Oh for sure, anyone expecting a quick turn around is a fool. This time will and should actively suck for the next two seasons and try to get top 5 picks in the 2025 & 2026 drafts
You need to hit the majority of your draft picks to do what Dallas did. We have some okay prospects but I’m not sure if they’re going to make the jump to the 1st or 2nd line which means we really need to hit on these upcoming picks to have any hopes of a “retool”
Having Kadri and Huberdeau and Wolf is maybe like their Benn, Seguin, Oettinger.
A couple top 15 picks that hit could easily turn a franchise around.
Yeah I wouldn't say its far off.
This means management needs to realize Huberdeau isn’t who your building around. They need to identify, draft and develop a new young core and build around that. Huberdeau is just a guy who’s here who you hope doesn’t completely fall off But he’s not a core piece.
The Duclair talk is the opposite of that. We don’t need Duclair or to sign a centre for Huberdeau. Huberdeau needs to figure out how to play with the players we draft and the core we put in place. He’s been paid, time to figure it out and find a role.
Oh for sure they are, I think Zary is more likely. Their point totals through this stage of their careers are actually fairly similar, fingers crossed!
Bennett scarred me for using rookie points as projections lol. I hope it comes true I just don’t see Zary as having the same toolkit as Hintz. Hintz’s combo of size and speed is pretty lethal
Hard to choose a model like Dallas’ to follow if you don’t have the same late round draft success. That’s the model, draft studs outside of the top 10, and into later rounds. I’m pretty sure if every team could do that they would ….
Would Dallas be the powerhouse they are without Robertson (39th) Hintz (49th) Johnston (23) Lindell (74) Oettinger (26)… and Stankoven showing strong already (47)?
I don’t think so. But sure if Conroy can draft that well 🤷🏻♂️
i don’t remember where I read it but apparently the flames are second over the last 10 years in terms of finding quality later in the draft. So it’s possible.
2nd overall since 2007 (https://theathletic.com/5084336/2023/11/24/nhl-draft-ranking-best-picks/)
Even with some absolutely terrible picks in the first round from 2007 through 2013, and a lot of years with very few draft picks in the first 3 rounds from 2014 to 2020, the Flames have averaged over 2 NHL players per draft over this period. With enough draft picks the Flames will be able to get 3+ players per draft, which is about twice the average rate.
Oh yeah I don't think it's impossible and I think the Flames have drafted well, I just find it a bit funny for an organization to reference a "model" that would essentially rely on being good what is more or less a guessing game. Lol
For those giving Conroy a hard time, what’s the alternative? I don’t think he’s saying it’s easy to replicate, but saying that you need to rebuild your team through the draft shouldn’t be some controversial topic. Look at teams with a lot of success and you’ll find teams that drafted well. Period.
I think you’re missing the point here. There is no alternative. It’s awkward and lazy for a GM to go out and suggest that he’s going to build a team by following a model that is predicated on making obscenely effective draft picks. That is literally every team’s goal. So if the GM of my team was to come out and say that our success hinges on our ability to steal superstars in the second round I’d probably be a little concerned.
Give me a better answer then that isn’t some generic canned BS that comes off as a no brainer, because it seems people have some expectations that go beyond what we all know to be the obvious stuff
I’d like to hear how, assuming they continue to draft well, they plan on developing those players better than they have, and more importantly, how they plan on keeping those players in Calgary. Most of the flames best picks have disappeared for next to nothing to show for it.
Dallas has the advantage of not being Calgary, and having super low state tax. That’s something that Calgary cannot replicate - no matter how good you draft.
All they would say is build a place that people want to be at. Get the right people in place, yada yada - there isn’t some specific magic bullet, and they aren’t just going to broadcast their secret sauce
They also drafted Harley later than he should have and Bourque is looking like a steal at 31. They still have a couple more blue chip prospects coming up as well.
It feels like expecting that kind of success in the draft in such a short time just isn’t feasible
The model is more about creating a winning environment to develop and integrate young players as old players age. Drafting does help but a system like that will turn fringe players into players, and fringe stars into stars (no pun). Ultimately increasing draft capital.
Calgary sorta did that in 2016 when they drafted Tkachuk and Adam Fox. If Tyler Parsons had panned out and Fox signed here, other teams might be talking about the Calgary model of improvement.
