NHL rumors: Flames looking to upgrade roster after scorching start

The Calgary Flames are one of the big surprises of the 2024-25 National Hockey League season, roaring out of the gate with four consecutive victories. That has a team that was widely expected to miss the playoffs not only changing the narrative, but looking to get even better.

General manager Craig Conroy has been inquiring with other teams over the last week regarding a middle-six center , Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli confirmed on Prime Video's Coast to Coast on Thursday night.

"A lot of people were expecting at some point this year, with all the names that have been out the door last year, they might be moving on from guys. It's actually quite the opposite," the hockey insider reported.

"There's not usually much trade activity to start a season, but I'm told Flames general manager Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a center to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle-six, preferably someone that fits their age scheme, preferably if at all possible in a perfect world, a right-shooting center at that."

As it currently stands, the centers on the roster are Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund, Martin Pospisil, and Justin Kirkland; all of them are left-handed.

It's certainly interesting that the Flames are looking to get better this early on in the season — especially considering the expectations that were placed on them over the summer.

Still, it's been a phenomenal start for the Alberta-based franchise, which is even more surprising considering the likes of Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane are all no longer in the fold.

Flames couldn't have asked for a better start

Not only are the Flames 4-0-0, they've outscored their opponents by a combined score of 19 to 10 in that stretch. The roster looks rejuvenated and ready to silence any chatter of a rebuild in Western Canada.

The winning streak probably has a lot of people wondering if it's a fluke, or if this team is actually better than expected. Clearly, Conroy thinks the latter, as he's willing to pursue another player to round out the lineup. And the Flames have no shortage of cap space, with PuckPedia projecting the squad to have around $19 million to work with.

It's been a night and day difference since last season, when the Flames finished 38-39-5, good enough for fifth place in the Pacific Division and tied for 24th in NHL standings.

Alongside the Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets, the Flames are one of just three undefeated teams remaining in the NHL heading into the weekend.

They'll look to make it a perfect 5-0 when they travel to Washington State to take on the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night. Puck is set to drop just past 10:00 p.m. ET from Climate Pledge Arena.