Last summer, the Calgary Flames were sellers, shipping out goaltender Jacob Markstrom and left winger Andrew Mangiapane after missing the playoffs.
Flames GM Craig Conroy could become a buyer this summer, looking to bolster his roster after his club exceeded expectations and narrowly missed a Western Conference wild-card berth.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic felt improving the offense should be a priority for Conroy. The Flames finished 29th in goals per game with 2.68.
LeBrun felt the Flames' biggest need is a right-shot center. They were interested in Dylan Cozens before the Buffalo Sabres shipped him to the Ottawa Senators at the March NHL trade deadline.
Daniel Austin of the Calgary Sun reported Conroy didn't rule out making a splash in this summer's free-agent pool. He also didn't take the possibility of an offer sheet off the table. However, Conroy will continue taking the patient approach toward building his team.
The Flames will have the cap space to make one or two significant additions. PuckPedia shows them carrying a projected $34.3 million of cap space with 17 active roster players signed for next season.
Austin believes Flames fans will closely monitor Rasmus Andersson's future this summer.
The popular 28-year-old defenseman has one year remaining on his contract. Conroy can sign him to an extension as early as July 1, but both sides admit there's a bit of uncertainty right now. They're hoping to meet later this summer to discuss the situation.
Austin's colleague Wes Gilbertson observed that Conroy's been in this situation before with Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Both were traded in the final year of their contracts when an extension could be reached.
Gilbertson suggested Andersson could face a similar fate if the two sides can't hammer out an extension. If that's the case, it might be better for Conroy to move Andersson this summer rather than have his situation become an unnecessary distraction that carries over into next season.
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