After an eventful offseason, the Calgary Flames were a team many had an eye on heading into 2022-23. Calgary overhauled its core almost overnight, losing Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk but bringing in Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and others. Even with a wildly different roster, some believed the Flames could repeat as Pacific Division champions with a reloaded core.

Unfortunately for Calgary, that's not what ended up happening. The Flames finished just shy of the final playoff spot, in large part due to a horrific record in overtime. To make matters worse, their new acquisitions had brutal first years in Calgary, all while Tkachuk led his shiny new Florida Panthers squad to the Stanley Cup Final.

This offseason, things haven't gotten any easier for the Flames. If anything, it's the exact opposite. So today, we're breaking down the biggest concern with the Flames' roster deep into 2023 NHL free agency.

Flames' biggest roster concern deep into 2023 NHL free agency

Roster in flux

Over the past two years, the Flames have had rotten luck getting their top players to stay. It started last year with Gaudreau and Tkachuk, and this year, it has spread like wildfire (pun intended) across the roster.

Several players have requested trades out of Calgary this offseason, or at least said they have no intention of signing beyond 2023-24. These players include Noah Hanifin, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, the latter of which has already left in a trade to the New Jersey Devils.

Needless to say, this many players asking out is a disaster for the Flames. Hanifin is a very good top-four defenseman in the league, Backlund is a strong two-way forward and has been in Calgary forever, while Lindholm is a legitimate top-line center on a steal of a contract. It's not a stretch to say these three players are some of the most important on the Flames' roster—that is, on the roster right now.

If any team knows what this situation is like, it's the Flames. Calgary just saw Gaudreau leave for absolutely nothing last year, a move that did massive damage to the franchise. On the other hand, the Flames were proactive with Tkachuk and were able to get a great haul in return for him (at the time, in hindsight it's not good).

Calgary can't allow its star players to leave for nothing once again. If those players are even slightly leaning towards leaving (and they're way past that point), the Flames should be doing everything in their power to trade them. Losing them would still hurt, but at least they'd get good assets in return.

Now there may be some who say that the team should hold onto these players to make another push for the playoffs. However, Calgary just missed the playoffs, lost its top scorer and is playing under first-time coach Ryan Huska. Call me crazy, but that doesn't exactly sound like a team that can compete for a title.

New general manager Craig Conroy got thrown into a horrible situation in his first offseason at the helm. That's mostly out of his control, but what is in his control is how he responds to that situation. It's not going to be easy for the Flames to trade away such key players, but it's far better than the alternative.