Calgary Flames

Miromanov Acquisition Follows Theme of Swinging On Underappreciated NHL Players

Published

2 months ago

March 7, 2024

It didn’t take Craig Conroy long to once again double down on his most recent trade.

Off top-four defenceman Noah Hanifin went to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Expecting a king’s ransom given that Hanifin is in his prime at 27 years old and of top ten draft pedigree after being selected fifth overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes – fans were left a bit disappointed after seeing Elliotte Friedman confirm the return.

26 year old offensive defenceman Daniil Miromanov, a flexibly conditional 2025 first round pick, and a conditional 2025 third round pick that converts to a 2025 second if the Golden Knights win a playoff round.

This isn’t Conroy’s first rodeo when it comes to initially underwhelming returns.

Most notably, rookie general manager Craig Conroy’s first trade has progressively gone from hated to loved by the Flames faithful.

A quick catch-up.

A Brand-Defining Deal

The dominos started to fall during the 2023 offseason when Flames top scorer Tyler Toffoli made it known to the hockey world that he wanted to play elsewhere. No where in particular. Just not Calgary.

Playing poker against 31 other NHL general managers with his cards face-out, Conroy managed to land Belarusian forward Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third round pick.

Sharangovich, 25, is younger than Toffoli, 31, by six years and is currently on pace for 31 goals and 55 points. Toffoli is on pace for 34 goals and 55 points and is an unrestricted agent at season’s end.

The pick was eventually used to select Aydar Suniev, who has 13 goals and 25 points in his first 31 NCAA games with UMass.

The trade falls definably into the win column due to the prompt two-season extension Conroy signed Sharangovich to. Whether he stays or decides to test the market himself after 2024-2025, the Flames have Yegor in the fold until the end of next season at a $3,100,000 annual cap hit.

Much like Sharangovich, Miromanov has found himself the odd man out of prime NHL deployment in his early 20’s. Now 26 and eager to prove himself, Conroy took another risk and penned the blueliner to a two-year, $2,500,000 deal within hours of completing the Hanifin deal.

“You know, when you’re looking at different players. Sometimes people just haven’t gotten an opportunity, a chance,” said Conroy when asked about the trade.

“They have a very strong D-core in Vegas, and I think with Pachal coming in, you see how well he’s done, and I think with Miromanov he’s a guy that knows the system too, so it should come in, and that should be seamless for him too, so I’m looking forward to getting him in the lineup as soon as possible and seeing how he does.”

So, what are the Flames getting in the aggressive blueliner?

Scouting Report – Daniil Miromanov

The caveats on Miromanov’s resume are his injury struggles. A recent ACL and meniscus surgery has kept the 6-foot-4 defenceman to only nine games this season. Daniil has a goal and five assists for six points with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL and zero points in four games with the Golden Knights this season.

“It’s a life test to see what you’re worth, to see what you’re made out of,” he said. “You cultivate a lot of patience, a lot of mental toughness, a lot of grit, fortitude, self-belief, and self-esteem.” Miromanov told Paul Delos Santos of THN in late January.

In terms of on-ice product?

Miromanov has blown the doors off in terms of talent at various points during his time with the Golden Knights.

Daniil Miromanov with the hat trick, Isaiah Saville gets his first pro win and the Silver Knights register their first victory @TheDLCHenderson, 4-1 over Rockford. pic.twitter.com/9GrxNnIOj5

— David Schoen 🗞 (@DavidSchoenLVRJ) April 5, 2022

MIROMANOV. 1-0 Vegas.

Two goals int two games for the youngster.

— Ryan The Hockey Guy (@RyanHockeyGuy) October 2, 2021

Skating

Miromanov moves exceptionally well for such a rangy frame. His posture and size make him look like he’s just lumbering along, but suddenly, he’s past a defender or breaking space to the outside. There are times when he can cut in and find a seam, then jump right into the slot with the puck.

Shot

You won’t find too many issues with Miromanov’s shot. If anything, he could get it off faster. The Moscow native can certainly fire it when he gets the time, but he tends to be picky.

Instincts

Regarding offensive generation, Daniil will never have too many issues in the offensive zone. You would like to see him move with the puck more to stretch out zone defences – particularly given his powerful first three strides. Like many defencemen, acting on those instincts quickly is the challenge. He can thread a pass or snipe an area of open net as well as most top four defencemen; it’s just a matter of urgency with Miromanov.

Two-Way

The Russian’s defensive game has come along nicely since coming over to North America in 2021. Miromanov had more than a few wrinkles to iron out of his game, but that area has shown the most improvement of all facets of his game. You can put him in the Solid category when it comes to defending.

Moving Forward

Whether the rangy Russian will provide a fit remains in the air for the Calgary Flames. Also in the air is the player himself, who projects to dress for Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers.

#Flames are in Tampa tonight for a 5 pm start.

Jacob Markstrom projected to start in net. Newly acquired Daniiel Miromanov travelling today, possibility to play Saturday in Florida. Joel Hanley set to make his Calgary debut.

Andrei Vasilevskiy projected to start for Tampa.

— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) March 7, 2024

When he arrives, he’ll slot into a group that last skated with these defensive combinations.

Gilbert-Hanley
Hanifin-Oesterle
Kylington-Pachal
Andersson-Weegar

You can wipe Hanifin-Oesterle from cannon as Hanifin is traded and Oesterle was waived on Thursday afternoon. Whether he takes a spot on the right side Kylington or Gilbert is yet to be declared by head coach Ryan Huska.

Craig Conroy’s most recent move has, again, found itself to be on-brand. Calgary gets a win in taking the best return possible in picking up a younger NHL player (now with some term), Vegas gets their blue line stud for a playoff run, and Miromanov will get a real shot at breaking into a top four at hockey’s highest level of play. “I’ll do my best every day to show them their decision was the right one,” said the defender to Eric Francis on Thursday.

Win-win-win. Just how Conroy likes it.