It’s easy to see why the Calgary Flames will not trade veteran stars Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar or Nazem Kadri at the deadline, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
After all, having a fire sale is tough when you’re currently holding down one of the two wild-card spots in the West.
Not many people would have predicted a playoff appearance when the season began. This pundit thought Calgary had a better chance at the No. 1 overall pick than a place in the post-season. But with more than half the schedule in the books, the Flames no longer look like a rebuilding team.
With only one point standing between them and the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division, this team looks more and more like a dark horse. The major trade last week for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee helps them even more.
Indeed, not only are the Flames not waving the white flag on their season, they’re actively making moves to give them an even better chance to go on a deep post-season run.
Related: ‘I Think That’s The Goal’: Nazem Kadri Explains Why The Calgary Flames Should Buy, Not Sell
To get Frost and Farabee, Calgary had to give up wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jacob Pelletier and two draft picks to the Flyers. But Kuzmenko and Pelletier weren’t really seen as long-term fits with Calgary anymore, and the two draft picks aren’t first-rounders, so the Flames didn’t give up much.
Frost and Farabee should provide an offensive boost to the roster this season and beyond. But it’s the message that was sent to the team as a whole that made the biggest impact.
Flames players now know that management is endorsing them. This trade is a huge vote of confidence in Calgary’s roster from GM Craig Conroy, who has been fairly clear since he took over the Flames’ reins that he didn’t have the appetite for a ground-up rebuild.
And the players, many of whom have had their names removed from the trading block, obviously appreciate it.
“It’s nice to see that management is doing something like this for us, after no one on the outside believed in us at the start of the season,” Rasmus Andersson told reporters. “And here we are. Right in the middle of the playoff race.”
Some will argue the Flames should be selling off veterans as they did last season when Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev all were dealt by the NHL’s trade deadline. But that was a different story, as those four players were pending UFAs. This year, right winger Anthony Mantha and defenseman Tyson Barrie are the only prominent pending UFAs on the Flames.
Kadri and Weegar have term left on their contracts, while Andersson will be a UFA in the summer of 2026. So there’s no urgent need to send any of them packing, especially now that the Flames are performing well.
Related: Report: Flames Not Open To Selling Andersson, Kadri Or Weegar At Deadline
Things may change next season if the Flames struggle and are out of the playoff picture by next year’s trade deadline. Conroy has shown he’s prepared to move on from his veterans if they’re not a part of the long-term outlook. However, at the moment, with so much positivity around the Flames, it’s a good time to reward this group and see what they’re capable of.
The results Calgary posts the rest of this season will inform Conroy’s vision for the next steps. As we’ve seen with every NHL team, management’s short- and long-term visions can always change. But for now, the Flames are choosing to bet on themselves – which is absolutely the right move – and that has to make Calgary fans very happy.
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