It’s going to be an interesting trade deadline for the Calgary Flames. They’re barely hanging on to the second wildcard spot in the West, and it seems like the team is serious about making the playoffs. With that being said, the trade rumors surrounding many of their veterans are still going strong, and if the Flames do end up missing the playoffs, the noise could get even louder.
One player who has been the center of trade speculation has been Nazem Kadri. The Flames aren’t going to be perennial contenders in some time and Kadri is 34 years old. Would he want to spend the rest of his meaningful years on a retooling team? Or would he rather have one more crack at holding Lord Stanley in his arms once again? The choice seems pretty easy to me.
In this article, let’s break down a trade proposal between the Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. Credit goes to X/Twitter user @CouldaGoneD1 for the idea.
The trade
This mock trade is pretty simple yet it’s intriguing for both sides. Here’s the deal:
Avalanche receive: Nazem Kadri.
Flames receive: Casey Mittlestadt, Calum Ritchie.
First impressions suggest that the Avalanche would be bringing back a familiar face in Kadri and he’d likely be an upgrade for their second-line center position. The Flames would be bringing in a former top-10 pick in Mittlestadt and a great forward prospect in Ritchie. Let’s further explore this deal for both teams.
The Avalanche’s perspective
This trade would be quite short-sighted for the Avalanche. Bringing in a player like Kadri would tell the fanbase that the team is truly going all in, despite his age being where it is.
Kadri had some of his best seasons offensively during his time in Denver and there’s no doubt that he would be a fit there. However, if a trade like this were to happen, salary would have to be retained on Kadri’s deal as he’s making $7 million for the next four seasons. The Avalanche currently have approximately $6.3 million in cap space.
I’m also not too sure if Colorado would be willing to part with Mittlestadt this soon, as well as with Ritchie. The Avalanche opted to swap young players with the Buffalo Sabres, acquiring Mittlestadt to address their center depth and in exchange, they traded away defenceman Bowen Byram. Ritchie is also the Avalanche’s top prospect, being a first round pick by the club in 2023. He has 44 points in 24 games with the Oshawa Generals this season and even got seven games of NHL action, where he scored his first career goal.
Mittlestadt hasn’t exactly had the best season as he only has 29 points in 48 games, and he’s also a -16. But would it make sense for Colorado to trade him and their top prospect to acquire a 34-year-old making $7 million? I’m not too sure it does.
In my opinion, Colorado likely rejects this deal.
The Flames’ perspective
This would be trade that would be quite tempting for Calgary. The obvious reason would be they’d be acquiring two players that could potentially be a part of their future plans.
GM Craig Conroy has expressed his interest in acquiring a center between 22 and 25, preferably a right-shot player. While Mittlestadt doesn’t exactly check all the boxes, he’s still a player who can fit their timeline and fill a much-needed position.
Mittlestadt would instantly become the best center on the team and carries a reasonable cap hit of $5.8 million for three more seasons. The worst-case scenario is that he’s a “placeholder” until they find a player who better suits their needs. The addition of Ritchie in the deal would make the trade even more tempting, as he would be a great addition to a solid group of young players in the Flames’ pipeline.
The elephant in the room however would be the Flames retaining the salary on Kadri’s contract. With the amount of term that’s left, would the team be willing to retain salary for that long? With how hesitant the ownership group has been in the past regarding salary retention, is it something that they would accommodate?
Regardless in a trade like this, the Flames get value out of a player who likely doesn’t have many productive years left in him and who also doesn’t fit their timeline. With that being said, I’m not sure if a trade like this is realistic as it honestly sounds too good to be true. Also, Mittlestadt doesn’t fit the mold of the type of player Conroy is looking for, and we know that he’s a patient man.
As crazy as it sounds, Calgary probably rejects this deal and instead sees Kadri as a key veteran to keep on the team for now.
Final thoughts
What’s fun about mock trades is how realistic or unrealistic they can be. While this trade wasn’t entirely complex, it would still be a blockbuster deal if it occurred.
Kadri is in a weird position. He’s been a great veteran mentor for Calgary’s emerging young players but he also wants to win. Colorado would give him that opportunity, but would the Flames be willing to set him free? Or do they view themselves as the team that Kadri can win with? The answer lies in how Flames’ management views the next few months. If the Flames do sell off more veterans, Kadri is sure to be a big name to watch.
