With the Calgary Flames pulling the trigger on their first big trade of the 2023–24 season yesterday by dealing Nikita Zadorov, Elliotte Friedman offered some further insight into the deal on this week’s 32 Thoughts. He also discussed what may be on the horizon for Calgary after moving their first major unrestricted free agent.
The organization wanted Zadorov dealt ASAP
After Zadorov’s agent, Dan Milstein sent out some tweets a couple of weeks ago signifying a very public trade request for his client Zadorov, it was reported that the Flames would take their time and not rush to make any decisions. That said, according to Friedman it sounds like despite their best efforts to quiet things down, the organization wanted a swift resolution on this matter. Here’s what he had to say.
“I think the Flames tried the best that they could to move on from that… but I don’t think it ever really went away and the Flames didn’t want to risk the chance of a repeat. They said we want to end this situation as quickly as we can. Conroy at one point… did go up to Zadorov and thanked him for being professional in the aftermath of that… but I think the organization wanted to move on.”
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts
Friedman makes it pretty clear here that despite Conroy and the team’s best efforts to move on from the sudden public trade request, the organization didn’t want to sit around and risk another tweet from Milstein that would’ve made things even worse. In the end, there was clear pressure on Conroy from above to move Zadorov as quickly as possible so that everyone could move on and remove the lingering cloud over the team.
The Flames didn’t want to retain salary to improve flexibility for future deals
We heard yesterday across Twitter that the Flames did not want to retain any salary on a Zadorov deal. Friedman confirmed that today and offered some further insight on why the Flames may have taken that stance.
“The Flames didn’t want to [retain salary]. By moving Zadorov off their roster and not taking a player back, Calgary is out of LTIR. They can now start accruing space and gain some flexibility to do things. That was not insignificant for Calgary. What that says for me is that they have some other things in mind. Whether that’s a Hanifin or a Tanev or Lindholm they want the ability to bring some players back in if they have to or need to as part of this.”
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts
There were some major questions around the fan base yesterday as to why Calgary would not retain any salary on a Zadorov as that could theoretically improve the return. Based on Friedman’s response it sounds like the Flames have some much larger fish to fry and retaining salary on their first UFA trade didn’t make sense as they likely have some much larger trades coming later in the season. By moving out Zadorov’s salary and not bringing any back, they’ve set themselves up nicely to have more flexibility to take on money for future deals.
In particular, it’s worth noting that he mentions the Flames wanting the ability to bring back some players in other deals if they have to or need to. That says to me Conroy is thinking long-term right now and knows that with larger deals like Hanifin or Lindholm the Flames will likely need to take some money back to make things work.
At the end of the day, this long-term thinking is a positive sign as those deals are much more important than any Zadorov trade.
The Flames wanted an extra pick to trade within their division
There were quite a few outcries when the return for Zadorov was revealed to be just a third- and fifth-round pick. However, according to Friedman, the return was in line with market value with the Flames even getting the extra fifth-round pick due to the interdivisional nature of the deal.
“Last year, Luke Schenn was traded to Toronto for a third-round draft pick. Zadorov, I think that’s fair for his role and his ice time that’s about what it tends to be. Because it was Calgary to Vancouver, I think Vancouver had to throw in the extra pick. Calgary said we need a little something extra to send him in the conference, in the division so Vancouver put the extra pick in. Not a huge price, but just something.”
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts
So based on what Friedman has heard and what Luke Schenn went for at the trade deadline last year, it sounds like he believes the price for Zadorov was fair market value. The extra fifth-round pick was included as a bonus by Vancouver as the Flames wanted extra to trade him within their own division. It may not be much, but it’s nice to see Conroy using some leverage and requiring Vancouver to add an extra pick to get the deal across the finish line.
Calgary is open for business right now despite their recent success
Despite the Flames turning things around recently and finding themselves right in the mix for a wild card spot, Friedman stated that this deal signifies that the Flames are very much open for business right now despite their recent success.
“One of the things that tells the league is, there was this feeling that Calgary would wait and see how things play out. They’re in the race, they’ve played very well, they’re right around the wild card spot and I think some team thought that meant the Flames are going to wait [to make deals]. This is a signal, no, they’re ready to talk, they’re ready to listen, if you wanna do some business with them you better get on the phone and call.”
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts
That’s probably the biggest note to come out of this week’s 32 Thoughts. Everyone knows the history of this organization. If they have even the slimmest chance to make the playoffs, they’re all in no matter what.
Friedman saying that despite the Flames rising up in the standings over the past couple of weeks, they’re still very much open for business right now is great news. It sounds like Conroy has made it clear with this move that regardless of the team’s results on the ice, they are going to be taking calls on their pending UFAs and encouraging other teams to call now rather than wait until later in the season.
A small update on teams interested in Tanev
Friedman noted that Tanev is a guy that Toronto will pursue and likely try to extend him if they are successful as well. This could be big for the Flames as the Calgary/Toronto connection is there, and the relationship between Treliving and Conroy can sway which team gets the best deal in the trade.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
