This is going to be a very interesting year for the Calgary Flames, as they unofficially enter Year Two of what should be a sizable rebuild. The team made a number of moves last year, trading Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Markstrom, Andrew Mangiapane, and Nikita Zadorov in exchange for deals that included mostly draft picks, prospects, and young roster players.
This season should be more of the same, with the team likely to make even more moves to complement their prospect pool and draft picks. As we enter the 2024–25 season, let’s take a look at all the players on the Flames’ roster and see who is least likely to most likely to be moved.
Untouchable players
Dustin Wolf
The Calgary Flames have found their goalie of the future in Dustin Wolf and this is the year that they are going to see for sure what they have in him. With this being the case, there is almost no chance that they trade him this season. Unless he absolutely cannot perform at the NHL level and they feel there is no chance that he develops beyond an AHL-level goalie, there is no chance that they trade him this year.
Even if the latter happens, the odds that a team will want to trade for him is also quite low, making trading him not viable regardless.
Connor Zary
Following his outstanding first season in the NHL, Connor Zary earned a number of Calder Trophy votes last year and looks to be a top-six forward this season. The Flames will also want to see if he can translate his skills to be a centreman in the NHL, as he was in the AHL before last season. Given how he has developed and the important role he continues to play in the NHL, there is virtually no chance that the Flames trade him this season.
Zayne Parekh
The highest Flames prospect in recent memory, Parekh was the top defenceman in the OHL last season and had 96 points in 66 games with Saginaw. He is likely back in the league again this season but should be in the NHL in a couple of years. Given how highly touted he was as a prospect and the fact that this management team selected him this past year, there is a very low chance that they trade him away.
Players nobody is trading for
Jonathan Huberdeau
Unless Jonathan Huberdeau puts up 100+ points this season and trends to be one of the best playmaking wingers in the league next season and beyond, the dollar value of his contract will be higher than what he brings on the ice. In short, the Flames are likely to be stuck with him and his contract until it expires in 2031.
Highly unlikely to be moved
Nazem Kadri
The Stanley Cup champion elected to sign with the Flames and has a full no-movement clause. Nazem Kadri has also taken on a big role as a mentor to Martin Pospisil and Zary this past year and seems to have found a nice role on the team. With this in mind, coupled with the enormous value of his contract, it seems unlikely that Kadri will get moved this season.
MacKenzie Weegar
Despite the fact that teams have sniffed around MacKenzie Weegar, the defenceman has been adamant that he wants to remain in Calgary. On top of that, he does have a no-trade clause, so even if the team does get an offer for him, they will need his blessing to sign off on it. It seems very unlikely that Weegar is traded this season.
Yegor Sharangovich
Prior to this season, Yegor Sharangovich was very much a player that could have been moved this season. However, the Flames signed him to a five-year deal with an AAV of $5.75 million. This is a clear signal that he is a part of the team’s future, and unless he vastly outplays his contract value, the odds that the Flames move him are low.
Matt Coronato
A highly touted first-round pick, Matthew Coronato still hasn’t found his footing in the NHL, but this feels like the year where he will have his greatest shot. If he can develop into a scorer at this next level, like he was in the USHL and NCAA, he could be a major part of this team’s future. Unless he vastly underperforms this season, it seems like he will be part of this team going forward.
Martin Pospisil
Once an injury-prone older prospect, Martin Pospisil got his chance at the NHL level last year and developed into an excellent power-forward who could also play a pest role in big games. This has immense value to other teams across the league, who seem to want a Matt Rempe-type player on their roster. This is also what the Flames want on their roster, and unless an exceptional offer comes, there is a very low chance that the Flames move him this season.
Reasonably unlikely to be moved
Mikael Backlund
The Flames captain is entering the first year of his two-year deal, which will pay him $4.5 million per season until he is 37 years old. Given Mikael Backlund is the captain and the longest-tenured Flame by a good distance, the team will be careful in how they handle his future. Given all he has done for the team plus the fact that he still has one more year on his contract, the odds of him being traded this year seem low. He is far more likely to be traded next season, if at all.
Blake Coleman
One-third of what has been one of the best shutdown lines in the league for the last number of years, Blake Coleman adds immense value to the team on top of having won a Cup. He is the type of player that you want to have in the room as you rebuild. Given his contract value of $4.9 million for this season and the next two, his contract will make it hard for a team to trade for him right away. Odds are he stays.
Kevin Bahl
The Flames acquired Kevin Bahl as part of the Jacob Markstrom trade. Given this and that he is 24 years old, the Flames will want to see what they have in him this season. Unless he vastly overperforms his contract and a team pays a premium for his services, the odds of the Flames trading him seem remote.
Daniil Miromanov
Similar to Bahl, the Flames traded for Daniil Miromanov as part of the Noah Hanifin trade. Given his age and development last season, there’s a really good chance that the Flames will keep him this season.
Kevin Rooney
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Kevin Rooney doesn’t have a ton of value above being a replacement-level NHL centre for the Flames, and even if they send him down to the AHL, the odds of him getting claimed are low given his AAV of $1.3 million.
Adam Klapka
Adam Klapka has a good deal of value across the league as a large winger with great hands and a nose for the net. The Flames also seem to really like him, and the odds of him being traded feel quite low.
