The Flames want to follow the “Dallas model.” what does it look like?

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Craig Conroy remains adamant that the Calgary Flames don't need to trade Tank for everyone to acquire the No. 1 draft pick.

He has been consistent in his evaluation since becoming the team's general manager last spring.

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Of course, there are skeptics who believe that the only way an NHL team can become a winning team year in and year out is through a complete rebuild.

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But with the Dallas Stars, Conroy saw evidence that there was another way.

“We're saying, 'Okay, look at that Dallas model,' look at how they did it,” Conroy said Friday in a postseason media availability. . “I think it's a rebuild. They made draft picks, brought in players, added a few veterans here and there, but when you look at that team, they're in win-now mode and for a short period of time. I accomplished that.”

If Stars is the model, what does it actually look like?

We'll take a look at some of the salient features of the current way the team is built, but the important thing to know is that since GM Jim Nill took over in 2013, the Stars have deliberately hit rock bottom. I mean, I've never done it before.

A good draft is a big part of their success, but even when they were losing, they kept their veteran core to guide their young players and help them stay competitive.

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The 2017 draft class explains in part why they finished this year's regular season with the second-best record in the entire NHL and begin the playoffs with a home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. However, that draft still included the likes of Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp, as well as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, both of whom were in their mid-20s at the time.

I didn't intentionally hit rock bottom.

“You don't want your team to lose by 10 goals every night,” Conroy said. “Have they gotten even better? I don't know, but there are some teams that are trying to break out of that trend for seven, eight, nine years. Our goal is to turn things around as quickly as possible and move forward. ”

Since 2017, the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, but lost in the Western Conference Finals last year. They are very strong contenders this season as well.

So what are some of the things the Stars did right that the Flames might try to replicate?

1. don't abandon your core

I've touched on this a little bit already, but when Niru took over, he didn't just tear the Stars down to the studs.

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Certainly someone would have acquired both Seguin and Benn, but he kept both players and built around them. Sure, the Stars got younger through the draft, but when promising players join an NHL team, they're already established as NHLers and on a team with players who actually know how to win hockey games. I decided to join.

The Flames have no interest in trading their entire core. They like the veteran element they have in place, and we have Nazem Kadri against young players like Conor Zary and Martin Pospisil who are trying to establish themselves as everyday NHLers. I saw firsthand what a player like him can do.

Conroy has traded away so many veterans this year that it may seem like the Flames are on the path to a complete rebuild, but all of the players the Flames moved will become unrestricted free agents this summer. Please remember that this was a plan and I had no intention of returning. Sign in Calgary.

The Flames are getting younger, but they're not simply trading established NHLers for draft picks like the Stars did in the mid-to-late 2010s. Conroy was treated harshly in his first year as GM, but wisely got his expiring contract back. That doesn't mean there's a big “For Sale” sign outside the Flames' locker room.

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2. The draft went really, really well

So let's start with the 2017 NHL Draft. Because the Stars definitely beat the draft.

They acquired Miro Heiskanen with the third overall pick. They took Jake Oettinger in 26th place. They took Jason Robertson with the eighth pick in the second round.

He's a No. 1 defenseman, a great starting goaltender, and a superstar first-line winger.

That, folks, is the type of draft that can change a franchise. Three All-Stars were added in one day. wonderful.

That's not all. Look at their roster in this year's playoffs.

Wyatt Johnston was ranked 23rd overall in 2021 and has scored 32 goals this year.

Logan Stankoven was taken 47th overall in the second round that year and has been a steady contributor this season.

They took Thomas Hurley with the 18th overall pick in 2019, and the 22-year-old blueliner has 47 points this season and is a plus-28.

And let's not forget that a little while ago, Lupe Hintz was drafted by the Stars with the 49th pick in 2015 and emerged as an elite two-way forward.

This is an A+ draft record, and the emergence of these young players has allowed players like Seguin and Benn to move into more complementary roles. The Flames would love to be able to do something similar with players like Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau as they get older.

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It doesn't take a genius to tell you that the draft is important, but when the Flames took Emile Poirier and Morgan Klimchuk in the first round in 2013, and also took Sean Monahan, missing out on the pick hurts. I learned the hard way:

The Flames currently have four picks in the first two rounds of June's draft. They have nine in total and will have more in the coming years.

Obviously, it's absolutely important that they hit a few home runs with that pick.

3. patience is important

The Stars have done a great job over the years of adding established veterans to supplement their core.

Players like Corey Perry and Joe Pavelski were brought in to provide leadership and experience, which led to this year's trade with the Flames to acquire Chris Tanev.

Obviously, they're in win-now mode.

But getting there took time and wasn't always a straight line. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, they then missed the playoffs entirely in a strange season affected by the coronavirus and lost to the Flames in the first round in 2021-22.

But they stuck to the plan.

Nill was hired in 2013 and it wasn't until 2023 that he won the Jim Gregory Award as the NHL's best general manager.

The Flames hope to turn things around quickly and use the Stars as proof that it's possible, but even Dallas hasn't become a championship contender overnight.

It will take a little patience.

daustin@postmedia.com

X: @DannyAustin_9

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