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Part 1 of our offseason lookahead series examined what the Montreal Canadiens can do to keep their rebuild on the right track. Part 2 broke down what the Ottawa Senators must do to get over the hump. In Part 3, we analyze the best direction the Calgary Flames can go.

The Flames will miss the playoffs for the second straight year following a season with no shortage of distractions. Calgary entered the campaign with a rookie general manager in Craig Conroy, a rookie head coach in Ryan Huska, and a staggering five key pending unrestricted free agents. That's not an easy situation for anyone to handle.

Calgary extended captain Mikael Backlund before the start of the season but ended up trading the other four pending UFAs: Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin.

The Flames now enter the offseason with eight picks in the first four rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft, several young up-and-coming players, and a core of aging veterans. Where do Conroy and Co. go from here?

Embrace a rebuild

The Flames could go all-in, adding immediate help to try and win before Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar - three 30-plus players signed through at least 2028-29 - get too old. But that strategy would likely lead to more long-term pain.

We're not saying Conroy needs to completely tear the team down to its core, but he must resist the urge to hand out more long-term contracts to aging players and instead continue to try and get younger.

The Flames should be open for business. There are obvious trade candidates - like goalie Jacob Markstrom and 2025 pending UFAs Andrew Mangiapane and Andrei Kuzmenko - but nothing should be off the table if a team steps up with the right offer.

Without a new arena deal, a rebuild may have been out of the question. But after locking in a 35-year commitment to stay in Calgary - and a new rink coming by 2026 or 2027 - the Flames have the luxury of rebuilding the right way without having to worry about how plummeting attendance could put the franchise at risk of moving.

The Flames have only drafted in the top five once in the last 50 years and have never drafted in the top three in that span. Bottoming out and getting a chance to select a homegrown superstar over the next few years would be a great way to turn the franchise around.

Trade Markstrom

The Markstrom saga has been a prominent distraction during the 2023-24 season. The Flames and New Jersey Devils reportedly came close to a trade for the veteran goalie, which ultimately fell through. Markstrom, whose contract contains a no-movement clause, said he wasn't happy with how the Flames' front office handled his situation.

It's clear that both sides need to move on, and the Devils reportedly still plan to pursue Markstrom in the offseason. That's good news for the Flames, who should try and work out a deal to turn the page as soon as possible.

It's important to trade Markstrom this offseason because of how volatile the goaltending position is. He's in the midst of a stellar season with a .906 save percentage and 28.4 goals saved above expected - the second-most in the league, per Evolving-Hockey.

But Markstrom posted one of the worst seasons of his career last season with an .892 save percentage and 1.5 goals saved above expected. If he were to return to his 2022-23 form for the Flames next year, it could torpedo his trade value. That'd be far from ideal considering he's 34 years old and signed for two more seasons with a $6-million cap hit.

Extend Sharangovich

One 2025 UFA the Flames should look to keep is Yegor Sharangovich. At just 25 years old, he could still be part of the solution when the Flames try to turn the corner in a few years. He's been a great fit with the club, establishing new career highs in goals (29), assists (25), and points (54) through 75 games this season. A 17.8 shooting percentage may be unsustainable, but there's still some room for growth in other areas of his game.

A four- or five-year extension with an average annual value of around $5 million could be a good deal for both sides.

Weaponize cap space

Even before trading anyone, the Flames will have about $18 million of cap space at their disposal. With Dustin Wolf as the team's only notable pending restricted free agent, Conroy should use that cap space to further improve his team's draft pick pool and prospect pipeline.

Contending teams are always trying to clear cap space ahead of free agency, and they're typically willing to add sweeteners to trades if it means ditching a bad contract. As long as it's a short-term deal, the Flames should definitely be willing to take on an unwanted player if it'll net them a premium draft pick or prospect.

The Flames should also be willing to retain salary as a third-party broker if it scores them a draft pick.

Sign playoff-type UFAs for trade bait

Even as a rebuilding team, the Flames still have several holes on the roster they'll need to fill for the 2024-25 season - the majority of which are on defense.

Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, and Daniil Miromanov should be lineup mainstays. Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal are good depth options. But otherwise, the Flames could use two-to-three blue-liners to fill out their lineup.