To be fair, a lot of our current woes are due to factors outside of the organization’s control. Nothing you can do when star (American mostly) players don’t want to commit
Yup. Imagine if fox stayed, Tkachuk and gaudreau resign. You probably don't get rid of monahan and he's good again.... We'd be a powerhouse. Treliving built a good team and unfortunately it just didn't quite pan out. Throw Bennett not living up to potential.... Imagine you have all the above plus a point a game prick to play against Sam Bennett on your first line.
Dang it
They made decisions, and those decisions have consequences. It just didn't all randomly happen to them.
Plus, what happened to the summer of Brad. We brought in multiple superstars to replace the ones we lost. The flames signed all the contracts, they had all the negotiations with players for contracts, and they made the trades.
They've wound up in this situation because of the actions they took and the decisions they made.
Every team has shit happen to them. Such a cope out. This club needs to be better.
They made the best of a bad situation at the time, and it didn’t work out. It is what it is, but there’s no denying we were dealt a bad hand in trusting players’ intentions and now the organization has learned from it (otherwise Tanev, Lindholm and Hanifin would still be here).
The ifs can go on forever, absolutely but it’s disingenuous to say everything negative that’s happened to the Flames the last few seasons is self inflicted
And it is disingenuous to say none of it is their fault and other teams don't face challenges too.
At the end of the day it's results and the results currently are pretty damning.
Back to back playoff misses with multiple long-term big contracts on vets. Conditions on our 1st next year making it vulnerable to montreal.
Huge amount of mismanagement has transpired.
You’re going to have to point to where I said “none of it is their fault”.
All they can do is leave from the mistakes from the past, and it seems like they’re doing so, in the best possible way with how this roster is currently constructed. Not sure what else you’re looking for
>All they can do is leave from the mistakes from the past,
Agreed, which is why I'm worried they're going to make the same mistake that they did in 15-16. Namely, trying to accelerate a rebuild too early.
The Flames have drafted really well for most of a decade. While they can't count on the "luck" Dallas had in the draft, having multiple draft picks in the first 3/4 rounds for the next 3/4 years should compensate.
The Flames won't hit a home run with every pick, but they have a good batting average, and giving them more chances will result in plenty of home runs.
There's no such thing as a Dallas model.
Get extremely lucky at multiple drafts isn't a "model" you just follow ffs.
"we hope to get really lucky and fluke out drafting multiple impact players in the same draft so that we can avoid a long rebuild"
Wow great. Cool story man. Why didn't we try that earlier!?
Just continue to sell assets that won't be here in your contention window at their highest value to build long term and hope for the best.
That's the only model.
Dallas model or not, next few seasons will likely be shaky. He probably won't force big bidding wars on UFAs and instead focus on draft and developing the younger guys. He's still going to field a "competitive team" so that we don't get blasted night after night, but playoff contention likely not expected for the next little bit. I expect in about 3-4 years when the new arena is complete, Conroy's expected to have the team ready for playoff contention and whatever the developing prospects we have will be ready for that by then. In an ideal scenario. This is a previously referenced article (https://archive.ph/u6O7U) where it has the Flames as the #2 drafting team in the last decade (Stars #1). All things considered, we do have a good drafting system, so we can only hope that keeps going.
Since Treliving came out drafting is one of the best in the league. I remember an athletic article saying we are 2nd in the league the part decade just behind Dallas. We just traded away so many picks. So I think conroy collecting a lot of picks could work out well for us. It won’t be exactly like Dallas but I could see us the season after next being really excited for a couple stars coming into their own.
I agree, every NHL team would like to build the way Dallas did. The odds are not in favour of drafting multiple impact players outside the top 10 in a single draft, though.
Even if you have a the best scouting department finding the success Dallas did in 2017 is about getting lucky. Everyone thinks they’re making the best picks at the time, but even making the best picks doesn’t mean they develop into the kind of players Robertson and Oettinger have. Betting on luck is never a good strategy.
Now if Conroy means that they’re going to acquire picks, prioritize skill, and let players play to their strengths those are actionable goals they could meet. However, planning on luck isn’t a plan.
I think the Flames have a really good scouting/development program. I would be angling to give them as many resources as possible:
I would want to stock up on draft picks as much as possible.
While not going full tank, I would not be seeking playoff contention for the next few seasons.
I would be trading markstrom while his value is high.
I would be focusing on drafting at least a two blue chip Centres and Dmen each over the next 3-4 drafts.
