Despite being in the early stages of a rebuild, Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy is working the phones in hopes of adding to his roster. Roughly one month ago, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Flames are searching for a young, NHL centre who fits into their rebuilding timeline.
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Though Seravalli did clarify that this could even be just a waiver claim, Conroy himself has said in the past he’s interested in trading for young players who have already proven they can play at the NHL level. He may not be in a major rush to do so, but it appears that at the very least, he’s monitoring the market. As fate would have it, one may be available right now.
Struggling Predators May Make Moves
After an offseason that was lauded by every pundit out there thanks in large part to the free-agent signings of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the Nashville Predators have instead struggled immensely in 2024-25. Though they have righted the ship slightly since a disastrous 0-5-0 start, they still sit at a disappointing 5-9-2.
The slow start has caught everyone off guard, including the Predators themselves, who likely entered the campaign believing they were legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Instead, general manager Barry Trotz is said to be toying with the idea of a rebuild, and if he indeed commits to it, he has several players who would be of interest to many teams around the league.
While the Flames aren’t a club looking to make a major splash, one player they would be thrilled to add is Tommy Novak. He, along with the rest of the Predators, has struggled this season with just three goals and four points through 12 games, but has proven to be a solid offensive contributor in years past.
After a 27-game showing to begin his NHL career in 2021-22, Novak exploded for 17 goals and 43 points in 51 games in 2022-23. That offence did regress in 2023-24, though he still finished with a very respectable 18 goals and 45 points in 71 games.
Novak a Great Fit For the Flames
Novak is not only on a team-friendly contract that carries a $3.5 million cap hit through the 2026-27 season, but fits into the Flames’ rebuilding plans at 27 years old. While he may not be quite as young as fans would like to see, he’s a late bloomer having not cracked the NHL until the 2021-22 campaign and is therefore still only continuing to get better.
Novak would help add to a position in which the Flames really lack. Aside from a 33-year-old Nazem Kadri and a 35-year-old Mikael Backlund, the Flames have no centres who are locked up past this season. Martin Pospisil and Yegor Sharangovich are capable of playing down the middle, but are far more effective on the wing.
There isn’t a lot of help coming, either. The Flames do boast plenty of exciting prospects with bright futures, but the vast majority are defencemen and wingers. Many expected that they would target a centre with their first pick at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, though they instead chose to go with defenceman Zayne Parekh.
While adding a few more centres to their prospect pipeline in the next few drafts would be a good decision from Conroy, adding Novak would make it less of a glaring need. He, at the very least, would be a productive middle-six centre during the remaining rebuild years, and could be extended afterward if he continues putting up the numbers he has the past few seasons.
Novak May Not Come Cheap
The one issue the Flames may run into in all of this is that Novak may not be the cheapest asset to acquire. Though his numbers are down to begin this season, he has a strong track record of offensive success over the past two campaigns. Factor that in with his low cap hit and the term remaining, and you have a player that the Predators by no means are eager to push out the door.
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That said, if the Predators are indeed going for a rebuild, they would certainly take calls on Novak. After all, if they were to just start a rebuild, they would be far behind the progress the Flames have already made, meaning Novak wouldn’t fit into those plans at his age. It may take something along the lines of a prospect such as William Stromgren and a second-round pick, but that is a deal that the Flames should, at the very least, strongly consider making. The situation in Nashville will be one for Flames’ fans to keep an eye on over these next few weeks.
