Welcome back to another edition of CapFriendly Friday! If you are unfamiliar with CapFriendly Friday, it involves looking at trade proposals submitted on CapFriendly.com‘s Armchair GM feature. These are not my proposals. The Armchair GM feature lets users, like you and me, become the GM of their team, and make whatever moves they see fit. Before you read on, check out Q&A with CapFriendly to get insights on the inner workings of the site and some fun stories all about NHL contracts.
The Calgary Flames continue to tread water with a record of 24–22–5. They moved Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks on the last day of November. More recently, they moved Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. We’ve heard names like Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin all season, but now it’s crunch time.
Based on insider reports, it sounds like Chris Tanev will be dealt—potentially very soon. Hanifin on the other hand has to tell the Flames whether he is staying or going in the next week or so. As you can imagine, CapFriendly is flooded with Hanifin and Tanev (sometimes both in the same deal) proposals, so those will be my primary feature. However, other names like Jacob Markstrom have begun to gain a little bit of steam.
What is the value for guys like Hanifin and Tanev?
I looked at what the value for Lindholm, Hanifin, and Tanev should be based on past comparables, so we have a good baseline to judge these proposals. I had Lindholm’s value at a first-round pick, an A-level prospect, and a cap dump/player in need of a change of scenery. The return was pretty much that, with Vancouver’s 2024 first-rounder and Andrei Kuzmenko crossing off two of those checks. The Flames might not have gotten a surefire A-level prospect, but Hunter Brzustewicz looks like he could be promising, and Joni Jurmo and the conditional 4th were added to the deal as well. Another key is that the Flames didn’t have to retain any salary, which was factored in as well.
The value for Hanifin (assuming 50% retention) should be a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a young defenceman. The value for Tanev (assuming 50% retention) at a conditional second-rounder that could turn into a first, as well as a mid-round pick or prospect equivalent. Now we will head over to CapFriendly to see what users think the value for Flames players is.
As you can probably imagine, some of these CapFriendly Friday proposals get our minds thinking and might make sense at the NHL level, while others are just straight-up bonkers. I like to cover a little bit of both, so sit back, grab a snack, relax, and let’s laugh as we dive into some trade proposals. Let’s start it off with a Flames defencemen heading to the Dallas Stars:
Tanev to the Stars
- Flames receive: Ty Dellandrea, Jani Hakanpaa, 2024 first-round pick (DAL)
- Stars receive: Chris Tanev ($1.25M retained)
The Stars have seemed like one of the obvious Tanev destinations for a long time. He fits them like a glove. And with the Stars’ recent hot streak, do they add Tanev sooner rather than later? This return has been speculated for quite some time, and I would like it.
Hakanpaa plays a similar game to Tanev, so he would be able to plug into Tanev’s spot and potentially be flipped before the deadline for another draft pick. Dellandrea is still young and could be something if given more of an opportunity. And getting that first-round pick is of course very nice. This deal does seem a tad high from the Stars though. Maybe that pick could similar to the Kris Russell trade, with a conditional second-round pick that upgrades to a first if the Stars make the Conference Finals?
Hanifin joins his friends in Florida
- Flames receive: Anton Lundell, Josh Mahura, 2025 fourth-round pick (CGY), 2026 first-round pick (FLA)
- Panthers receive: Noah Hanifin ($2.4M retained)
Hanifin has been rumoured to want to go back to the States, and he is great friends with both Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. Seems like an obvious fit. The Panthers were in around Hanifin this summer but decided to go the free agent route with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, and Dmitry Kulikov joining their ranks. However, Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad are the only defenceman signed beyond this season.
There will no doubt be contracts for Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour forthcoming, right? If the Panthers want to acquire a defenceman with an extension and cement the LD position going forward, Hanifin is your guy.
As for the return here, it makes perfect sense. Florida doesn’t have a first-rounder until 2026 (Flames own the 2025 first as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade), so that’s not ideal for Calgary, but a first-rounder is a first-rounder. The name that screams Flames in this deal is Anton Lundell. Flames GM Craig Conroy noted in a recent interview that he’s looking for a centre under the age of 24. Lundell is just that. The 22-year-old centre is already in his third season and has featured on the third line and secondary offence role. This seems like the ideal guy to understudy and take over for Mikael Backlund in a few seasons.
Chris Tanev to the… Blue Jackets???
