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Flames Cap Off Successful Offseason

Even after crazy cup run, Flames re-tool roster

By Payton Knoph

Calgary (AP) - The Calgary Flames had a short offseason, but they made the most out of every second. After losing game 7 of the FNHL Cup Finals to the New York Rangers, the Flames brass immediately went to work on retooling the roster to be younger, yet more talented than the roster they iced last season. No small feat. While the word "rebuild" was nowhere near the Flames' radar, a complete retool of their farm system was in order.


Then again, the Flames did manage to turf three of their top six forwards (Moller to the Bruins, Skinner and Spooner to the Sharks). So, the pro roster wasn't exempt from massive changes either.

"This offseason was all predicated around acquiring draft picks in this year's draft. We know that our group is getting a little older, and we don't necessarily have the appetite for a full rebuild 4 years from now. The time to stock up youth is now, while we are winning, so that we can groom our next generation with the excellence of the current one. Also, we were having a tough time making deals with rebuilding clubs as we didn't have the youthful currency to make moves with them. We now have a fully stocked farm system ready to develop and deal if need be." said GM Nagle.

For a detailed breakdown of the Flames uber-busy offseason here is a list of all of the assets moved in and out of the Flames lineup:

IN

Draft picks: BOS 2027 Rnd 2nd, VAN 2025 Rnd 3, SJS 2025 Rnd 3, DET 2026 Rnd 2, TOR 2025 Rnd 3, SJS 2025 Rnd 2, NJD 2025 Rnd 2, PIT 2029 Rnd 3
Players: Philippe Myers, Sam Reinhart, Shea Weber, Dylan Olsen, Jake Guentzel, Joel Farabee, Brandon Saad, Nathan Horton, Philipp Grubauer, Cam Ward, Jake Guentzel

OUT

Draft picks: CAR 2025 Rnd 2, CGY 2025 Rnd 2, SJS 2026 Rnd 2
Players: Oscar Moller, Jack Johnson, Jeremy Bracco, Ryan Spooner, Mattias Ekholm, Vladislav Namestnikov, Stefan Noesen, Darren Helm, Nicolas Meloche, Libor Hajek, Zack Phillips, Michael Latta, Mike Brodeur, Jeff Skinner

All told, the Flames completed 14 trades, drafted 9 prospects, and signed 3 free agents. Asked what his most difficult move of the offseason was, GM Nagle replied "Hands down was trading Oscar Moller to the Bruins. He has been such an amazing players for our team, we wouldn't have made it to the finals without him last year. It will be tough to move on without him, but that's one of the main reasons why we got Reinhart back. We know Sammy will help fill that leadership void left behind by Oscar's departure."

10/5/2020 - 441 words


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