CALGARY — In the end, it proved to be an exercise in message-sending.
Connor Zary needs to be better and do things differently.
Now that he’s cleared waivers, he’ll get that chance in the AHL with the Wranglers.
But if you think Craig Conroy’s decision to expose the 25-year-old first-rounder on waivers Monday was just about Zary, you’re wrong.
“I don't want to say a shot across the bow, but we need people to be better,” said coach Ryan Huska Tuesday, minutes after it was revealed Zary and Brayden Pachal were passed over by all other 31 teams before the noon deadline.
“At the end of the day, if you're comfortable with where you're at, just happy to be in the NHL, and you're not taking steps, then everybody should feel a little uneasy.
“We're not sitting where we want to be sitting right now. By going through what we went through today with this waiver stuff, I think it sends a bit of a message to the room that we are not okay with it.”
Outscored 16-3 to start the season 0-3, the Flames shouldn’t be content with anything — or anybody.
It’s a rebuild, yes, but the humiliating way in which this team has started the season is obviously cause for concern.
So, changes were made.
By no means is Zary’s fate sealed, as he might not even make it to Friday’s Wranglers game before he’s packaged out in a trade.
Sportsnet has learned several teams are intrigued by Zary, but don’t have the cap space to jam his $3.77 million contract into their lineup over the next two years.
And so the Flames will continue exploring ways to facilitate a move that may involve taking on a similar-sized contract for Zary. They’ve been open to that for several months, but in light of how he and the Flames have started, a shakeup was needed.
Whether the Flames think Aydar Suniev is ready to handle being one of the call-ups remains to be seen, but given how full the cupboards are with hungry, young players, there is certainly no shortage of people the Flames would like to try in the bigs.
Huska was asked what the organization would like to see from Zary now, assuming he returns to the AHL.
“To go and play, and to really work on finding who he is again a little bit,” he said.
“And I think maybe the love of the game to come back, and that's the opportunity he has. Our hope is for both guys, Connor as well as Patches (Pachal), are going to go down, and they're going to play a lot, and they're going to be able to be brought up again at some point. That's the belief. So, we're happy they're still in the organization for sure.”
Huska cited the need for Zary to increase his pace of play and to stop overhandling the puck.
His attitude, insists the coach, has been good.
Zary told Sportsnet during training camp there were no more excuses and that he knew the onus was on him to start proving he can contribute offensively.
He also said that although he heard whispers this summer he was being shopped around, he wanted to remain a Flame.
One wonders if the developments over the last 24 hours have changed that, as surely he’d rather start fresh on another NHL team than have to go through the rigours of an AHL assignment.
“The challenge for him is he doesn't see himself as an American Hockey League player,” said Huska, who made Zary a healthy scratch for Game 2.
“So, you have to go down and you have to make sure that you're committed to being the best player in the American League, selfishly for himself, but also for our team as well, so we can get him back to the level we think he can be at.”
It was an uneasy day at the Dome as players practised while awaiting word on the fate of two popular teammates.
Again, message received.
While fully acknowledging it’s a business, Zach Whitecloud became very emotional when talking about the situation, as he’s been a longtime teammate and friend of Pachal’s.
“Amazing human beings, great teammates … it sucks,” he said.
“You hope they go on to get more opportunity somewhere else because I think they deserve it.”
In the same vein, youngsters pushing hard on the farm deserve looks too, which is, again, why putting Zary on waivers three games in wasn’t just about his start.
“I don't necessarily know if it was just the first three games — I think when you look at our team and evaluating where it is right now and where it's going, I think there is a lot of belief in the players that are coming up, of the type of players they are, the ability to play the game with pace,” said Huska.
“You know where people forecast the team to be. We now have a lot of people that are ready and going to be ready soon, so it makes a decision like that a little bit easier to stomach for our side of things.”
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