pick.