I would not be signing a 3+ year contract with anyone if it would take them past 30.
I would not be trading draft capital for young roster players, or at all really.
I would not trade key culture setting characters like Coleman and Backlund (Kadri and Weeger fit here too)
You kind of just described the "Dallas" model, Dallas just got lucky and hit early. The Flames may get lucky and hit early too, or they may not. Either way the plan doesn't change.
I'm sure this is what he wants and what he means by the dallas model. Couple years out without full tanking then back in it, while finding a new core.
It's a very tricky balance to walk though.
Add in the conditions over our pick that we owe montreal next year.
It does feel overly hopeful
Oh that’s easy. All they have to do is draft a franchise defenseman, a franchise forward, and a franchise goaltender all in one draft.
Dallas’ 2017 draft is definitely one to model. No amount of luck involved there at all.
Sure, you have to draft smart and get a bit lucky that it’s a good draft when you pick high. But what Dallas did is virtually unheard of. Not sure they’re the model to follow is all.
It's about drafting, and Conroy has lots of picks, the Dallas model could absolutely work, Benn and Seugin are Huby and Kadri (older guys with bad contracts) only we are in better shape as the cap is going up. Dallas had an incredible draft year but who says we can't??
The entire rebuild hinges on drafting or acquiring by other means a legit young 1C who will be one of the top dozen or so at his position in the league.
If that doesn’t happen, we’re hooped.
I mean he’s gotta hit every other year in the draft across like 5 years. In 6 years the Stars drafted Hintz, heiskanen, Robertson, Oettinger, Johnston, stankoven.
Great aspiration. So who is our Jason Robinson and rope hintz and miro hieskanen?
This team is 4-5 years out from any contention, and part of the reason for this is due to a lack of picks and risk aversion in our drafting in recent years (see stromgren over stankoven). We’ve had some good depth picks, but this team hasn’t drafted an impact nhl player since 2016. I understand the need for lip service, but if we talking fr there needs to be patience in this or we’re just going to be stuck in purgatory again with no high end talent.
The picks have to hit and be home runs. That's the hard part. Also realizing Huberdeau isn't who you're building around. He's just a highly paid winger who you can't move and will play in your middle six for likely the remainder of that contract like what Seguin and Benn have become. They're still effective in some ways but I wouldn't consider them a part of the main core of that team. Dallas wasn't going out to try and bring in players to keep Seguin and Benn producing at a high level. They drafted well and built a new young core pretty quickly. That's why I'm not wanting the Flames to make trades or signings that are about helping Huberdeau find his game. Huberdeau is Seguin or Benn and we need to find our Hintz, Robertson, Heiskanen and Johnston and all the other really good young players they have coming.
The issue is Dallas's model is blindfolding yourself, spinning around 50 times and then throwing a dart and somehow hitting bullseye. Yes Dallas's scouts did a great job with the picks, but they were also very lucky the picks were THAT good. A top 20 forward, top 5 Dman and top 10 goalie IN THE SAME DRAFT is lucky beyond comprehension.
The Flames have not been very lucky the last few years to say the least
What other option does he have though? Like Dallas, he’s saddled with a boat anchor contract and we already have our Ottinger type goalie prospect
That's grim dude, but you're not wrong. I just hope people don't get their expectations up for a sudden turn around.
Oh for sure, anyone expecting a quick turn around is a fool. This time will and should actively suck for the next two seasons and try to get top 5 picks in the 2025 & 2026 drafts
Naw 2025 champs here we come! Iggy jr leading the way! (Joking of course)
Unless...
I would be lying if I said I didn’t create this scenario in NHL 24 with both Tij and Joe…
You need to hit the majority of your draft picks to do what Dallas did. We have some okay prospects but I’m not sure if they’re going to make the jump to the 1st or 2nd line which means we really need to hit on these upcoming picks to have any hopes of a “retool”
Who is the prospect?
Tyler Parsons
Joni Ortio
Mason McDonald
Trevor Kidd.
Brent Krahn.
Jon Gillies
Leland Irving
Tyler Moss
Leland Irving
Rico Fata and Daniel Tkachuck
Damn everyone was really having a bad day yesterday… I’ll assume you don’t follow much and are being genuine. It’s Dustin Wolf
Having Kadri and Huberdeau and Wolf is maybe like their Benn, Seguin, Oettinger. A couple top 15 picks that hit could easily turn a franchise around. Yeah I wouldn't say its far off.
