Pacific Notes: Flames, DeAngelo, Brisebois

With the Flames heading into what looks to be a longer-term rebuild, there has been speculation that some of their remaining veterans might want a change of scenery.  However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), GM Craig Conroy appears to be taking more of a wait-and-see approach with his current roster:

His plan is to start the year, see how it goes, and then decide what he’s going to do with some of these players. He’s asked his players to keep an open mind, see how this year goes, and then he’ll start looking at what he might need to do or what they want to do.

While some rebuilding teams have been okay with tearing it down and enduring some rough losing seasons, Conroy has talked about staying competitive during this stretch.  Accordingly, it makes sense that he’d like to hold onto his remaining veteran core for the time being.  Projected to operate just $3MM above the cap floor per PuckPedia, if the time comes to move a high-priced veteran, Conroy will have to make sure any move wouldn’t put them below that lower limit.

More from the Pacific:

• Unrestricted free agent Tony DeAngelo expressed an interest in attending Oilers camp on a PTO deal but it appears the team has said no, suggests Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. The 28-year-old is a right-shot defender, the side the team appears to be prioritizing but while he has a track record of some offensive success (with two 50-plus-point seasons), last season was a struggle for DeAngelo who managed just 11 points in 31 games while being a frequent healthy scratch.  That certainly hasn’t helped his market so far in free agency.
• Canucks defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has fully recovered after dealing with a recurrence of concussion symptoms that cost him most of last season, relays Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. The 27-year-old only played in eight late-season games in the AHL in 2023-24 due to the symptoms.  Brisebois has 27 career NHL appearances under his belt, all coming with Vancouver as he is the longest-contracted player in the organization having been signed to them since late in 2015.