Flames having conversations about Zary, Whitecloud, Frost

At the beginning of what looks to be another long season, the Calgary Flames have some decisions to make with some of their younger players.

The Flames are off to a dreadful start, having lost their first three games by a combined score of 16-3. That has led many to believe general manager Craig Conroy is going to start offloading some contracts in return for future assets.

One player that Calgary reportedly tried to move is Connor Zary, a former first-rounder who has since cleared waivers. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud is an experienced blueliner who could add more depth to a playoff contender, as would someone like center Morgan Frost, who has been known to produce when given an opportunity.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, David Pagnotta joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to discuss what the Flames might be doing with a few notable names.

David Pagnotta: I mean, with Zary, I think there was interest, but he’s got a $3.775 million cap hit for the next two years, and that’s the reason why he wasn’t plucked. I think teams want to send back a little bit of money and not eat that full hit, so they’re going to continue having those conversations with Calgary and their GM Craig Conroy to see if maybe there’s a little bit of a way to ease up the money a tiny bit, rather than getting them for free.

Some of these teams that don’t have the full cap flexibility have told Calgary, ‘Well, we’re going to have to send something back. We like the guy, but we got to send something back. Doesn’t have to be even, but we got to make the money work in some capacity.’ Whitecloud’s got another year on his deal, $2.75 million cap hit. He’s the guy that generated a lot of interest last season, almost immediately. Like, as soon as that trade with Vegas was completed, teams reached out to Conroy and said, ‘What’s your plan with Whitecloud? What do you want to do with this kid?’ For his capabilities, at only 29…he’s got a Stanley Cup ring. He brings some jam to his game. There are a lot of teams that wouldn’t mind, especially at that cap hit, that wouldn’t mind getting their hands on him.

I mentioned yesterday on Leafs’ Morning Take, Toronto being a team that’s looking at that type of defenseman. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if they escalate those conversations with Calgary to see if maybe something can happen there, but they won’t be the only ones. There’s interest from other teams in Zach Whitecloud. I know Montreal had some interest last season. I’m not sure where they’re at, right now, on that front, but just as an example of a lot of teams that do have interest in that player. Morgan Frost [is in] the final year of his contract. He’ll be another guy that’s going to generate interest throughout the season. I expect him to be a prime candidate to be moved at some point this season.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…