Over the last calendar year, there have been notable departures of American-born captains from their Canadian-based clubs, including Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild and Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators to the Florida Panthers; Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk was traded to the Panthers in a blockbuster trade in 2022.
Additionally, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets, eventually sat out and was traded to the New Jersey Devils. And while it’s not indicative of American-born players in Canada as a whole, it’s hard not to notice.
For Flames GM Craig Conroy, he wants the narrative to begin shifting.
Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy Wants The Narrative To Change
During a recent appearance on TSN, Flames general manager Craig Conroy said that he’s hoping to shift the narrative of players not wanting to play in Canada, or having Canadian-based clubs included on their no-trade lists.
“I’ll admit, I call a lot of these (agents). ‘They’re not coming to Canada’ or ‘They’re not coming to your team.’ But this is where I want to change the narrative. When we got (defenseman Jacob Middleton), we weren’t on his 15-team no-trade list. I think it is changing here, but it takes time… You never know who’s willing to come and who isn’t. But I think as we move forward, it will change a little bit, for sure,” Conroy said via TSN.
Multiple American-born players remain happily in place with their Canadian-based clubs, including Kyle Connor of the Jets, Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators.
The Flames Have Been Inconsistent To Begin The Year
The Flames, who have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year since they last qualified in 2022, are off to an 8-10-1 record through the first 19 games of the season.
Currently, they’re sixth overall in the Pacific Division.
Flames GM Craig Conroy Sounds Off On Canadian Market Narrative