The Calgary Flames could be in a world of trouble after this season with core players Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Noah Hanifin all reportedly not planning to re-sign in Alberta when their contracts expire. With a very tight salary cap to work with, the team was only able to make a few minor moves in free agency. The holding pattern will continue until something gives on the above three players.

New GM Craig Conroy was immediately thrown into the fire when he was hired, and will now have to figure out a way to either maximize trade returns or find a way to convince some of his star players to consider staying in Calgary. A decision was already made on Tyler Toffoli, who was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for Yegor Sharangovich just days after it was reported that he was planning to leave.

Conroy can't afford to let his best players walk for nothing next summer, and because of that, it will be an intriguing year for the Canadian franchise. It's extremely hard to give the Flames a positive grade when so much is still left to be done, and so many question marks still hanging over the organization.

Added Jordan Oesterle, Yegor Sharangovich

The Flames made a few minor moves this summer, most notably signing free agent defenseman Jordan Oesterle to a one-year, one-way contract. The Michigan native won't move the needle too much in Calgary, but the veteran has played 349 games and scored 19 goals and 84 points in the process. He spent the previous two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, and figures to slot in on the third pairing with Nikita Zadorov next year.

The bigger move was trading Toffoli to the Devils after a career year, receiving Sharangovich and a third-round pick in the process. Calgary probably felt that they had to let go of Toffoli and squeeze whatever package of assets they could out of a trade involving the veteran, who had made it clear that he had no intention of signing an extension with with the team. Sharangovich is not as good as Toffoli, that's obvious, but he's a solid return along with a third-round pick and will slot in on either the second or third line in 2023-24.

Lost Lucic, Stecher, Lewis

Besides Oesterle and Sharangovich, there wasn't much to boast about in Calgary on July 1. And the team lost some noticeable players, including Milan Lucic (returning) to the Boston Bruins, Troy Stecher to the Arizona Coyotes and Trevor Lewis back to the Los Angeles Kings.

None of those three players are huge difference makers, but they were all part of the Flames in 2022-23, and Lucic and Lewis' strong, physical game will be missed in the bottom six next season. Michael Stone will also not be part of the team's plans after he retired from the NHL after a career that spanned over a decade.

Need to sort out Lindholm, Backlund, Hanifin

The Flames were hit with an absolute gut punch near the end of June, when Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported that three of their most important players in Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Noah Hanifin were not planning to re-sign with the team.

“The thought and belief around the league is that Lindholm, Hanifin and Backlund are leaning towards not re-signing with the Flames,” he said on Calgary's Sportsnet 960 radio station.

It's interesting that Tyler Toffoli was seemingly the last to make his decision, and the first one shipped out of town. That needs to happen with all of the above three players, or else they will be walking for nothing next summer. That's what happened with Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and GM Conroy made it clear he wouldn't let that happen again.

Final Grade: D+

It's tough to give the Flames a positive grade with all of the work that needs to be done before the summer of 2024, and it's also hard to think positively about this team long-term when three of their most important players want out of town. Calgary added Oesterle and Sharangovich, but lost Toffoli, Lucic, Stecher, Lewis and Stone.

The Flames will still be hanging around the playoff conversation next April, but the trajectory of this team will really depend on what the returns look like for a few guys who no longer want to be playing in Alberta. It will be fascinating to see how that plays out, but for now, the Flames haven't earned anything better than this abysmal grade.