To public knowledge, Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov is the only member of the team to request a trade. With the Flames 26th in the NHL with a 5-8-2 record, though, the club could very well end up trading quite a few more veterans this season than just Zadorov.
According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Flames are “open for business” regarding potential trades. LeBrun writes that Calgary is “ready to shift gears” into more of a rebuild or re-tool direction, and that word has spread during the GM meetings in Toronto that “the Flames are willing to listen on most of their pending unrestricted free agents.” (subscription link)
The Flames have quite a few pending UFA’s of note, players who would likely be among the best players available during the 2024 trade deadline season. They’re players who are strong enough and valuable enough to potentially shift the balance of power in any division they are dealt to, meaning they could command the type of high prices in terms of asset cost that the Flames would likely be hoping would fuel a quick turnaround for the club.
Likely to be the top player on any list of players available from Calgary is pending UFA center Elias Lindholm.
The 28-year-old Swedish pivot has played like a true first-line center at times with the Flames, including a stellar 2021-22 campaign that saw him score 42 goals, 82 points, and finish second place in Selke Trophy voting.
Lindholm’s production has declined since Johnny Gaudreau‘s departure, just as the Flames have declined as a team.
But if placed in a situation where he has strong chemistry with his wingers, just as he did centering Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, it’s possible Lindholm could quickly find himself back in the conversation as one of the best two-way centers in hockey.
Centers with that kind of ability, pivots who could credibly call themselves first-line centers recently in their careers, are very rarely made available. When the St. Louis Blues traded Ryan O’Reilly last season, O’Reilly’s production was on a far steeper, more lasting decline and O’Reilly was further removed from his last point-per-game season. Yet O’Reilly, alongside bottom-sixer Noel Acciari, still netted the Maple Leafs’ first, second, and third-round picks alongside prospect Mikhail Abramov.
Although it’s obviously no guarantee, Lindholm’s overall profile merits at the very least a comparable trade package to what the Blues received for O’Reilly, though it’s fair to argue that Calgary deserves a little bit more.
Beyond just Lindholm, the Flames have even more pending UFA’s who are likely to attract attention on the trade market, especially on defense where just Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar are under long-term team control.
If a contending team is seeking a left-shot defenseman with two-way ability, there may not be a better player available than Noah Hanifin. The 26-year-old has averaged over 21 minutes per night in Calgary, and two years ago set a career-high with 48 points. He’s established himself as a legitimate top-pairing defenseman, if maybe not a true number-one blueliner.
Those players are extremely valuable and rarely made available, which would mean Hanifin draws a bidding war between defense-needy teams. As a result, it’s hard to see a scenario where Hanifin is traded and a first-round pick, at the very least, does not head to Calgary as part of the return. (Unless the Flames do not target draft picks, which appears unlikely but is of course a possibility)
If a contending team is looking for a right-shot blueliner with an exceptional track record of shutdown defensive play, veteran Chris Tanev is a pending UFA and fits the bill there. The 33-year-old has led the Flames in short-handed ice time per game in each season since he arrived, and is widely respected as one of the game’s premier defensive defensemen.
His offense appears to have dried up compared to the career-best season he posted in 2021-22, but that’s not a major issue. He’s of interest to teams due to his stellar defensive track record, and it’s that track record that could net the Flames a solid return package should he be dealt before the 2024 trade deadline.
Although the Flames’ struggles this season paint a picture of a club with little going right, a pivot to more of a re-tool type of team direction could change things quickly. The Flames happen to have a collection of valuable players on expiring contracts, something that for a team looking to contend in the immediate term would represent a major issue.
But for a team looking to infuse its veteran core with quality young talent, those pending UFAs represent a significant opportunity to leverage on the trade market. According to LeBrun’s report, that appears to be the route the Flames prefer to go down, meaning it could be an extremely interesting few months for Flames fans, despite the on-ice issues.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Look for the Leafs to pull off a Zadorov/Markstrom deal
With what cap space? And who would the flames even want from them?
So Sammy, Klingberg (cap reasons) a 1st and any prospect not on the team for Zadorov at 50% and Markstrom with 2mill retained. I’d be okay with that as a leaf fan but my god why would Calgary
Despite their start, the Canucks are in no shape to be spending like a drunken sailor to go “all in.” I’d list Dallas, Boston, Colorado & Florida as fits, knowing that in all cases Fles have to take a contract back.
Yeah, that taking a contract back is going to be the killer. Boston less than they might have been; for all the preseason derision about Zacha and Coyle as 1C/2C, they’re both nearly at a point a game so far.
I still remember when a large portion of the hockey media was saying, “Florida lost the Tkachuk trade! Huberdeau and Weegar for a guy that might not be able to produce without Gaudreau?!”
Look at things now. Huberdeau is still putting up points, but he has no one to work with. Gaudreau is cashing a paycheque in Columbus and not much else.
Flames went out and got Kadri, who was always something of a 2/3C, for more than he was worth. Markstrom is doing what he can, but he’s also never really been that top-end superstar they think he is either.
The Flames basically spent, what, 2 years as a high-scoring, fun to watch team… And then totally screwed the pooch in the GM’s office and now sit near league bottom.
@PyramidHeadcrab — Yeah, I remember that too. I thought the Flames were on the short end of the stick, with Huberdeau going into a system that was more of a Martian landscape to him. Even last night on the radio side, they remarked how slow he looked, and that he really needs to work on that. Even though they got scrambly against the Habs, it seemed like the first time in a long time that they “could” hold onto their lead, and eventually did.
That’s not saying much against the bleu blanc et rouge!
@mcdavidlikeamac — Yep. Definitely not the best measuring stick, but we’ll see what happens against stiffer opponents.
I recall talking to a guy from South Florida, after the Panthers won the President’s Trophy and Huberdeau put up 115 points. All good, right? Not so. Although he liked Huberdeau and Weegar, he had doubts and statistically they deserved a large increase in pay. The Bobrovsky contract looms large in Florida. So the Panthers couldn’t afford to keep them, and you usually lose the the trade when when you give up the best player. After they landed Matthew Tkachuk, he was a happy guy.
@Jess the trip — I don’t think he was alone. It seemed a growing number of media types were hinting that Huberdeau was a product of the Panthers’ system and good chemistry with his linemates. Then, he gets traded with little warning, and he instantly became a fish out of water. Naturally, Darryl didn’t make life easy for him, either. An unfortunate perfect storm of adversity landing in the poor guy’s lap. And, it definitely looks like Walt Jr. #1 is also a happy guy there.
A couple of weeks ago, Vanessa Kezwer (scout for the Chicago Steel) did an in-depth analysis of Huberdeau’s troubles. Lots of stuff on angles, off-puck support etc. One takeaway was Darryl’s penchant for a north-south game didn’t do Huberdeau any favors.
O’Reilly cost the Leafs those draft picks, not netted them.
It doesn’t say that it netted the leafs those pics it says it netted the blues the leafs 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and abramov.
To be fair, the initial verbiage was a tad confusing so I gave it a small edit, although yes, that is what was being communicated in the article
If the Flames get what their fans claim they should for all their UFAs, they can complete their rebuild by next season.