Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy stayed true to his rebuild strategy but took a significant gamble Tuesday by acquiring 22-year-old defenceman Simon Nemec and forward Maxim Tsyplakov from the New Jersey Devils. In exchange, the Flames sent defenceman Etienne Morin, a 2027 first-round pick originally from the Vegas Golden Knights, a 2028 first-round pick originally from the Colorado Avalanche, and a 2026 second-round pick originally from the New York Rangers.
Conroy's aggressive pursuit
The first conversations between Conroy and newly-appointed Devils GM Sunny Mehta occurred during the Memorial Cup. Conroy quickly expressed interest in Nemec, the second overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. “We got talking and I said, ‘I do have interest in Nemec and if there’s an opportunity we’d love to be involved’,” Conroy explained. “It’s kind of been going from there and then the last couple days, probably yesterday, I knew it was coming to an end one way or another, whether it was us or other teams. I wanted to get aggressive and get the player, because we really do think highly of the player.”
Rebuild philosophy unchanged
Since taking over as GM in 2023, Conroy has traded away veterans for prospects and draft picks. Tuesday’s move aligns with that approach, as he had always indicated a willingness to package picks for young talent. “We weren’t putting our own picks into play,” Conroy said. “We understand where we are in the rebuild stage and what we’re trying to do but I wasn’t putting our picks into play in deals. You look at the picks, the ‘27 first and the ‘28 first, they’re from very good teams and we believe they’re playoff teams so they’re probably (picks between No. 25 and 32).”
Nemec's potential and fit
Nemec, a right-shot Slovak defenceman, has experienced growing pains over the past two seasons but impressed the Flames scouting staff in the latter part of the 2025-26 season. Conroy believes Nemec was as good as any defenceman on the Devils roster down the stretch. “To get a player now, with the new building coming in a year, to bring him into the fold with Zayne (Parekh) and the rest of the group, it’s really exciting,” Conroy added. “I think if you look and I said to you today, ‘I traded those picks for the second-overall pick this year,’ you’d be like, ‘Wow.’ That’s the way I look at it a bit, every young defenceman is going to go through their growing pains and I think he’s kind of coming out of it now as a 22-year-old and where we’re at with our guys, I just thought these are the kinds of chances in Calgary we have to take and make and be bold at times.”
Defensive alignment shifts
With Nemec joining the blue line, the Flames expect Parekh to shift to the left side, at least in the short term. Conroy noted that Parekh played his best hockey on the left alongside Zach Whitecloud late last season, so Nemec will likely start on the right side paired with Kevin Bahl.
