We are more than halfway through the 2023-24 season, and there are still plenty of questions left to be answered. For Calgary Flames fans, the team is seemingly at a crossroads whether to embrace a retool and begin selling off assets. As the team alternates wins and losses, unrestricted free agent (UFA) defencemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev are currently dominating headlines in anticipation of being traded. General manager (GM) Craig Conroy already traded fellow UFAs Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, and Elias Lindholm. The team does not have to fully rebuild as it still has veteran pieces locked in for the long haul that should keep them relatively competitive: Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar, among others.
Related: Flames’ Weegar On His Way To Historic 2023-24 Season
While the focus may be on selling and recouping draft picks and other assets, who says the Flames can’t add players before the March 8 2024 Trade Deadline? Prospects and picks will likely come back in any Hanifin or Tanev deal, and maybe the organization can flip some for a roster jolt. In the Lindholm trade with the Vancouver Canucks, Russian forward Andrei Kuzmenko came in return and has fit in relatively well with four points in eight games. The team has problems everywhere, but for the most part, they will need to replace some of the defence lost if Tanev and Hanifin get moved, as well as someone to spur the team’s dreadful power play. Let’s have a look at three players the Flames should take a swing at before this year’s trade deadline.
Anthony Duclair, San Jose Sharks
We’re going to proverbially beat a dead horse for a second here. 28-year-old San Jose Sharks forward Anthony Duclair has been suggested as a trade target by THW for the Flames since 2022. He will be a bigger trade chip at the deadline this season, and many playoff contenders will likely be in the hunt to acquire his services. When he was traded to the Sharks, it was for prospect Steven Lorentz and a fifth-round draft pick. His trade value should be slightly higher than this, but not many teams will be willing to give up a first or second rounder for him. He is having an okay season on a terrible Sharks team, with 11 goals and 19 points through 50 games. A three-time 20-goal scorer, he is known for his offensive pedigree but is having one of the better defensive seasons of his almost 10-year career. He is on pace for career-highs in blocks and hits and is fifth on the Sharks with 23 takeaways.
There is a deeper reasoning behind wanting Duclair to become a Flame. The most successful stretch of his career was with the Florida Panthers from 2020-23, specifically when he skated alongside Huberdeau on the top line. The two developed outstanding chemistry, with Duclair producing 41 goals and 90 points in the 117 games they played together. In the 2021-22 season, they both set career highs across the board. As every Flames fan knows, it has only been downhill from there for Huberdeau. He hasn’t shown many glimpses of being a 115-point player again, and is signed to an unmovable contract through 2030-31. If the price is palatable, the team should make a move to grab Duclair and use the remainder of the 2023-24 season to play the two players together and see if they can rekindle their past chemistry. He could also be the needed power play spark, as 63 of his 280 career points have come onthe man advantage.
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks
Let’s stick with the Sharks for a second to take a look at defenseman Mario Ferraro. The 25-year-old native of King City, Ontario was a second-round selection of the organization back in the 2017 Draft. He made the team full-time in the 2019-20 season and hasn’t looked back since. Ferraro is among the NHL’s best defensive defensemen and continually ranks among the best in blocking shots, clogging up passing lanes, and breaking up scoring chances. However, his talents are seemingly wasted on the now perennially-atrocious Sharks, and the squad doesn’t look set up to be competitive in the near future. Their new GM Mike Grier is taking calls on all of his players, including his number-one defender.
Snagging Ferraro wouldn’t be cheap, but wouldn’t cost as much as a Hanifin calibre of rearguard, either. His price tag would likely be a first or second-round pick as well as a prospect or young roster player. Thankfully, he would help the team remain financially flexible as he is halfway through a four-year contract that carries a $3.25 million average annual value. He would effectively replace and arguably improve on Tanev’s spot as the Flames’ premier shutdown blue liner. Tanev is currently second in the NHL in blocked shots, but Ferraro isn’t far behind in fifth place league-wide. Ferraro throws hits at a much higher rate than Tanev does, and isn’t a slouch on offense as he leads all Sharks defensemen in scoring this season with 14 points through 51 games. He can handle much more responsibility as well, as judged by his average ice time of 22:53 in 2023-24.
Bowen Byram, Colorado Avalanche
Last, but not least is young Colorado Avalanche defender Bowen Byram. Hailing from nearby Cranbrook, British Columbia, the soon-to-be 23 year old already has one Stanley Cup under his belt (2022) and looks to be ready for a bigger role in the league. The former fourth-overall draft pick in 2019 dominated junior with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL) to the tune of 150 points in 188 games. He has shown flashes of the same brilliance in the NHL, but has had injury problems as well as deployment issues. He averages 13 goals and 36 points per 82 games played, but has never suited up for a full season. Also unfortunately for him, he is stuck behind top-tier defencemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews, among others. Perhaps getting more of a chance with a team like the Flames could get him back to his dominant ways.
Byram could be the long-term fix for the Flames’ backend as he is an elite skater, can quarterback a power play, and can kill penalties. In 2022-23 he had a whopping 6.5 power play points per 60 minutes and scored 25% of his points on the man advantage. His defensive play is equally impressive. As previously mentioned, he is young and is also in the midst of a two-year “prove it” deal worth $3.85 million per season. He could immediately step into the Flames’ top four and potentially take over for the likely departing Hanifin in the future. Being that he is relatively local, he would probably be more interested in re-signing with the team and becoming a core piece should more players get shipped out of town. Byram would not be cheap and the Avalanche want to compete now, so a solid roster player and draft/prospect capital would have to go out to bring him in. But if one player can possibly fill all of the Flames’ listed weaknesses it’s Byram, and he’s worth a shot.
The Flames will have to choose in the upcoming days what type of team they should be at the 2024 deadline. If they want to tear things down, no shortage of teams will be interested in what they have. Tanev and Hanifin leaving will create holes on the back end, and the power play needs to be fixed. If the re-tool on the fly continues, any one or more of these three players would be worthy additions to the roster.
