As the Flames continue their rebuild, one of the next players likely to be traded over the next couple of seasons is Rasmus Andersson. According to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, Andersson will be traded, and the only question is when. He speculates that it may occur at this year’s trade deadline as Andersson looks to play somewhere else that is more competitive. With the Flames getting off to a good start, this might not get talked about.
In Monday’s edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman noted that other teams would be salivating if Andersson is made available:
“Depending on how this season goes, I think one of the most lusted after players is going to be Rasmus Andersson. If Calgary ever gets to a point where they say okay we’ll listen to this, GMs are going to be chasing after that guy. If Calgary keeps winning, the guy is going nowhere. He’s played really well.”
With that in mind, let’s look at some potential destinations for Andersson if he is dealt by this trade deadline. I think that’s a case of him asking to go elsewhere as opposed to the Flames deciding to shop him. To me, it does make sense to move Andersson over the next year and a half as a means of acquiring a really good centre prospect. I’ve included some of those possibilities as well.
Nashville Predators
This is the most obvious destination to me. After signing Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault in free agency, the Nashville Predators are chasing a Stanley Cup. A few years after a successful retool, the Preds are flush with young assets. They have three first-rounders in 2025: their own, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s, and the Vegas Golden Knights’.
Their right side of defence is the most glaring weakness. Alexandre Carrier, Dante Fabbro, and Luke Schenn are fine players but not the best RD out there by any means. If the Preds can add Andersson and bring down Fabbro/Schenn as the 7th D, that’s a deep blue line.
The Predators have roughly 1.5M in cap space right now, which will translate to a large amount of cap space by the deadline. The Preds could also send back Dante Fabbro and his 2.5M cap hit to make things work.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars made some interesting decisions this off-season, signing Matt Dumba to a two-year, 3.75M average annual value deal and Ilya Lyubushkin to a three-year, 3.25M AAV deal. Neither strikes as a solid option for the right side.
On the left, the Stars are flush with Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell. If Heiskanen plays the right side, they can shift Dumba and Lyubushkin down lower in the lineup. But for a potential cup contender, I’m not sure there’s much positive to having both Dumba and Lyubushkin in the lineup.
With new contracts for Jake Oettinger and Wyatt Johnston needed next year, I’m not sure the Stars would be comfortable taking on the extra year of Andersson’s contract. But if they are looking for a RD upgrade, there will be no better option than Andersson at this deadline. The Flames helped them upgrade the position last deadline, so why not again? Mavrik Bourque seems like the obvious centerpiece of a package going back to the Flames.
Florida Panthers
Coming off a Stanley Cup win, the Florida Panthers lost Brandon Montour to the Seattle Kraken in free agency. They replaced him with Adam Boqvist. Boqvist is still young but hasn’t shown enough to guarantee he’s an NHL regular, let alone a top-four defenceman. With Aaron Ekblad‘s continual injury history, I wonder if the Panthers look for a long-term fit at RD. It’s been rumoured that the Panthers have been quietly shopping Ekblad for several seasons.
The problem for the Panthers in trying to acquire Andersson? No cap space. They also don’t have a ton of future assets. I doubt they’d be willing to part with Anton Lundell after extending him to a six-year, 5M AAV deal this summer.
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have to take a big step eventually, especially on defence. Signing Ben Chiarot and Justin Holl and trading for Jeff Petry has not been the solution. The Red Wings got close to a playoff spot last year but missed again.
Mortiz Seider played the toughest minutes of any defenceman in the league last year. The Wings desperately need to find a defenceman who can take some of those tough minutes. Enter Rasmus Andersson. If Justin Holl waives his modified no-trade clause, an easy way to make this work cap-wise would be to send him and his two-year, 3.4M AAV cap hit back to Calgary.
For future assets, the Red Wings possess two players who would be of extreme interest to the Flames: Nate Danielson and Marco Kasper. The Flames need a high-end centre prospect. If the Wings offered either of those, it would be pretty easy negotiating from the Flames, I’d imagine.
