After a stress-inducing six months of the 2023–24 season leading up to the trade deadline, we can all finally take a deep breath. It has been one of the busiest seasons trade-wise in franchise history, and Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames have come out of the trade deadline with a completely different look up and down the lineup.
With so many major moves occurring over the past few months, we can finally take a step back and assess how the Flames did in each trade. I’ll assign a grade from A to F for the five mid-season trades the Flames made this season.
November 30 – Nikita Zadorov to Vancouver
| To Calgary | To Vancouver |
|---|---|
| 2026 3rd round pick | Nikita Zadorov |
| 2024 5th round pick |
Craig Conroy’s first in season trade took place all the way back in November, as the Flames sent pending UFA Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks for a pair of draft picks. It was always assumed Zadorov would be moved eventually, but a trade request just a month and a half into the season forced Conroy to make the move sooner than he probably had hoped.
At the time of the deal, the return seemed a little light. Under Darryl Sutter, Zadorov turned his career around and became a physical force and fan favourite on the Flames blueline while also racking up a career high 14 goals in 2022–23. However since the trade occurred it’s become clear Zadorov was never more than a third pairing defenceman who had an outlier season last year.
Through 38 games with the Canucks, Zadorov has posted just two goals, ranks dead last among Canucks blueliners for xGF%, and has even found himself in trade rumours as a potential cap dump. All said, getting third- and fifth-round picks for a player of Zadorov’s calibre is a perfectly fine return even if it was a tad disappointing.
Trade grade: B
January 31 – Elias Lindholm to Vancouver
| To Calgary | To Vancouver |
|---|---|
| Andrei Kuzmenko | Elias Lindholm |
| Hunter Brzustewicz | |
| Joni Jurmo | |
| 2024 1st round pick | |
| Conditional 2024 4th round pick* |
Almost exactly two months after dealing Zadorov, Conroy pushed the envelope on perhaps the Flames most anticipated move of the year, sending long time first line centre Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. In return, the Flames received what can best be described as a haul of assets.
Lindholm was in the midst of his worst season in Calgary with just nine goals and 32 points in 49 games at the time of the trade, but Conroy still managed to get a ton of assets for a player who no longer wanted to be in Calgary and is likely a four-month rental.
Hunter Brzustewicz is an incredibly intriguing prospect who is currently tied for the OHL lead in points by a defenceman with 85 in just 60 games played and beefs up a weak defensive pipeline in Calgary. Add on a first-round pick, a fourth-rounder that can become a third, and a C prospect in Joni Jurmo and that’s a great haul of future assets.
Andrei Kuzmenko meanwhile was essentially a cap dump for the Canucks, but is a player who put up 73 points last season and so far through 11 games in Calgary has five goals and seven points. In fact he’s currently tied with Lindholm for points since the trade, with five fewer games played. If he keeps it up, he could even garner a decent return for the Flame at next year’s deadline.
To top it all off, there were rumours leading up to the deadline that the Canucks were considering cutting bait and sending Lindholm elsewhere just a month after they acquired him. This was a slam dunk for Conroy that only continues to look better as Lindholm struggles to make a mark in Vancouver.
Trade grade: A
February 28 – Chris Tanev to Dallas
| To Calgary | To Dallas |
|---|---|
| Artem Grushnikov | Chris Tanev |
| 2024 2nd round pick | |
| Conditional 2026 3rd round pick* |
Overall the Chris Tanev deal was a little disappointing if you’re the Flames, but far from bad. Given that we heard for weeks there were roughly 10–12 teams interested in Tanev there was certainly optimism the Flames would get a haul for one of the league’s best shutdown defenders. Unfortunately after holding out for a first-round pick, the offers never materialized and the Flames settled for a decent albeit unspectacular return.
Given the only first-round picks reportedly offered for Tanev came with cap dumps, it makes sense the Flames looked elsewhere. Getting a second-round pick at minimum was a must and Conroy delivered here, although you can’t help but wonder if the Flames waited a few more days would a team have offered up their first-round pick with no strings attached. The conditions on the third-round pick also aren’t great and it’s more likely than not they don’t receive that pick.
Artem Grushnikov meanwhile was picked in the second round of the draft just three years ago and while he is far from a sure thing, there is some potential he turns into a solid shutdown defender in the NHL. Like Brzustewicz, he brings some much needed youth to the organizational blueline depth.
Overall this was a fair return for a 33-year-old who would’ve walked for nothing in a few months, even if it’s disappointing the Flames weren’t able to get more considering how much interest there was in Tanev.
Grade trade: B–
March 6 – Noah Hanifin to Vegas
| To Calgary | To Vegas |
|---|---|
| 2026 1st round pick | Noah Hanifin |
| Conditional 2025 3rd round pick* | |
| Daniil Miromanov |
Conroy’s final major trade of the 2023–24 season was also his most disappointing one. After holding onto Noah Hanifin until two days before the trade deadline, the return here is pretty underwhelming. The issue here is we had a very concrete idea of what the acquisition cost should be for a player like Hanifin and the Flames didn’t get that.
Just last year Jakob Chychrun went for a first and two seconds and Filip Hronzek moved for a first and a second. The year prior, Hampus Lindholm was dealt for a first, two seconds, and a prospect. The Flames however weren’t able to receive the same level of return for Hanifin who is on par with those other three players.
How much Hanifin and his agent Pat Brisson impacted trade discussions we may never know, but it clearly played a factor in the final return here and is a reason the return is so light. That said, Hanifin only had an eight-team no-trade clause so it’s not like he had complete control over the situation so it’s not a full excuse for the poor return.
The good news for the Flames is Vegas dealt their 2025 first-round pick to San Jose yesterday, meaning Calgary now gets the Vegas unprotected first-round pick in 2026 which is much more valuable. Considering the age of Vegas’ roster, that 2026 pick could potentially be in the upper half of the first round. As well, it’s very likely Vegas wins at least one round and the third round pick becomes a second round pick.
The biggest negative here is not getting a single prospect back in the deal. The Flames didn’t pick up any true blue chippers in any of their other deals, so this was their last chance. Not only did they not get a blue chip prospect, but 26-year-old Daniil Miromanov is only six months younger than Hanifin and at this point there isn’t much room for growth. Perhaps Miromanov becomes a useable bottom pairing defender, but that’s likely his limit.
Trade grade: C
March 8 – Nikita Okhotyuk from San Jose
| To Calgary | To San Jose |
|---|---|
| Nikita Okhotyuk | 2024 5th round pick |
There isn’t much to break down here. We had heard reports the Flames might try to acquire a depth defenceman before the deadline and that’s what they did here. Nikita Okhotyuk is relatively still young at 23, but so far across 58 career NHL games, he’s posted some rather poor results at both ends of the ice.
Losing a fifth-round pick isn’t a big deal, but given the Flames already claimed both Brayden Pachal and Joel Hanley off waivers I’m not sure why they felt the need to spend draft capital on yet another bottom pairing defenceman.
Trade grade: C
Conroy’s first trade season
Overall, Conroy and the Flames were the talk of the trade market for much of the season. In a year where things went wrong in the standings with Calgary’s playoff chances diminishing every passing month, the trade deadline was supposed to bring a ton of hope for the future.
The Flames didn’t quite get there and Conroy’s overall trades on aggregate have been whelming. The best trade was sending Lindholm out, the worst was not getting a better haul for Hanifin.
Now we’ll have to see how they manage their new draft picks to see if they can find success down the line.