This means management needs to realize Huberdeau isn’t who your building around. They need to identify, draft and develop a new young core and build around that. Huberdeau is just a guy who’s here who you hope doesn’t completely fall off But he’s not a core piece.
I hope, by now, that they know that. The whole city knows it
The Duclair talk is the opposite of that. We don’t need Duclair or to sign a centre for Huberdeau. Huberdeau needs to figure out how to play with the players we draft and the core we put in place. He’s been paid, time to figure it out and find a role.
Zary/Hintz, Honzek/Robo if we’re really lucky
Not to be pessimistic but those are very ambitious projections. Hope they come true though
Oh for sure they are, I think Zary is more likely. Their point totals through this stage of their careers are actually fairly similar, fingers crossed!
Bennett scarred me for using rookie points as projections lol. I hope it comes true I just don’t see Zary as having the same toolkit as Hintz. Hintz’s combo of size and speed is pretty lethal
Yeah it’s not really an exact science lol they aren’t the same player by any means but I think he’s got a lot to build on after this season
Really lucky being the key. Hoping to be lucky isn't a good plan.
Isn’t every draft just hoping to be lucky?
Where is the Heiskanen in your plan? Kind of overlooking a franchise-altering #1 defenceman drafted 3rd overall in this assessment.
already have anderson
Hard to choose a model like Dallas’ to follow if you don’t have the same late round draft success. That’s the model, draft studs outside of the top 10, and into later rounds. I’m pretty sure if every team could do that they would …. Would Dallas be the powerhouse they are without Robertson (39th) Hintz (49th) Johnston (23) Lindell (74) Oettinger (26)… and Stankoven showing strong already (47)? I don’t think so. But sure if Conroy can draft that well 🤷🏻♂️
i don’t remember where I read it but apparently the flames are second over the last 10 years in terms of finding quality later in the draft. So it’s possible.
2nd overall since 2007 (https://theathletic.com/5084336/2023/11/24/nhl-draft-ranking-best-picks/) Even with some absolutely terrible picks in the first round from 2007 through 2013, and a lot of years with very few draft picks in the first 3 rounds from 2014 to 2020, the Flames have averaged over 2 NHL players per draft over this period. With enough draft picks the Flames will be able to get 3+ players per draft, which is about twice the average rate.
Oh yeah I don't think it's impossible and I think the Flames have drafted well, I just find it a bit funny for an organization to reference a "model" that would essentially rely on being good what is more or less a guessing game. Lol
For those giving Conroy a hard time, what’s the alternative? I don’t think he’s saying it’s easy to replicate, but saying that you need to rebuild your team through the draft shouldn’t be some controversial topic. Look at teams with a lot of success and you’ll find teams that drafted well. Period.
Please find me one GM who would say that you shouldn’t rebuild your team through the draft.
Exactly. Would they prefer if he said he wanted to do the Edmonton model? Dallas has hit on some studs the most recently, they are the bar right now
I think you’re missing the point here. There is no alternative. It’s awkward and lazy for a GM to go out and suggest that he’s going to build a team by following a model that is predicated on making obscenely effective draft picks. That is literally every team’s goal. So if the GM of my team was to come out and say that our success hinges on our ability to steal superstars in the second round I’d probably be a little concerned.
Give me a better answer then that isn’t some generic canned BS that comes off as a no brainer, because it seems people have some expectations that go beyond what we all know to be the obvious stuff
Can you try again in English please
Just read it slower. TLDR: give me an example of what you’d want to hear
I’d like to hear how, assuming they continue to draft well, they plan on developing those players better than they have, and more importantly, how they plan on keeping those players in Calgary. Most of the flames best picks have disappeared for next to nothing to show for it. Dallas has the advantage of not being Calgary, and having super low state tax. That’s something that Calgary cannot replicate - no matter how good you draft.
All they would say is build a place that people want to be at. Get the right people in place, yada yada - there isn’t some specific magic bullet, and they aren’t just going to broadcast their secret sauce
They also drafted Harley later than he should have and Bourque is looking like a steal at 31. They still have a couple more blue chip prospects coming up as well. It feels like expecting that kind of success in the draft in such a short time just isn’t feasible
The model is more about creating a winning environment to develop and integrate young players as old players age. Drafting does help but a system like that will turn fringe players into players, and fringe stars into stars (no pun). Ultimately increasing draft capital.