Trades may arise
Ryan Lomberg
Acquired this offseason following his winning the Cup with the Florida Panthers, the former Flames prospect is back home with the team again and should play a handy depth role this season. Given his low contract value, the fact that he has won a Cup, and his physical style of play, Ryan Lomberg is the type of player that contenders look for at the NHL Trade Deadline. If the right offer comes along, I can see the Flames trading him away, but given he chose to sign in Calgary, there is an equally good chance that the team will keep him.
Anthony Mantha
Signed this season to play theoretically with Huberdeau, Anthony Mantha has been a really good middle-six winger over his career. However, given the Flames signed him for just one year at a very friendly $3 million contract, there is a very good chance teams come knocking for his services at the deadline. If he turns Huberdeau back into a star, there is a good chance the Flames keep him, but if not, he could be on the move.
Jakob Pelletier
This is probably the make-or-break season for Jakob Pelletier as he enters his sixth season since being drafted. He has yet to cement himself as an NHLer, and spent more of last season with the Wranglers than with the Flames. This is going to be a big year for the Flames to know exactly what they have in him.
The challenge is that the former first-rounder is being passed in the depth chart. Zary is already in the NHL, Coronato is showing he deserves a role this season, and Adam Klapka is showing he deserves a role as well. Add in up-and-coming William Stromgren, Sam Morton, and veterans Dryden Hunt, Walker Duehr, and more, and the role for Pelletier begins to look further from reach.
If he doesn’t make an impact this season, the Flames may look to trade him as a reclamation project to another team in exchange for a draft pick or two. First-round picks have had value in the past, with teams willing to take chances on high-pedigree projects in the hopes that they develop into the players they were expected to be when they were selected. Unless Pelletier can show his value in Calgary, he may be on the block this season.
Top of the list to be traded
Andrei Kuzmenko
Andrei Kuzmenko is going to get a great chance to produce this season, likely starting on the top line with Sharangovich and Kadri. However, unlike the other two, his contract expires at the end of the season, and he seems unlikely to be resigned given the team’s current trajectory. If he can produce the way the Flames expect him to, odds are there will be many teams vying for his services at the Trade Deadline.
For the Flames, they will be hoping that Kuzmenko has a monster year and that the return for the winger includes at least one first-round pick. If they can make that move work, the Elias Lindholm trade tree will look even sweeter for the Flames.
Rasmus Andersson
This one hurts. Drafted by the Flames in 2015, Rasmus Andersson was once seen as the future captain of the franchise, and now as he closes in on the end of his current contract, it feels more likely that he is traded than retained.
The defenceman has one more season on his contract after this year and at a cost-controlled $4.55 million for a top pairing defenceman, it feels like teams will be inquiring about his services as the Flames rebuild.
Keeping Andersson in the organization is going to be a costly endeavour when his deal runs out at the end of next season. A top pairing right shot, Andersson’s camp will be expecting big money and a long term to keep him, but with the Flames looking to get younger and needing money down the line to sign their younger core, Andersson’s timeline doesn’t line up with the Flames’.
This likely means he will be moved either this season or next to a team that could use a top pairing right-shot defenceman. Any team in the league should be calling the Flames to see what it would cost to acquire his services.
Dan Vladar
This one is very conditional on how things go in net this season, but the Flames are walking into the season with a legitimate battle for starts for the first time in years. If Wolf looks like an NHL netminder this season and the Flames continue to rebuild this season, trading Daniel Vladar makes a ton of sense.
Vladar has shown himself to be a legitimate NHL backup netminder who can play reliably on off-nights or step up in cases of injury. Signed for a reasonable $2.2 million just until the end of the season, there is going to be a market for his services towards the Trade Deadline. There are a lot of teams that are playing with fire with their goalie tandem, including the Oilers who brought in Calvin Pickard to be their backup netminder.
Vladar would be an upgrade in net for many teams in the league and could garner the Flames another draft pick down the line. The Flames acquired Vladar for a third-round pick from Boston, and if they can even recoup another third-round pick for him, it would be good value for the team.
Players that could be moved for small returns or as add-ons in a package
Near NHL-ready prospects
The Flames have a ton of bodies that are close to NHL-ready and could be thrown in as part of a trade. Players like Dryden Hunt, Sam Morton and more are players that probably have a little bit of value on their own, but would be helpful to move the needle on a trade down the line.
B-chip prospects
The Flames have made a lot of draft picks this past year along with a number of others from previous years. Some are trending to being NHLers down the line, while others are probably likely to be AHL depth in the future. Some players that would fit this are William Stromgren, Henry Mews, Eric Jamieson, Rory Kerins, and others.
These are also players that probably don’t move the needle themselves but may be what it takes to push a trade over the edge.
Mid-round draft picks
It would take a lot of things to change for the Flames to move their first-round pick this year. Even trading their second-round pick would take a lot for the team as they continue along their retooling journey. There is a chance that the Flames move one of their later picks, but likely only as a throw-in on a bigger deal.
What to expect this season?
The Flames had a strong preseason, but again it is the preseason. This team is going to struggle against the top teams in the league this year, especially given the team’s blueline and depth up front. That’s not a bad thing in a rebuild—the Flames should be bad this year—and that probably necessitates trades this year.
This team has seen nearly complete turnover since their playoff run in 2021–22, and will probably see a few more notable changes before this season is done. However, like a phoenix, sometimes things have to burn down to be rebuilt, and that’s what the Flames are doing for the next few seasons.
