As the Calgary Flames are in the middle of a race for a wild card position, or just deciding whether they will be sellers at the trade deadline, almost every player on the roster has been in the middle of a trade rumour.
Jacob Markstrom found his way to the center of attention on Friday when Kevin Weekes tweeted the following:
Of course, it’s always a 50/50 chance that Weekes is right or just needed some more followers to hit a monthly quota. Everyone was simply waiting for another insider to confirm or dispute the rumour.
Enter Elliotte Friedman.
Saturday Headlines on Jacob Markstrom
On his Hockey Night in Canada Saturday Headlines segment, Friedman addressed the trade rumours surrounding the Flames goaltender and whether the team has something in the fire:
His brother is on the trip with him so they do not want to talk about it…any of the rumours flying around about Markstrom. Here’s what I can tell you: Number one I don’t believe they have gone to him with anything, any possibility of what could happen. Number two, he has a no-move clause, and as the birthday boy Kelley Hrudey always argues, no one with a no-move clause should be even asked to have it moved or be traded.
From what I understand, Calgary has a very high bar here in terms of they are not going to bother Markstrom with just anything. It would have to be something massive for them or somewhere they believe Markstrom would want to go before they would even consider going to him. So I think that is where things stand with him and the Flames.
It’s pretty easy to read between the lines here that the Flames are asking for the world with Markstrom, as they should be based on his season, and don’t want to go to him with every proposal they get. It sounds like teams are calling and gauging the market, and the Flames wisely are at least listening.
The biggest hurdle here would be the NMC on his contract. The team cannot do anything without Markstrom’s approval and if he is happy in Calgary, then he will be a Flame as long as he wants to be.
The merits of either keeping or trading Markstrom were discussed, and the conclusion was the same. While the team could get a haul for him on the market, the chances of that happening are slim.
It’s not a complete no, but something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