- Flames receive: Adam Boqvist, Denton Mateychuk, 2024 third-round pick (LAK), 2025 seventh-round pick (CBJ), 2026 first-round pick (CBJ)
- Blue Jackets receive: Chris Tanev
I know this is a troll proposal, but it still hurts my little brain. Boqvist does seem like an interesting Flames target, but this deal makes zero sense. Columbus already has too many RD with Severson, Boqvist, Gudbranson, and Peeke already on the roster, and prospect David Jiricek making a push.
Not even mentioning their standing position and Tanev likely not wanting to go there. And then we get into the actual trade, which is so lopsided in Calgary’s favour. I can’t believe I’ve written this much about an obvious troll trade. I’d like to erase this deal from my mind forever.
Tampa gets both of the Flames’ defencemen
- Flames receive: Jack Finley, Ethan Gauthier, Nick Perbix, 2024 third-round pick (TBL), 2024 seventh-round pick (CHI), 2025 second-round pick (TBL), 2026 first-round pick (TBL)
- Lightning receive: Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev
The Tampa Bay Lightning were already shopping for a defenceman before the Sergachev injury. After his gruesome leg injury earlier this week in his first game back from another injury, they are likely going to be shopping even more. And they just got $8.5M in LTIR space to work with. Hanifin makes sense as a Sergachev replacement, while Tampa desperately needs some more help on the right side. Enter Chris Tanev.
The cap gymnastics of this trade work perfectly, with Perbix’s $1.125M cap hit coupled with Sergachev’s $8.5M on LTIR ($9.625M) roughly equivalent to Hanifin and Tanev’s $9.45M cap hit. I don’t love the first-round pick being all the way in 2026, but maybe Calgary banks on Tampa Bay taking a step back by then?
From a value standpoint, this isn’t a bad offer. I would say the 2026 first, 2025 second, and Ethan Gauthier roughly equal Hanifin’s value. That leaves Jack Finley, the 2024 third, and the 2024 seventh roughly equaling Tanev’s value, with Perbix also thrown in to make the cap work. Getting a big centre prospect in Finley as well as a good right wing prospect in Gauthier isn’t too bad. However, I’d definitely try to push for Isaac Howard. The Flames likely could do better selling both defencemen separately, but this isn’t far off.
Flames trade for… Kubalik???
- Flames receive: Dominik Kubalik
- Senators receive: 2024 third-round pick (CGY), 2026 fifth-round pick (CGY)
The last thing the Flames need is to expend draft capital for rental players. The last thing the Flames need more of on their roster is middle-six wingers. We don’t even need to talk about how bad Kubalik is and the picks Calgary is giving up. No. Just no. Stop it.
Devils get the defenceman and goaltender they desperately need
- Flames receive: Graeme Clarke, Alexander Holtz, Vitek Vanecek, 2024 first-round pick (NJD)
- Devils receive: Noah Hanifin (8x$7M extension), Jacob Markstrom ($1.0M retained)
The Flames and Devils have been connected all season, especially after Dougie Hamilton went down for the season and freed up $9M in LTIR space. Vitek Vanecek has taken a massive step back, and thus so have the Devils. They desperately need an upgrade in goal. Vanecek hasn’t been helped with the injuries to the Devils entire top pair of Jonas Siegenthaler and the aforementioned Hamilton.
Enter Noah Hanifin.
This user adds that Hanifin signs an eight year extension with the Devils, which makes a lot of sense. Having Hamilton, Siegenthaler, Hanifin, John Marino, and prospects Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec on the same blueline is nasty. Add in Markstrom on the backend, and the Devils elite forward group, and you’ve definitely got something here.
Holtz is a very intriguing prospect and someone who makes a lot of sense for the Flames to acquire. Holtz, 22, is a recent top ten pick who has loads of offensive promise on the right wing. Give him some more ice time and a big opportunity, and he may blossom. The 2024 first-rounder included is very nice, given the Devils may or may not make the playoffs. Taking back Vanecek makes sense, as you could run him and Dan Vladar and hope he finds his game again. If he doesn’t, you could waive/trade one of them and bring up Dustin Wolf. Clarke is a decent RW/C prospect who has put up good point totals in the AHL.
I see this deal as Holtz and Clarke for an extended Hanifin, and Vanecek and a first-rounder for Markstrom with $1.0M retention. This package fits the “little bit of now and a little bit of future” that we’ve from this Flames management in the Toffoli and Lindholm deals.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
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