For the first time all season, the Calgary Flames no longer have to deal with outside noise. They have been hounded by media since 2023-24 began, as they entered the season with several valuable players on expiring contracts. As the campaign went on, it started to become more and more clear that all would be dealt, but until those trades went through, the Flames were the most-talked-about team in the NHL.
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The fourth — and what is expected to be final — trade of the Flames’ season came last night, as Noah Hanifin was moved to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Daniil Miromanov, a conditional 2025 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 third-round pick. The 27-year-old Hanifin joins Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm, and Nikita Zadorov as the other Flames who were traded this season. It will be tough for teammates to see their friend go, but they can finally sit back and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that all the speculation facing them is done for now.
Flames Have Played Well Despite Distractions
Trade noise particularly picked up around the Flames as the 2024 trade deadline neared, as it became more and more obvious by the day that both Tanev and Hanifin would be moved. Making matters even worse was that plenty of speculation started to surround Jacob Markstrom, which clearly frustrated the 34-year-old netminder and likely his teammates as well.
It now appears Markstrom will stay put, which will finally put an end to the madness. The Flames can go back to just being another team, and won’t have to deal with questions from media, worry about rumours circulating from insiders, or hear fans discussing moves on social media platforms.
Though the Flames are outside the playoff picture, they deserve credit for how they’ve played given all the distractions. They were just recently able to string together a five-game winning streak, and remain alive in the postseason hunt. Their odds aren’t great as they sit eight points shy of the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights for a Western Conference wild-card spot, but the two games they have in hand on the Predators could help in a big way.
Flames Need “Committee Approach” Moving Forward
While there is still a shot at the playoffs, fans need to be realistic with their expectations. Losing Hanifin and Tanev — who were both playing over 20 minutes a game this season — will be tough to overcome. The Flames blue line is completely decimated, as they are entering tonight’s game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning with their six defencemen being Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, Oliver Kylington, Brayden Pachal, Dennis Gilbert, and new waiver acquisition Joel Hanley.
It’s hard to imagine this blue line gets them into the postseason, but crazier things have happened. If head coach Ryan Huska is able to get them to buy in and play a simple style of game, they may be capable of doing more than most are expecting. Having all the distractions removed should help in a big way, as well.
Further Speculation Could Arise in Summer
While things will quiet down for the remainder of the season, the Flames are a team who will once again have a lot of noise surrounding them in the summer. Markstrom seems likely to be dealt, and given how well he has played this season, there will be several teams showing interest. Unfortunately, questions surrounding which team he will be dealt to and when it will happen will be discussed aplenty, which won’t be fun for this group given what they’ve already gone through. The best thing for general manager Craig Conroy may be to move him sooner than later in the offseason, so his players are able to come into training camp with nothing but the 2024-25 season on their minds.
