Trade deadline day is upon us, one of the busiest days on the NHL calendar every year. There will be plenty of players, draft picks, and future considerations changing hands today. For the Calgary Flames, all reports suggest it will be a pretty silent day as they continue to chase a playoff spot.
With that said, the Flames have made quite a few deals out of nowhere on deadline day in years past. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at previous trade deadlines and how active the Flames were each year.
The 2024 trade deadline
The 2024 trade deadline was a quiet one for the Flames. Mainly because they made all their moves ahead of deadline day. After trading Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev in the weeks leading up to the deadline, most of their business was already completed. There was a ton of noise around Jacob Markstrom, with many hoping a deal would land on deadline day. Instead, Craig Conroy turned suitors away and held onto the veteran goaltender in an attempt to sneak into the playoffs.
| To CGY | To SJS |
|---|---|
| Nikita Okhotyuk | Conditional 2024 fifth-round pick |
The lone deal for the Flames at the 2024 trade deadline was a random one, to say the least. The Flames sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for depth defenceman, Nikita Okhotyuk. Down the stretch, the team ended up dressing Okhotyuk just nine times, with the defenceman later stating he “felt out of place” on the team. Following the season, he left as a free agent to return to the KHL.
The 2023 trade deadline
The 2023 trade deadline was a familiar one in Calgary. After a 2022 offseason for the ages, the team fell flat on the ice and were sitting in no man’s land come deadline day. With the Flames sitting in the middle of the playoffs and a top 10 pick, Brad Treliving pulled off a couple minor moves in an effort to help his team squeak into the playoffs. They didn’t pay off.
| To CGY | To TOR |
|---|---|
| Dryden Hunt | Radim Zohorna |
In their first move, the Flames swapped one AHLer for another, sending Radim Zohorna to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dryden Hunt. Hunt would report straight to the Calgary Wranglers and didn’t play a game for the Flames that season. Zohorna, meanwhile, played in two games for the Maple Leafs after the trade. All in all, this was a nothing trade, although Hunt has since played 29 games in Calgary and is one of the Wranglers’ top forwards.
| To CGY | To ARI |
|---|---|
| Nick Ritchie | Brett Ritchie |
| Troy Stecher | Connor Mackey |
In their only other deadline day deal, the Flames pulled off the rare brother-for-brother trade, sending Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey to the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Ritchie and Troy Stecher. In essence, this was a deal to swap bottom-six forwards and bottom-pairing defenders. Nick would infamously be placed in the shootout later in the year with the Flames’ season on the line, missing his attempt and sending the Flames to the golf course.
Stecher, meanwhile, was a surprisingly good fit in Calgary with seven points in 20 games, but the team decided not to bring him back in free agency. All said, all four players in this deal were on new teams the next year, with the Ritchie brothers both leaving for Europe.
The 2022 trade deadline
The 2022 trade deadline was the last time the Flames were truly buyers and Stanley Cup contenders. With that said, they were extremely quiet on deadline day. After already making their big moves by bringing in Tyler Toffoli and Calle Jarnkrok earlier in the month, the Flames only made a couple minor deals on the actual deadline day.
| To CGY | To CHI |
|---|---|
| Ryan Carpenter | 2024 fifth round pick |
In their only trade to bring in a roster player on deadline day, the Flames shipped a fifth-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for depth centre Ryan Carpenter. Having depth down the middle is never a bad thing, although this trade didn’t make much sense. The Flames were already loaded at forward, with no need for another depth option. Carpenter played just eight regular season games in Calgary and none in the playoffs. Following the season, he left in free agency.
| To CGY | To OTT |
|---|---|
| Future Considerations | Michael McNiven |
In their only other deal of the day, the Flames shipped Michael McNiven—whom they acquired for future considerations a couple weeks earlier—to the Ottawa Senators for future considerations.
The 2021 trade deadline
Floundering in the weak Canadian division leading into the 2021 trade deadline, the Flames weren’t going to be buyers. After already shipping out David Rittich before the deadline, it was a quiet deadline day for the Flames, only making one move, albeit a large one.
| To CGY | To FLA |
|---|---|
| Emil Heineman 2022 second-round pick | Sam Bennett 2022 sixth-round pick |
With Sam Bennett all but gone in the offseason, the Flames made the decision to send him to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline rather than lose him for nothing. Coming back to Calgary was prospect and former second-round pick Emil Heineman, as well as a 2022 second-round pick.
Bennett, of course, has gone on to great success in Florida, but you can’t fault the Flames on this deal. All said, this was a pretty decent return at the time for a player who hadn’t hit 30 points in five years and was leaving in free agency in a couple months. In the end, the Flames ended up moving both of the assets they received the following year in the Toffoli and Jarnkrok deals.
The 2020 trade deadline
The 2020 trade deadline was a busy one for the Flames. Once again sitting right on the playoff bubble, Treliving went out and made multiple depth deals in an attempt to get his team into the playoffs. Sound familiar?
| To CGY | To LAK |
|---|---|
| Derek Forbort | Conditional 2021 fourth-round pick |
In a classic Treliving move, he went out and acquired a gritty depth defenceman, Derek Forbort, for the playoff run, spending a fourth-round pick in the process. Forbort ended up playing just seven regular season games in Calgary due to the shortened season, and then another 10 in the playoffs. After the Flames were knocked out in the first round by the Dallas Stars, he would end up leaving in the summer as a free agent.
| To CGY | To CHI |
|---|---|
| Erik Gustafsson | 2020 third-round pick |
In his second move of the day to acquire help on the blueline, Treliving sent a third-round pick to the Blackhawks for Erik Gustafsson. Gustafsson was only two years removed from a 60-point season, so this seemed like a reasonable gamble, at least. Like Forbort, Gustafsson only managed seven regular season games with the team due to the shortened season, and then another 10 in the playoffs, posting seven assists and no goals. Following the Flames’ first-round exit, he also left in free agency.
| To CGY | To SJS |
|---|---|
| Future considerations | Brandon Davidson |
In their final move of the day, the Flames shipped Brandon Davidson to San Jose for future considerations to make room for Forbort and Gustafsson.
The 2019 trade deadline
Ah, the 2019 trade deadline. Perhaps one of the biggest what-ifs in franchise history. With the team flying high amidst one of their best regular seasons in franchise history, the Flames were reportedly pushing hard and were one of the favourites to land superstar Mark Stone at the deadline. Instead, Treliving refused to part with Juuso Valimaki and instead let the deadline pass without any significant moves.
| To CGY | To LAK |
|---|---|
| Oscar Fantenberg | Conditional 2020 fourth-round pick |
After missing out on Stone, Treliving went out and did what he does best. Acquire depth defencemen. The Flames’ only move of the day saw them ship a conditional fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for Oscar Fantenberg. Fantenberg would play 15 games in the regular season and then just three in the playoffs, putting up a grand total of one point as a Flame. Following the season, he’d leave as a free agent.
