With the All-Star break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month and a half away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Calgary Flames.
The Flames came into this season with some major decisions to make on several key pending free agents. Now with the season over halfway done Calgary has only signed Mikael Backlund to an extension and has made the bold move of trading center Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks for several future pieces. The Flames will likely move any pending free agents that they can’t sign to an extension over the next few weeks but probably aren’t looking to go into a full-scale rebuild as they have multiple veterans signed to long-term deals. General manager Craig Conroy is likely looking to retool his group and leave his mark on the club he took over last summer, and given their position in the standings and the players that can be made available, Calgary is sure to be a team to keep your eye on as we head into the deadline season.
Record
22-22-5, 6th in the Pacific
Deadline Status
Conservative Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$6.85MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 43/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: CAL 1st*, VAN 1st, CAL 2nd, CAL 3rd, CAL 4th, VAN 4th*, CHI 5th*, CAL 6th,
2025: FLA 1st*, CAL 2nd, CAL 3rd*, CAL 5th, CAL 6th, CAL 7th,
*Conditions on 2024 1st round pick, 2025 1st round pick, 2025 3rd round pick: (CapFriendly)
If CGY’s 2024 1st round pick is between 20 and 32, MTL can take that pick instead.
In the event CGY receives FLA’s 2025 1st-round pick:
If both CGY AND FLA’s picks are NOT top 10, MTL will receive the better of the CGY and FLA 2025 1st-round picks. Result: TBD.
If CGY’s pick is top 10, AND FLA’s pick is NOT top 10, MTL receives FLA’s pick. Result: TBD
*Conditions 2024 4th round pick:
1.) The 4th round pick becomes a 3rd round pick (VAN) if Vancouver makes it to the conference finals.
2. If the pick remains a 4th, Calgary will receive the better of the two picks that Vancouver currently owns (VAN & NJD).
* Conditions 2024 5th round pick:
Calgary will receive the best of the 5th-round picks that Chicago owns.
Trade Chips
As mentioned earlier, the Flames have some big decisions to make in the next few weeks on the futures of pending free agents Noah Hanifin and Christopher Tanev. There have been whispers of trade rumors regarding Hanifin dating back to last summer when he was lukewarm to the idea of signing a long-term extension with the Flames. Fast forward to today and no traction has been made on a deal which increases the likelihood that the 27-year-old gets dealt. Hanifin will be looking at a lucrative max-term deal with any suitor and could fetch a sizable haul for Calgary which would give them a lot of assets to use in a retool or a rebuild.
Tanev is in the same spot as Hanifin, albeit he is seven years older and has a few more miles on his body. Tanev won’t be seeking the same term as Hanifin but comes with a lot more risk given that he is on the back nine of his career. Tanev has been connected to several teams through trade rumors and will be looking to cash in on what could be the last lucrative extension of his career. He will also fetch a good haul for the Flames should they choose to move on and trade him. Of course, any players they deal will need to be replaced in the summer if the Flames have any plans to retool and go for it again next year.
The Flames look to be a seller this trade deadline and have already made a bold move trading Lindholm. If they can get full value for Hanifin and Tanev, they could position themselves nicely for the future and whichever direction they choose to take the franchise.
Team Needs
The Flames have some sizable long-term commitments on the books and could find it difficult to replace their departing players via free agency this summer. They are currently slated to have $25.5MM in cap space heading into the summer which will go quickly given the holes in the lineup they would be looking to fill. If they are looking to win with the group they have, which has been the stated goal of management, they may look to acquire roster players in exchange for pending free agents at the deadline.
1) A Top Center: The Flames had a top center until yesterday, although Lindholm was probably better suited as a second-line center. This leaves Calgary with Nazim Kadri and Backlund as their one and two centers which probably has both men playing above their skillset. Top-line centers are one of the hardest players to acquire, which means Craig Conroy will have to get creative if he wants to retool. Conroy has expressed belief that the team can win with their current group, but in order to do so he will have to find a way to fill a big hole with minimal cap space and other pressing lineup issues that will need to be addressed. Conroy probably won’t find a top-line center before the deadline, but if he is looking for one this summer he could acquire pieces at the trade deadline that he could flip later in the year for immediate help.
2) Two Top-Four Defensemen: Last summer, the Flames tried to re-sign Hanifin and then re-engaged the defenseman this past November and nearly agreed to an eight-year extension. However, since that time not much information has come out about where the negotiations stand leading pundits to believe that Calgary will trade the Boston, Massachusetts native. The same talks have swirled around Tanev which would open up two massive holes on Calgary’s defense should they both be moved. Calgary could explore upgrades this offseason in free agency but would find it difficult to replace Hanifin and Tanev. The other option could come via trade, which would be possible if they continue adding to the futures cupboard heading into the trade deadline. Calgary could also explore a player like Jakob Chychrun, who has a year left on his deal with the Ottawa Senators. However, it would leave Calgary in the same position this summer that they were in with Hanifin and Tanev.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
The Flames are certainly trending toward rebuild based on their record and yesterday’s trade.
I keep hearing conflicting info regarding the conditional 4th the Flames acquired yesterday. If the Canucks advance to the Western Conference finals, the Flames could receive their 3rd instead of 4th.
The Flames refusal to rebuild is just going to guarantee continuing mediocrity.
They need to be trading anyone of value and bringing in prospects and picks.
While a tough pill to swallow, this does seem to be the harsh reality of this current team. They have a lot of very talented players, but little cohesion. Seems like they keep making “robbing Peter to pay Paul” moves that don’t really “move the needle”, if I haven’t completely misunderstood these sayings. Seems like they should be looking to build something to put in front of Wolf if they wanna get the people excited.
That is correct. The Huberdeau and Weegar contracts are going to make it very difficult to fully reset.
The conditions get even worse if the Panthers pick fails to convey in 2025. Then the Flames would owe their own 2025 1st, only top 1 protected, otherwise 2025 3rd and better 1st in 2026, unprotected.
There’s another condition on the Panthers being forced to convey their 2025 1st to the Flyers because it gets protected this year, which is extremely unlikely.
What would it take WA or Calgary to put Kuznetsov at C for the Flames?
Considering how much he’ll want on his next contract I think this would be a good money after bad move for Calgary.
What Kuznetsov wants and what he is going to have settle for are probably very different numbers
@yeasties — Does any team really want a pissed off Kuzy on their squad, though? PLD all over again, with a different last name.
Perhaps a rebuilding team could try to refurbish him on a 1 year contract and flip at the trade deadline? He should be motivated to prove himself. I don’t know if he was ever a particular troublemaker like PLD was. I’ve listened to a lot of Caps games via the online radio feed and it just doesn’t stand out. I could be wrong, but thought he just had a higher opinion of himself than the Capitals’ coaches did.
@yeasties — Caps Radio 24/7 by chance? I do hear it, but John-O & Kenny are the kind of guys that don’t like to beat a dead horse, so to speak. They’ll mention things, but don’t usually go overboard. That’s why we, as in, you & I and a few others, maybe even on this forum, like their calls. I agree with your thought, too. Kuzy should take a humility pill and try to bring himself back down to Earth. I’d like Alex to get in his ear a bit, too. If he doesn’t listen to an 800+ goal scorer, there might not be much hope for him.
We can already add Hanifan to list overpaid contract. someone is going to give him too much term and money.
Flames likely re-up with Hanifin, trade Tanev.