CALGARY – Is Connor Zary about to be the next Sam Bennett, or the next Greg Nemisz?
Is the decision to place the 25-year-old Calgary Flames forward on waivers on Monday the beginning of the end of his NHL career, or is it simply a new beginning elsewhere?
Does another team see the merits of taking a chance on a middle-aged, middle-six forward with low production and a salary of $3.77 million over the next two seasons?
Or does he clear waivers and get sent to the minors where he’ll have a chance at regaining the confidence and touch that made him a junior star, worthy of being selected 24th overall in 2020?
So many questions in Calgary Monday, but none will be answered until the deadline to make waiver claims hits at noon MT / 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, when we find out where his next hockey game will be played.
It won’t be with the Flames, as the coach and management have grown tired of waiting for the offensive production he was drafted to provide to emerge.
If it all sounds eerily similar to Bennett’s situation, it’s because it is: Junior phenom with skill to burn is drafted as a centre, but spends several years in Calgary unable to contribute offensively on the wing, let alone up the middle.
Clearly, they gave up on him too early.
Bennett was eventually traded to Florida, where the rejuvenated buzzsaw blossomed into a Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
It’s a bit of an unfair comparison, as Bennett went fourth overall and had an expansive toolkit that included the type of moxie that can turn a game in several other ways.
Nonetheless, the relationship between the Flames and Zary has been every bit as fruitless and frustrating for both parties, leading to Monday’s decision.
In a pre-season chat with Sportsnet.ca, Zary said he was fully aware of the fact that he needed to flip the narrative on a career that has seen him fail to produce with regularity outside of his initial call-up to the team three years ago when he, Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil appeared to catch lightning in a bottle.
He finished that year with 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games, but hasn’t touched those numbers since.
The last two seasons were marked by injuries and frustration for Zary, who has been part of a chicken-or-the-egg debate ever since: Has he been given enough opportunity to flourish offensively, or has his play dictated he isn’t deserving of much more than third-line roles, and the occasional seat in the press box?
Coach Ryan Huska’s frustration with Zary has been evident, resurfacing again after Game 1 last week when Huska did everything but name Zary when talking about how unacceptable it is to be careless in the neutral zone with the puck.
He was subsequently benched for Game 2 too, and returned to the lineup for Game 3 Sunday with no effect.
“I think I know who I am as a player, but it's going out there and showing it,” Zary said during training camp.
“You’ve got to produce. You’ve got to do it on a night-by-night basis, trying to help the team win, and trying to create plays that create scoring chances. That's what I have to do, is prove that to people and prove that to myself, and know I have the ability and the confidence to do that.”
In all likelihood, his next step may be the Wranglers.
If so, the watch will be on to see if he can fight his way back, or fade away like Nemisz did when the star junior centreman failed to make his mark after the Flames took him 25th overall in the 2008 draft.
Make no mistake – this move isn’t being made just to clear the way for Aydar Suniev to join the big club.
Despite a solid pre-season, Suniev still has to prove he can play the pro game at both ends of the ice before his confidence is challenged even further against the world’s best.
Perhaps they’ll play together on the farm, with Zary’s playmaking ability helping Suniev along.
The Flames would love nothing more for Zary to regain his spark and touch, making him a productive member of the organization.
But patience is clearly wearing thin.
General manager Craig Conroy made it known around the league this summer that Zary was available, but no one bit.
And now, thanks to a humbling start for Zary and the Flames, things have degenerated to the point where a relationship that has not worked out for either side may be over. Or it may just take on a different form.
Progress needs to be made, especially in a rebuild, or changes are made.
Those who aren’t pegged as future pillars are seen as placeholders easily swapped out.
It’s up to Zary now – wherever he winds up – to prove there are plenty more chapters to be written in his story.
