The Calgary Flames are involved in a tight playoff race, but that may not be enough to convince general manager Craig Conroy to be a buyer, or even stand pat at the trade deadline. Entering the season, it was expected that the Flames would be sellers, and early into the New Year, that still appears to be the plan.
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Former NHLer and now analyst Nick Kypreos recently explained the Flames’ approach heading into the deadline on The Big Show with Rusic & Rose, stating his belief that even with the team performing better as of late, they will still look to sell off some of their pending UFA’s ahead of the trade deadline.
“There’s not a lot of people in the industry that believe that Calgary won’t be some sort of seller come the trade deadline,” Kypreos said. “As much success as you can say Calgary has had, with another big win last night, they’ve got expiring contracts that need to be addressed.”
Flames Still Best Off to Sell
As exciting as making the playoffs is for both players and fans, the Flames’ management group mustn’t get caught up in that excitement. While the team certainly has been playing better hockey as of late, the fact of the matter is that they are still quite average, as proven by their 16-16-5 record through 37 games.
If the Flames were to continue their better play as of late, they would have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. As fun as that would be, it would also see their first-round pick at the 2024 draft come in the middle-to-late section. Barring a miracle, they would be in tough to go on much, if any run, in the playoffs, as several other rosters in the Western Conference are flat-out better.
Should the Flames indeed sell like Kypreos seems confident they will, it will help them be far more competitive in the future. They are in a great position where they have three pending UFAs in Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev, who are all extremely valuable pieces and should net solid returns. Whether it be draft picks or prospects that Conroy is after, he is in a great spot to set his team up for success down the road.
Flames Could Move More Than Just Pending UFAs
While all the trade talk surrounding the Flames has focused on the three players discussed above, Conroy could choose to move even more if he wishes. One player in particular who would garner a solid return is Jacob Markstrom, who has been on fire since returning from a fractured finger. Plenty of Stanley Cup-hopeful teams could use goaltending help and would certainly benefit from adding the 33-year-old.
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Another player the Flames could look to move is Blake Coleman. Entering the season, his contract — which carries a cap hit of $4.9 million and doesn’t expire until 2027 – was looking like a bit of a disaster. However, he has been fantastic through 37 games, leading the Flames with 14 goals and 27 points. His uptick in production and Stanley Cup-winning pedigree could be useful to several playoff teams.
While he may not hold a ton of value right now, Dillon Dube is another player teams may be willing to take a flyer on. He is on an expiring contract that carries a $2.3 million cap hit but would still be property of any acquiring team, as he is an RFA at season’s end. The 25-year-old is struggling immensely with three goals and seven points on the year but was able to record a career-high 45 in 2022-23.
Flames’ Future Looks Bright
Assuming Conroy does make the correct decision to sell this season, the Flames could very well become one of the better teams in the Western Conference in a few seasons. Along with the talent they should be able to bring in from trading Lindholm, Hanifin, and Tanev, they already have plenty of exciting young talent in the organization. Players like Connor Zary, Matt Coronato, Jakob Pelletier, Dustin Wolf, and Martin Pospisil are all pieces that should be a big part of this team turning things around in the years to come.
