The Flames traded back in the 1st round twice at the 2020 draft and received two 3rd rounders for their troubles while still getting the player they wanted all along in Zary. Amazing asset management. More teams should do this with one subtle but impactful tweak.

The Flames had the 19th pick then traded back to 22nd for a 3rd then traded back to 24th for a 3rd. The player they appeared to have their eyes set on from the start was Connor Zary. They moved back five spots and got him anyways.

Zary, at 24th, was huge value. Players that look like this often make the NHL and have very good careers and are often taken in the top 15. Zary was just outside of that very elite group of the 2020 draft. I had him ranked 11th.

With the 3rd round picks they acquired to drop back, the Flames took Jeremie Poirier and Jake Boltmann.

Jeremie Poirier was a good risk to take. Defensively, he's a big project but he has significant offensive potential. Also, Poirier was often talked about as a late 1st or 2nd round target. Like, Zary, this was solid value, especially where he was taken.

The Poirier situation reminded me a lot of Kylington in 2015. The Flames traded back in to the end of the 2nd round to select Kylington after he started to drop. Kylington was often talked about as a 1st round possibility before the draft.

The Jake Boltmann pick left a little bit to be desired. I have nothing against Boltmann personally and wish him all the success. But players that look like this, drafted in the 3rd-7th rounds, make the NHL 19% of the time. The ones that do mostly do so as bottom pairing guys.

At that 80th overall pick, after what the Flames had just pulled off, they should have swung for the fences...

A player like Boltmann was one of the riskiest bets a team can make (little upside and everything has to break perfectly for them to make it). As an interesting aside, teams tend to see picks like this as 'safe'. They are not safe at all.

At this specific moment... why would you not swing on the offensive project with huge upside! There was no better opportunity!!

The Flames didn't have that 80th overall selection minutes before. Wasn't even in their possession. When you acquire a pick like that why not take a risk and select an offensive player that you liked that maybe had holes? It's essentially a free scratch ticket.

At that point in the draft, there were numerous options available that were even ranked quite high by most sources. A few examples that come to mind were Nybeck, Tullio or Chromiak.

The three were mostly thought of as 2nd or 3rd round options. Nybeck, in fact, was ranked often in the late 20's. These players are all on the younger side and are poised to make big jumps in the following years. As well, these guys make the NHL often.

Overall, I really loved what the Flames did in the first round by dropping back twice, still getting a really high value 1st round prospect and picking up a couple later picks. I would have liked to see them swing on skill and upside with that second free pick though!