While the Senators have been tied to the Flames’ Rasmus Andersson in their search to upgrade the right side of their defense this offseason, it appears he won’t be an option. Ottawa is among the six teams on his no-trade list as part of his modified no-trade clause, sources tell Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff.
Andersson, entering the final year of his contract at a $4.55MM cap hit, would have been the most needle-moving option available for the Sens in their price range. Pending unrestricted free agent Aaron Ekblad might be a more desirable pickup if he reaches the open market in a few weeks, but he’s projected to earn a seven-year deal north of $7.8MM per season, according to AFP Analytics.
Without a cap-clearing trade, that would be a tight fit for Ottawa, which enters the offseason with $16.627MM in cap space to spread across eight roster spots, per PuckPedia. While they could place right-shot rearguard Nick Jensen on long-term injured reserve to begin the campaign for increased spending flexibility if he’s not ready for the start of the year, he’s not expected to miss the whole 2025-26 season and they’d still need cap space to activate him when he’s ready to return.
Andersson’s inavailability will likely leave the Sens looking for some of the second-tier stay-at-home options on the free agent market to help steady the waters in Jensen’s projected absence and add depth when he returns. It’s not a very long list, but Cody Ceci and Dante Fabbro may be out there as potential impact second-pairing pickups and high-tier third-pairing options.
As for Andersson’s long-term future in Calgary, it remains uncertain a year away from a potential trip to unrestricted free agency. While the Flames have at least explored trading him multiple times in the past couple of years amid their retool, they’ve quickly pulled him off the market – either because they weren’t impressed by the offers they were getting, didn’t want to disrupt team chemistry amid a strong start to 2024-25, or had mutual interest in retaining the player.
It looks like they’re going through that same song and dance again. “After ’looking around’ the landscape of the NHL, keeping Andersson ’might make the most sense at the right number,'” DiMarco wrote.
With the salary cap slated to jump to $104MM for 2026-27, an Andersson extension, if agreed to this summer after he’s eligible to sign one on July 1, would likely be a seven-year deal in the $8.5MM range per season, AFP Analytics projects. Suppose his camp holds firm to that framework. In that case, it’s worth questioning whether that’s a deal general manager Craig Conroy is willing to sign following a season in which Andersson posted his worst offensive totals (31 points in 81 games) in four years, along with a career-worst -38 rating, worst on the Flames by double.