'They've Responded Every Time'

Craig Conroy had his price.

Three pieces.

No less.

And with a first-round pick offering the starting point for any meaningful negotiations.

While dealing a player of Noah Hanifin’s calibre is never an easy task, the Flames GM left his office at the Scotiabank Saddledome Wednesday thrilled to get this across the finish line.

“We wanted a first-round pick in this deal,” said Conroy, shortly after acquiring a conditional first- and third-round pick, along with 26-year-old right-shot defenceman Daniil Miromanov from the Vegas Golden Knights.

“It's never easy. These deals are hard.

“But we're very happy with the return and now we're looking forward to moving forward.

"We've been able to add some players to the group, bringing back some depth players, and bringing (Joel) Hanley in the other day, which was a good pickup for us. That's going to give us some depth. But also to be able to add those picks and prospects, we have a lot of opportunity to find players."

A full rundown of the conditions attached to Wednesday’s trade can be found by clicking here.

Miromanov signed a two-year extension worth an average annual value of $1.25M shortly after the trade was completed.

Since taking office in May of last year, Conroy has been hard at work re-shaping the team’s roster. It started at the draft when he acquired Yegor Sharangovich for Tyler Toffoli, who was entering the final year of his contract. Three other free agents – Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm and Chris Tanev – have been moved since, allowing the Flames to collect picks, prospects, and provide opportunity for younger players knocking on the door.

While, at the same time, continuing the chase for a playoff spot.

“That's the one thing this group has shown through all the different things that have happened this year losing players,” Conroy said. “They've responded every time. I feel like that's going to be the exact same thing moving forward.

“They know how big these games are and they're going to be pushing forward and trying to get into the playoffs.”

But doing that, while charting a path for the future, was goal for him this deadline season.

In addition to the picks – of which, the Flames grabbed six, along with three prospects – the team has added two roster players in Miromanov and the sharp-shooting Andrei Kuzmenko for the last three expiring deals.

This, after acquiring a player like Sharangovich (who’s on the cusp of setting new career highs offensively) and a third-period pick, which became prospect Aydar Suniev, in the summertime.

In Miromanov, specifically, the Flames add a 6-foot-4, 207-lb. presence that moves well and has put up “elite” offensive numbers at the AHL level.

The Moscow native has been limited to only nine games this year – five with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, and four with the big club – after recovering from knee surgery. Conroy says the blueliner is still getting up to speed after missing that much time, but he and his staff have gotten a good look at him over the past few years and are excited to bring him into the fold.

“When you look at different players, sometimes people just haven't gotten an opportunity,” Conroy said. “They have a very strong D core in Vegas. With (Brayden) Pachal coming in, you saw how well he's done and I think with Miromanov, he's a guy that knows the system, too, and that should be seamless for him.

"I'm looking forward to getting him in the lineup as soon as possible and see how he does.”

Incidentally, Miromanov was a teammate of Jakob Pelletier in 2017-18 with the Moncton Wildcats. The early word from Pelletier, via text, is that the Flames have added a great guy with a booming shot.

Miromanov had six points (1G, 5A) in five games with the Silver Knights this year, giving him 68 points (21G, 46A) 95 career outings at the AHL level.

“He's had some injuries, so this year, he hasn't played as many games and is still getting up to speed, but we've really liked him in years past,” Conroy said. “We know that with those injuries it might take him a little bit of time, but he has good size, moves well, really good shot, sees the ice well and defends well. We want to bring him in, get him acclimated and get him playing. He hasn't played many games this year, so that's the first thing – get him playing.”

While much of their business has been taken care of well advance, the NHL trade deadline is coming up on Friday at 1 p.m. MT.

Does Conroy anticipate anything else between now the annual embargo?

“We're going to continue on the same path,” he said. “We're going to do whatever's best to make our team better moving forward and that's the goal. That's been the goal right from the beginning of the year until now, and we're going to continue that for the next couple days.”