On the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman, the NHL insider dropped some updated trade chatter around the Calgary Flames as we inch closer to the trade deadline. With the Flames back in the NHL’s basement, trade talk is likely to heat up over the next few weeks. From Andersson’s status to Blake Coleman’s situation, here’s what Friedman had to say.
Calgary is hoping to move Andersson before the Olympics
In his first bit of Flames, Friedman confirmed what we’ve been hearing out there over the past few days. The Flames are starting to get aggressive on the Rasmus Andersson front.
“I heard this a little bit on Sunday. It does seem like Calgary is getting a little more aggressive. It sounds like there’s a desire to do it before the Olympics, and teams know that. There have been stops and starts with this before, so I’m always careful. There’s been times where it’s been more active than other times, and one of those times is now.”
From the way Friedman puts it, it certainly sounds like we may finally be reaching the conclusion of the Andersson saga over the next couple of weeks. With the trade deadline under two months away and a 2-week Olympic break in between, time is running out for Conroy and the Flames to move the pending UFA.
The last thing you want is Andersson going over to Italy and suffering a serious injury. The smart move would be to move him before the Olympics begin, therefore eliminating the injury risk. It sounds like the Flames agree, and Andersson’s days in Calgary are coming to an end.
The Detroit rumours are unfounded
On the weekend, there was a report circulated on Twitter by an unverified source that the Detroit Red Wings had an offer on the table for Andersson. Friedman was nice about it, but he essentially called those reports fake and stated he hadn’t heard anything similar.
“There was a report on socials on the weekend that there was something with Detroit, I don’t know. The one thing about that is, with Quinn Hughes, Hughes wanted to go to the Red Wings, but Steve Yzerman wasn’t doing that without an extension. I would have to think Detroit would have to know what Andersson would sign for before they would do that. I didn’t get the sense that anything was that close.
I do think there are teams that would be interested in extending Andersson. I don’t get the sense that anyone has permission yet to talk to him about it. “
If Friedman hasn’t heard anything, no one has. Especially not anonymous Twitter users. Around this time of year, it’s always important to remember who the real insiders are and who the pretenders are. Given that Friedman shut down the Detroit rumours, it sounds like there was never anything on the table or close with the Red Wings.
Friedman also added that he still thinks Vegas is looking for another defenceman and he wouldn’t be surprised if they were circling Andersson.
Blake Coleman isn’t in a rush to leave Calgary
Lastly, Friedman briefly touched on the noise around Blake Coleman.
“It’s been reported there’s been a lot of interest in Coleman, I think that’s true. I think he’s pretty happy to stay. I don’t think he would be upset at all if he stayed in Calgary. What I understand with Coleman is that I had some other teams that were telling me not to buy into the Montreal possibility. There are other teams that might have an advantage here.”
All in all, this report isn’t surprising. As we all know, Calgary typically doesn’t move anyone who wants to stay in Calgary. If Coleman does, in fact, want to stay around, I find it very hard to believe the Flames will move him. Perhaps that changes as we get closer to the deadline, but for now, I think it’s fair to assume Coleman remains a Flame into the summer.
