For Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving to call the team’s off-season a “roller coaster” feels like an understatement.

From the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk to the arrivals of Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar, the Flames’ roster was remade after a season where they advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

The Flames were not surprised by the possibility of Gaudreau going to free agency or Tkachuk wanting a trade out of Calgary.

“We had talked all year — you sort of game out potential outcomes for everything,” Treliving told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. “But at the end of the day, our goal heading into the off-season was to sign both players. We went after that shortly after we were done with the season. We went to both camps and tried to be aggressive in getting both signed.”

Gaudreau told Treliving the night before free agency on July 12 that he would not be re-signing in Calgary. He would eventually land in Columbus on a seven-year, $68.25 million deal.

“That was tough, in all honesty — really tough,” Treliving said on his call from Gaudreau. “It’s hard to lose good players.”

Gaudreau had 40 goals and 115 points last season while Tkachuk had 42 goals and 104 points.

With Tkachuk, Treliving parlayed his trade request into a blockbuster deal with the Florida Panthers, receiving a star winger in Huberdeau, a top-four defenceman in Weegar, a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick and prospect Cole Schwindt in return.

Wanting to avoid the same situation 12 months later with Huberdeau a pending unrestricted free agent, the Flames locked up the Saint-Jerome, Que., product to an eight-year, $84 million contract less than two weeks after acquiring him.

Weegar is entering the last season of his current contract, with his agent Matthew Ebbs confident they will eventually agree on an extension with Calgary.

The Flames crowned off their off-season with the signing of Kadri, who is fresh off his first Stanley Cup championship with the Colorado Avalanche. Inking a seven-year, $49 million contract on Aug. 18, the Flames had to clear cap space first, dealing centre Sean Monahan and his $6.375 million cap hit, along with a conditional first-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens.

Calgary finished last season as the top team in the Pacific Division, but Treliving isn’t ready to predict how the Flames stack up. 

“We’ve had time to decompress from it,” Treliving said. “What makes me excited is that our players are excited. But we haven’t even started camp yet. We’re a long way away from knowing what kind of team we are.

“Let’s pump the brakes and see how it all fits.”