It is a brand new year, and one of the best practices of celebration is to reminisce on the prior one. In the world of hockey, a calendar year can mean a world of change for a fan, a player, a team, and an entire franchise. For the Calgary Flames, 2024 was a year of establishing a firm direction; general manager Craig Conroy made it official that the team was seeking a “retool”, and he promptly dealt many of its prominent roster players in order to build toward the future.
From January until December 2024, the Flames made seven trades involving players. Five of them involved big names and/or major contributors to the team; forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane, defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Now that they are all firmly on new teams, let’s check in on the aforementioned individuals to see how they are faring post-Flames tenure as well as a bit on how their trades have aged thus far.
Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights
The first former Flame we’re going to look at is Hanifin. Originally acquired by the Flames back in 2018 in the now-infamous Dougie Hamilton trade with the Carolina Hurricanes, Hanifin grew to become a top pairing, all-situations rearguard over his time in Cowtown. The native of Boston, Massachusetts had his best season with the team in 2021-22, when he scored 10 goals and a career-high 48 points in 81 games. Hanifin also added three assists in the Flames’ 12-game 2022 Playoff run. Over his six seasons with the franchise, he scored 42 goals and 191 points in 420 games.
The Flames sent Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick, defender Daniil Miromanov, and an additional conditional third-round pick in 2025. Miromanov is still on the Flames roster, though the 27-year-old Russian hasn’t impressed much. The value of the draft picks is of course yet to be decided. Hanifin put up 12 points in 19 games to end off the 2023-24 regular season with the Golden Knights, and tallied two goals and five points in seven playoff games as his team was bounced in Round 1. So far this season, he has six goals and 21 points in 39 appearances whilst skating on the team’s top pairing and second power play unit.
Andrew Mangiapane, Washington Capitals
Next up is a veteran of 417 Flames games and a formidable NHL winger in Mangiapane. The product of Toronto, Ontario became a Flame via the 2015 NHL Entry Draft when they selected him in the sixth round, 166th overall. “Bread” put in his time in the minors then cracked the team’s lineup full-time in 2018-19, quickly becoming a fan favourite. Mangiapane used his small frame (5-foot-10, 184 pounds) to become a dual threat; he was shifty and creative in the offensive zone whilst also being quick and agile enough to effectively contribute on the team’s penalty kill. His best season also came in the 2021-22 campaign when he tallied a career-best 35 goals and 55 points in all 82 games as well as three goals and six points in 12 playoff games. In total, Mangiapane had 109 goals and 215 points for the franchise.
Mangiapane became expendable last season with so many young forwards needing ice time and him having an expensive contract. Conroy shipped him off to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 second-round draft pick that originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche. The Capitals have had a surprisingly dominant start to the 2024-25 season, and Mangiapane has chipped in with nine goals and 16 points in 40 games. He has been primarily featured on the squad’s third or fourth lines this season, skating an average of just over 13 minutes per night.
Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils
Perhaps the biggest trade chip of last season, former starting goaltender Markstrom was sought after for his solid play in the crease. The Swedish netminder was acquired as a free agent in the 2020 offseason, signing a six-year, $36 million pact. The Flames had been lacking a bonafide number-one goaltender since Miikka Kiprusoff retired, and Markstrom was slated to be the next candidate. Markstrom, like many others on this list, had his most prominent performance in the 2021-22 season when he went 37-15-9 with a .922 save percentage (SV%), 2.22 goals-against average (GAA), and a league-leading nine shutouts. This showing earned him a Vezina Trophy nomination but the award was given to the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin.
Markstrom unfortunately lost his 2021-22 form, going a combined 46-44-14 as well as registering an .898 SV% and a 2.86 GAA over 107 appearances over the next two seasons. The Flames decided to part ways with the veteran, especially with burgeoning star goalie Dustin Wolf waiting in the wings. He was traded to the New Jersey Devils for a 2025 first-rounder and young defender Kevin Bahl. Bahl has exceeded expectations, skating on the top pairing for the Flames and providing a steady shutdown presence. Markstrom has also done tremendously well with the Devils so far in 2024-25 with 20 wins, a 2.17 GAA, a .911 SV% and three shutouts in 30 games. He has been a huge part of the team’s excellent 25-15-3 start, and also celebrated his 500th NHL game in November. As a Flame, he finished with 105 wins and 15 shutouts in 213 games.
Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins
The fourth player to check in on is former Flames first-line centre Lindholm. The Swedish forward was brought to Cowtown as the other piece in the aforementioned 2018 trade with the Hurricanes. He was touted for his strong defensive play and demonstrated it in waves as a Flame, but he also tapped into his immense offensive potential in addition. He swiftly made his way up the lineup and became the team’s best middleman, skating on the top line as well as the power play and penalty kill. He too had a career season in 2021-22, when he recorded 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games and finished as the team leader in takeaways and faceoff wins. This showing earned him a nomination for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the league’s best defensive forward, which he would miss out on in favour of the Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron.
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Lindholm would also fall out of sorts with the team and was promptly sent to the Vancouver Canucks for Andrei Kuzmenko, 2024 first and fourth-round picks, and prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo. Kuzmenko had a strong showing to end 2023-24 but is again on the trading block, Brzustewicz and Jurmo are both getting seasoning in the minors, and the first-rounder turned into Matvei Gridin, who many saw as a draft day steal. Lindholm finished the season with the Canucks but decided to sign with the Bruins as a free agent last summer. In the first year of a seven-year, $54.25 million contract he has just seven goals and 20 points in 43 games along with a plus/minus rating of minus-6. The Bruins as a team have disappointed many, and Lindholm has been no exception. So far he has been a far cry from his productive time as a Flame when he had 148 goals and 357 points in 418 games.
Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last but certainly not least is star defensive defenseman Tanev. Another former Canuck signed in the 2020 offseason, he was brought in to shore up the Flames’ blue line and help keep the opposition’s offensive chances to a minimum. He did just that, putting his body in the way of shots, disrupting passes, and playing against the other team’s best forwards night after night. Even Tanev had the best offensive season of his career in 2021-22, scoring six goals and totalling 28 points in all 82 games. He impressively registered over 100 blocks in all four of his Flames seasons, even in the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Much like the others on this list, it became apparent that the veteran Tanev didn’t have a place in the Flames’ future. Therefore, he was shopped around and eventually moved to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and prospect Artem Grushnikov. The pick became Jacob Battaglia, who is currently excelling in junior, and Grushnikov is showing immense promise in the minors. Tanev finished the season with the Stars, who made it to the Western Conference Final last season. As a free agent in the summer, he signed a six-year, $27 million deal with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. So far with them, he has one goal and 13 points in 41 games. Despite being 35, he is still a defensive stalwart and is interestingly back to producing more offence, which is good to see. During his Flames tenure, he had ten goals, 67 points and a whopping 566 blocked shots in 259 games.
To end things off, Flames fans may be sad to see these players go but should take solace in the fact that the majority of them are finding success with their new clubs. All of their departures signified a much-needed change in direction for the franchise and began the process of stockpiling future assets whilst freeing up more opportunities for the team’s current youth.