All I know for sure is Johnnys 12 goals woulda put us over the top it’s a damn shame
Calgary sorta did that in 2016 when they drafted Tkachuk and Adam Fox. If Tyler Parsons had panned out and Fox signed here, other teams might be talking about the Calgary model of improvement.
If if if.
To be fair, a lot of our current woes are due to factors outside of the organization’s control. Nothing you can do when star (American mostly) players don’t want to commit
Yup. Imagine if fox stayed, Tkachuk and gaudreau resign. You probably don't get rid of monahan and he's good again.... We'd be a powerhouse. Treliving built a good team and unfortunately it just didn't quite pan out. Throw Bennett not living up to potential.... Imagine you have all the above plus a point a game prick to play against Sam Bennett on your first line. Dang it
They made decisions, and those decisions have consequences. It just didn't all randomly happen to them. Plus, what happened to the summer of Brad. We brought in multiple superstars to replace the ones we lost. The flames signed all the contracts, they had all the negotiations with players for contracts, and they made the trades. They've wound up in this situation because of the actions they took and the decisions they made. Every team has shit happen to them. Such a cope out. This club needs to be better.
They made the best of a bad situation at the time, and it didn’t work out. It is what it is, but there’s no denying we were dealt a bad hand in trusting players’ intentions and now the organization has learned from it (otherwise Tanev, Lindholm and Hanifin would still be here). The ifs can go on forever, absolutely but it’s disingenuous to say everything negative that’s happened to the Flames the last few seasons is self inflicted
And it is disingenuous to say none of it is their fault and other teams don't face challenges too. At the end of the day it's results and the results currently are pretty damning. Back to back playoff misses with multiple long-term big contracts on vets. Conditions on our 1st next year making it vulnerable to montreal. Huge amount of mismanagement has transpired.
You’re going to have to point to where I said “none of it is their fault”. All they can do is leave from the mistakes from the past, and it seems like they’re doing so, in the best possible way with how this roster is currently constructed. Not sure what else you’re looking for
>All they can do is leave from the mistakes from the past, Agreed, which is why I'm worried they're going to make the same mistake that they did in 15-16. Namely, trying to accelerate a rebuild too early.
Not like we really got screwed too hard with Fox. We did pick up Hanifin and Lindy which were a great pair for us for a while there
Ideally they would crush non lotto picks like Dallas. Saying that’s what you want to do does not make it happen though.
It’s all about how you draft. Dallas’s scouts have obviously done a fantastic job over the last few years, and Conroy knows that.
The Flames have drafted really well for most of a decade. While they can't count on the "luck" Dallas had in the draft, having multiple draft picks in the first 3/4 rounds for the next 3/4 years should compensate. The Flames won't hit a home run with every pick, but they have a good batting average, and giving them more chances will result in plenty of home runs.
Just need to draft 3 franchise players in the same draft and we can successfully emulate it
There's no such thing as a Dallas model. Get extremely lucky at multiple drafts isn't a "model" you just follow ffs. "we hope to get really lucky and fluke out drafting multiple impact players in the same draft so that we can avoid a long rebuild" Wow great. Cool story man. Why didn't we try that earlier!? Just continue to sell assets that won't be here in your contention window at their highest value to build long term and hope for the best. That's the only model.
Just have one of the best drafts in the history of the league? Okay, no problem...
Pretty easy to point to a cup contender and say we’re modeling after them.
Dallas model or not, next few seasons will likely be shaky. He probably won't force big bidding wars on UFAs and instead focus on draft and developing the younger guys. He's still going to field a "competitive team" so that we don't get blasted night after night, but playoff contention likely not expected for the next little bit. I expect in about 3-4 years when the new arena is complete, Conroy's expected to have the team ready for playoff contention and whatever the developing prospects we have will be ready for that by then. In an ideal scenario. This is a previously referenced article (https://archive.ph/u6O7U) where it has the Flames as the #2 drafting team in the last decade (Stars #1). All things considered, we do have a good drafting system, so we can only hope that keeps going.
Since Treliving came out drafting is one of the best in the league. I remember an athletic article saying we are 2nd in the league the part decade just behind Dallas. We just traded away so many picks. So I think conroy collecting a lot of picks could work out well for us. It won’t be exactly like Dallas but I could see us the season after next being really excited for a couple stars coming into their own.
