The Calgary Flames are in the market for a middle-six centre. They’re looking for a player who will fit their timeline, so the player should be between the ages of 22 and 25. Obviously, finding a young centre who teams are willing to give up is going to be tough, but one player has recently been gaining a lot of traction in the rumor mill.
Peyton Krebs has been the topic of conversation among many Flames fans since the news broke that the team wants to add. The 23-year-old from Okotoks was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres in the Jack Eichel trade and has since put up mediocre numbers with the team.
Considering he was a first-round pick back in 2019, he hasn’t exactly lived up to his draft position. He’s still young, but a change of scenery could do him well. Could the Flames be the team that provides that?
Trading for Krebs makes sense for the Flames
Regarding what the Flames are looking for, Krebs does check some of the boxes. He’s a centre and would fit the team’s timeline, being in his early 20s. The bonus is that he’s also from Alberta.
However, things are never that simple. As I mentioned earlier, Krebs has struggled to fully establish himself at the NHL level, recording a career-high of just 26 points in a season. There’s also the question of whether the Sabres would be willing to part with him, considering that he still has potential. Krebs is also a left-shot player, and the Flames prefer a right-shot centre. That said, convincing a team to give up a young, right-handed centre would be challenging and expensive.
The trend under Flames General Manager Craig Conroy has been acquiring players who need a change of scenery. Players like Yegor Sharangovich and Daniil Miromanov were given bigger roles in Calgary, and it can work, as we’ve seen with Sharangovich last season. Perhaps Krebs could be another one of those players who bounces back on a new team, and the fresh start allows him to break out fully.
In my opinion, Krebs would be an acquisition that would make sense for what the Flames need. He’s young, needs a change of scenery, and possesses a sneaky good amount of skill. As for his salary, he makes $1.45 million for the next two seasons. It’s hard to judge what a potential trade would look like to acquire him, but given what he’s shown so far at the NHL level, I doubt the ask for Krebs would be high.
A centre is the top priority for the Flames right now
There’s a reason the Flames are already in the market for a centre: it’s their top organizational need right now. The hope within the Flames fanbase is that the team will find their next franchise centre through the draft, but it’s too early to tell if the Flames will be bad enough to get a high draft pick.
As for acquiring a centre via trade, the Flames aren’t necessarily expecting the player to turn into a superstar. They want to find a player who will be part of their future plans and could give up significant assets—such as a first-round pick—if they feel the player is worth acquiring.
At the end of the day, the Flames’ center depth, as it stands, is quite mediocre. Behind Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund, the team doesn’t have any upcoming players who are expected to fill a direct centre role with the team. It’ll be interesting to see how this story develops within the next few months and if the Flames can a player that they believe will fit the mold of what they’re trying to build.
