The Montreal Canadiens have continued their ascent out of their rebuild in 2025-26, following up their playoff berth last season with a strong first half of this year. The Canadiens sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 25-13-6 record, and look increasingly likely to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
While they’re the NHL’s youngest team and being powered by a dynamic young core of players, it would be no surprise to see the team supplement its youth with some veteran talent. They’ve already done so, acquiring Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings, and additional deals could be coming.
Yesterday, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on the network’s Insider Trading segment that Calgary Flames veteran Blake Coleman is “pretty high up on the list of the Montreal Canadiens” in terms of players they’d like to acquire via trade. LeBrun specifically referenced Coleman’s versatility, physicality, and leadership as elements to his game that the Canadiens are reportedly drawn to.
According to LeBrun, the Canadiens and Flames have discussed Coleman, but nothing is imminent as the Canadiens would prefer to take stock of their team at the Olympic break, especially considering the injuries the team is currently dealing with.
Worth noting is that Coleman wasn’t able to finish yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins. Any potential injury could dramatically change his prospects of being traded. Flames head coach Ryan Huska did tell the media, though, that he believes Coleman’s absence was more precautionary than anything else.
Another factor to consider regarding any potential Coleman trade is the trade protection on his contract. While he no longer has a full no-trade clause as he did for the first three years of his contract, he still is protected via a 10-team approved trade list. There’s no firm word at this time as to whether the Canadiens are on Coleman’s 10-team approved trade list, and if they are not, Coleman would need to sign off on the deal before he could be traded to Montreal.
It’s easy to see why Montreal would be interested in acquiring the 34-year-old veteran. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has scored at a decent middle-six rate as a member of the Flames. He already has 13 goals this season and managed 15 goals, 39 points last year. He’s also a first-unit penalty killer in Calgary and carries an additional year of control at a $4.9MM AAV.
When everyone is healthy, Coleman’s fit in Montreal’s forward lineup isn’t obvious, especially given the recent emergence of mid-season addition Alex Texier on the team’s top line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. But if two injured forwards, say Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine, are unable to play again this season due to injury, the addition of Coleman would go a long way towards protecting the team’s depth up front. At the current moment, he could slot in alongside Danault and Zachary Bolduc on the Canadiens’ third line, shifting Brendan Gallagher to the fourth line.
From the Flames’ perspective, trading Coleman would come as an acknowledgement that the team isn’t prepared to seriously compete in the playoffs over the next two years, the remainder of Coleman’s deal. While LeBrun did indicate that Calgary isn’t prepared to give up on 2025-26 just yet, the Flames’ position in the standings doesn’t indicate a readiness to push for a playoff spot. The Flames are 18-22-4, good for third-to-last in the NHL.
Trading Coleman would allow Calgary to collect some value for a veteran winger whose contract is set to expire before the Flames are likely ready to seriously compete for a playoff spot. The Canadiens entered the season with a top-five prospect pool according to both The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Elite Prospects, meaning the Flames could collect some valuable young assets in a Coleman trade.
A Coleman trade could be a mirror of a Flames/Canadiens trade from a few years ago, when these respective franchises found their competitive positions flipped. The rebuilding Canadiens sent veteran Tyler Toffoli to the Stanley Cup hopeful Flames, netting prospect Emil Heineman and a first-round pick in return. The Canadiens later used Heineman, who has 13 goals and 20 points this season, in a trade to acquire star blueliner Noah Dobson.
While Toffoli and Coleman aren’t exactly one-to-one comparable players, the trade is a clear example for the Flames showing how they could materially improve their long-term competitive hopes by trading Coleman. The Canadiens are hardly going to be the only team interested in Coleman’s services. If the player’s contractual trade protection doesn’t serve as too big an obstacle to the process of finding a deal, the Flames could end up taking a notable step in the right direction by making the decision to trade their veteran winger.
Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
So are alot of other teams.
The interest in Blake Coleman is only going to rise as we get closer to the trade deadline. Montreal is one and there has been rumors Tampa has expressed interest in bringing back Coleman. Let the Coleman trade rumors begin lol.
Coleman got paid by going to Calgary, but it seems like he wasted prime playing days going there.