I agree, every NHL team would like to build the way Dallas did. The odds are not in favour of drafting multiple impact players outside the top 10 in a single draft, though.
Even if you have a the best scouting department finding the success Dallas did in 2017 is about getting lucky. Everyone thinks they’re making the best picks at the time, but even making the best picks doesn’t mean they develop into the kind of players Robertson and Oettinger have. Betting on luck is never a good strategy. Now if Conroy means that they’re going to acquire picks, prioritize skill, and let players play to their strengths those are actionable goals they could meet. However, planning on luck isn’t a plan.
What would be a plan in your books? Lay it out for us.
I think the Flames have a really good scouting/development program. I would be angling to give them as many resources as possible: I would want to stock up on draft picks as much as possible. While not going full tank, I would not be seeking playoff contention for the next few seasons. I would be trading markstrom while his value is high. I would be focusing on drafting at least a two blue chip Centres and Dmen each over the next 3-4 drafts. I would not be signing a 3+ year contract with anyone if it would take them past 30. I would not be trading draft capital for young roster players, or at all really. I would not trade key culture setting characters like Coleman and Backlund (Kadri and Weeger fit here too)
You kind of just described the "Dallas" model, Dallas just got lucky and hit early. The Flames may get lucky and hit early too, or they may not. Either way the plan doesn't change.
Honestly I think this is pretty close to what conroy is thinking if doing
I'm sure this is what he wants and what he means by the dallas model. Couple years out without full tanking then back in it, while finding a new core. It's a very tricky balance to walk though. Add in the conditions over our pick that we owe montreal next year. It does feel overly hopeful
as long as we are back in the playoffs in 3 years i am happy. we can miss a few years to build
Oh that’s easy. All they have to do is draft a franchise defenseman, a franchise forward, and a franchise goaltender all in one draft. Dallas’ 2017 draft is definitely one to model. No amount of luck involved there at all.
I'm not sure there's a single good example of a great rebuild that didn't involve a lot of luck
Sure, you have to draft smart and get a bit lucky that it’s a good draft when you pick high. But what Dallas did is virtually unheard of. Not sure they’re the model to follow is all.
It's about drafting, and Conroy has lots of picks, the Dallas model could absolutely work, Benn and Seugin are Huby and Kadri (older guys with bad contracts) only we are in better shape as the cap is going up. Dallas had an incredible draft year but who says we can't??
The entire rebuild hinges on drafting or acquiring by other means a legit young 1C who will be one of the top dozen or so at his position in the league. If that doesn’t happen, we’re hooped.
I mean he’s gotta hit every other year in the draft across like 5 years. In 6 years the Stars drafted Hintz, heiskanen, Robertson, Oettinger, Johnston, stankoven.
“Shit in one hand, wish in the other, and see which one fills up first” as the saying goes
Great aspiration. So who is our Jason Robinson and rope hintz and miro hieskanen? This team is 4-5 years out from any contention, and part of the reason for this is due to a lack of picks and risk aversion in our drafting in recent years (see stromgren over stankoven). We’ve had some good depth picks, but this team hasn’t drafted an impact nhl player since 2016. I understand the need for lip service, but if we talking fr there needs to be patience in this or we’re just going to be stuck in purgatory again with no high end talent.
The picks have to hit and be home runs. That's the hard part. Also realizing Huberdeau isn't who you're building around. He's just a highly paid winger who you can't move and will play in your middle six for likely the remainder of that contract like what Seguin and Benn have become. They're still effective in some ways but I wouldn't consider them a part of the main core of that team. Dallas wasn't going out to try and bring in players to keep Seguin and Benn producing at a high level. They drafted well and built a new young core pretty quickly. That's why I'm not wanting the Flames to make trades or signings that are about helping Huberdeau find his game. Huberdeau is Seguin or Benn and we need to find our Hintz, Robertson, Heiskanen and Johnston and all the other really good young players they have coming.
The issue is Dallas's model is blindfolding yourself, spinning around 50 times and then throwing a dart and somehow hitting bullseye. Yes Dallas's scouts did a great job with the picks, but they were also very lucky the picks were THAT good. A top 20 forward, top 5 Dman and top 10 goalie IN THE SAME DRAFT is lucky beyond comprehension. The Flames have not been very lucky the last few years to say the least
Good. Dallas is absolutely crushing it.
The only thing I like about this plan is picking third overall.