As the Flames season winds on, trade chatter ramps up as we get closer to the March 6th trade deadline. The Flames standings position doesn’t help to quiet the noise. On Insider Trading, NHL Insider’s Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun had some information on the Flames and where things stand regarding Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman. You can find the video flip here.
“We start to stare at teams at or near the bottom of the standings. Calgary is one of those teams. Does a Nazem Kadri deal still seem like a distinct possibility?” -James Duthie
Nazem Kadri is open to opportunities to be traded to a top contender in the NHL
“Yeah I would describe it as a possibility. You’re right. The calendar has flipped to the second half of the regular season. You’ve got another roster freeze that is looming with the Olympic break and then you’ve got the March 6th NHL Trade Deadline. My sense with Nazem Kadri is that if an opportunity was presented to go to a top contender in the NHL, then he’d be willing to listen to that. I mean the man is 35 years old and he wants to win a Stanley Cup. Now he’s not going to push it and we know the Calgary Flames have other pieces that probably are drawing more of the attention from Craig Conroy’s perspective, but the intensity around Calgary is definitely heating up.” -Darren Dreger
The Montreal Canadiens are interested in Blake Coleman
“Yeah I would say that one of those pieces that continues to draw a lot of attention is Blake Coleman. We’ve talked about him before but in this sense here I would say he’s a guy that is pretty high on the list of the Montreal Canadiens as they start to assemble their trade target list ahead of March 6th. Coleman brings some of the skillset that perhaps the Habs think they’re missing in terms of physicality, versatility, leadership, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion and so on. I do believe the Habs and Flames have had conversations but nothing imminent and for a couple reasons. I think the Habs want to get to the Olympic break and see where they are in the standings and where they are health wise before they decide to jump in on something like that. And certainly Calgary hasn’t given up on the season either despite where they are in the standings, so this is not something that I think is imminent. And one final thing on Coleman. He has a modified no-trade and he can say no to two-thirds of the league basically, so he would certainly have a say and lots of teams have interest in Blake Coleman if and when Calgary makes him available.” -Pierre LeBrun
Neither of these reports come as surprising, given where the Flames have finished the last number of seasons. The grass is greener elsewhere for veterans hungry at a chance for another deep playoff run. Alongside Rasmus Andersson, the noise around Calgary will only grow louder as we inch closer to the trade deadline. General Manager Craig Conroy’s phone will be busy.