Oliver Kylington is a logical candidate to be re-signed. The smooth-skating Swede was understandably rusty after initially rejoining the lineup following a near two-year absence. But he's started to look more like his normal self of late. Trying to re-sign him to a one-year deal would be a wise move.

The Flames should also try and target UFA defensemen on one-year deals who they could flip at the deadline for draft picks. Even third-pairing-caliber defensemen can net third-round picks, as evidenced by the return the Washington Capitals received for Joel Edmundson this past deadline.

Targeting physical defenders whom playoff teams will covet should be Conroy's free-agent strategy. Edmundson, Brenden Dillon, Ian Cole, Derek Forbort, and Ilya Lyubushkin would all make sense on cost-friendly, short-term deals.

The Flames are largely set up front, but they could use another middle-six center option. Sharangovich has mostly played center since the deadline, but he's a better fit on the wing. UFA centers who'd make sense on short-term deals include Alexander Wennberg, Max Domi, Chandler Stephenson, Teddy Blueger, and Kevin Stenlund.

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Canada’s National Para Hockey Team is back to action Friday night on home ice, looking to bounce back from a series-opening loss when it takes on the United States in Game 2 at WinSport Arena.

The Ottawa Senators had their show run by the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, and for captain Brady Tkachuk, the blowout loss came with a reminder that his team has a long way to go before becoming a contender.

"I mean, looking at the games we've played against them this year - 5-0, lose in overtime, and lose 6-0 - I guess you can say that's a team that you look at," he said. "Even missing one of their top guys (in Carter Verhaeghe), they just roll you over.

"All four lines, D, they're missing (Aaron Ekblad), too. Yeah, I guess it's something to look at ... and compare ourselves to. We have a lot more work to do."

Both Tkachuk and defenseman Jake Sanderson used the word "embarrassing" to describe the Senators' performance. The 17,653 fans in attendance at Canadian Tire Centre appeared to agree with their assessment, booing the team off the ice.

Ottawa was behind the eight ball almost immediately, surrendering two goals before the two-minute mark of the first period.

"This morning, we emphasized on having a good start," Sanderson said. "We knew they were gonna come out strong. We didn't match, and (it) kinda snowballed the rest of the game."

The Panthers ended up chasing Joonas Korpisalo with their fourth goal early in the second period. Florida outshot Ottawa 31-30 while controlling 72.2% of the high-danger chances and 63.7% of the expected goals at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. The Senators also went an abysmal 0-for-6 on the power play.

Florida was struggling heading into Thursday's clash, with just one regulation win in its last 10 games. Ottawa, meanwhile, had won five of its last six games.

Senators interim head coach Jacques Martin pushed back on the notion that it's hard for his team to stay motivated with a playoff berth more or less out of reach.

"I think there's a lot of guys that are playing for something," he said. "I think ... there's several players on this team that are playing for jobs. So I think there's always a purpose, and also, you've gotta have pride in your play."

Tkachuk echoed Martin's sentiment but added that the players need to think about more than just themselves with seven games remaining on their schedule.

"We're playing for the people that got us here, playing for the people who spend money to come watch us, and playing for all the support that people have in us through thick and thin," he said.

The Senators will square off against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

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Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey on Thursday.

Pospisil caught Morrissey high with less than a minute remaining in the second period.

Martil Pospisil receives a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing Josh Morrissey. pic.twitter.com/wUKvZE9AoY

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 5, 2024

Morrissey didn't miss any time, finishing the contest with 27:07 of ice time. The Jets won 5-2 to clinch their sixth playoff berth in seven seasons and officially eliminate the Flames from postseason contention.

Pospisil had eight goals, 20 points, and 82 penalty minutes in 55 games coming into Thursday's contest.

The 24-year-old rookie was suspended three games in March for boarding Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn.

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The Winnipeg Jets secured their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday with losses from the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.

The Jets are the third Central Division team and the fourth club from the Western Conference to clinch a postseason berth.

Winnipeg will go to the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons, with the exception being the 2021-22 campaign. Forwards Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele have played in every playoff appearance for the franchise since it returned to Manitoba.

The Jets emphasized clinching a postseason spot by beating the Calgary Flames 5-2. Gabriel Vilardi picked up his first NHL hat trick in the victory.

Winnipeg lost in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round last year.

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