Still, whenever you bid farewell to your No. 1 goalie, it rates as huge news. In their transaction with the Devils, the Flames obtained defender Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, although with Top-10 protection. Craig Conroy also agreed to retain 31.25 percent of Markstrom’s compensation for the next two seasons.

After Wednesday’s switch, Dan Vladar and Dustin Wolf are ready to divide the crease duties at the Saddledome. Will it stay that way?

Postmedia beat writers Danny Austin and Wes Gilbertson weigh in on that topic and more in this instalment of Burning Questions … Let’s start with Wednesday’s huge debate … Did the Flames get enough in return for Markstrom?

GILBERTSON:  It’s hardly a slam-dunk, but I don’t think Flames fans should be dissatisfied. A first-round pick is a huge hitch, even if they have to wait until 2025 or even 2026 to cash it in.

Markstrom’s contract featured a full no-move provision and while he stated that this wasn’t a matter of New-Jersey-or-nothing, it felt like everybody knew where he was going to end up.

That didn’t left Conroy with a whole lot of leverage, so this feels like a solid pry. Bahl can instantly play a role on the blue-line, but the long-term trade grade will rest on whoever is taken with that first-round swing.

AUSTIN: When we pose these sorts of questions, we need to look at the market. The fact for the Flames is that Markstrom was not the only goalkeeper who was available.

The Los Angeles Kings traded for Darcy Kuemper barely an hour or two after the Flames and Devils pulled the trigger on their transaction, and guys like Juuse Saros and Linus Ullmark are reported to be available, too.

That meant is was a buyers’ market and the Devils could have easily looked elsewhere if the price was too high from the Flames.

When you add the haul Conroy got from the Devils to all the other young assets he’s acquired in the last year, they seem well-positioned to build for the future. That’s the point.

GILBERTSON: Conroy’s next action will tell us a lot. If he’s under pressure to compete a playoff spot in 2025, he will be seeking for a replacement starter. But if I were at the controls, I’d take this chance to audition both Vladar and Wolf for the top job.

An important element of the retool is ensuring that you have a building block between the pipes, and Markstrom’s departure gives an opportunity for the Flames to test-drive their internal choices. Folks in Calgary know that the search for a go-to goaltender may extend on and on and on, but that doesn’t need to be the case this time.

The negative of choosing with current combination is that you don’t have a veteran mentor, but goaltender coach Jason LaBarbera provides enough of been-there and done-that.

AUSTIN: This is going to be a developmental season, and both Wolf and Vladar are a significant part of that. We know Wolf’s name is circled as the Flames’ goalie of the future and we saw progress in his game at the NHL-level towards the tail-end of the season.

Next year, it’s on him to take the next step. I expect Vladar will get the majority of starts early-on, and that’s a great opportunity for him to establish he can genuinely be an everyday starter. He’s had stretches where he’s clearly looked capable of earning that sort of role, but never with this huge a sample size.

Nothing is more vital than Wolf’s development, though, so delivering him games — and lots of them – has to be a key focus. There hasn’t been a lot of conversation regarding Bahl … What’s a fair expectation for the latest acquisition on the blue-line?

GILBERTSON:  There were only 30-some defencemen who didn’t miss a game during the 2023-24 campaign. Bahl was on that list. Whether or whether the Flames ultimately ask for top-four minutes, that speaks to his dependability. A left shot, Bahl becomes a viable partner for Rasmus Andersson or MacKenzie Weegar or Brayden Pachal.

The new guy has scored just four career goals, so don’t expect to see him in the shootout rotation, but it’s realistic to think that he will be an every-night option for the Flames. If he can have a positive impact on the penalty-kill, that’s a terrific start. If he can be a top-four fixture, even better.

AUSTIN: When I spoke with Conroy on Wednesday, he compared Bahl to Nikita Zadorov and at 6-foot-6, it’s not hard to see the similarities between the Flames’ new acquisition and the Russian blueliner they dealt to the Vancouver Canucks early last season.

Zadorov was largely employed as a third-pairing defenceman, and short-term, that would seem like a reasonable fit for Bahl. He can play on the penalty-kill and has made strides with the way he uses his huge frame in the defensive zone.

But Conroy also talked about how they want him to continue progressing over the next couple of years. It might be prudent not to judge Bahl on what we see on Day 1.