With Rasmus Andersson being traded, the first official domino in the Calgary Flames 2025–26 to-do list has fallen. There have been endless trade rumours following the Flames all season long. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, is six weeks enough time for Craig Conroy to have his ducks in a row and execute the best deals possible?
Nazem Kadri should be traded
Any team would love to add Nazem Kadri to their roster, but I think a contending team would love it even more. Kadri is in season four of his seven-year deal. Quite frankly, his talent and time are being wasted with the current state of the Flames. Any general manager looking to make a serious run for the Cup should be on the phone with Conroy, doing whatever they can to get themselves a dynamic centre.
Darren Dreger reports that there is interest from the Dallas Stars, LA Kings, Montreal, Colorado and Toronto. Based on lack of assets alone, I think you can immediately knock Toronto out of the conversation. This would likely be a top-three trade in his GM career. Does he want his legacy to be an overwhelming return on the number one centre trade target?
Collecting assets along the way is probably the most important step of this “rebiggle.” Not every trade or draft pick will be a homerun, but so far, Conroy has a pretty solid track record. While the Flames move through their rebiggle, they have to be okay moving on from veterans, even if they appear to be the glue.
Along with assets, player development is key. Moving on from Kadri could be the opening Rory Kerins needs in order to see those much-deserved NHL minutes. Kerins appeared in two games for the Flames this season. He has 13 goals with 33 points in 37 games with the Calgary Wranglers.
Kadri has nine goals and 34 points in 47 games. He currently has an approved 13-team trade list.
Exploring depth pieces
Players like Ryan Lomberg are essential in winning a Stanley Cup. You need a speedy player who will give it their all for 11 or 12 minutes a night. He doesn’t have a lot of offensive upside, but a seasoned veteran with playoff and winning experience is exactly what GMs are looking to bring in for that extra edge.
Lomberg is a pending UFA. There is little to no rationale in bringing him back when the Flames have young players waiting in the wings. Clearing up part of the logjam within the forward group should be high on Conroy’s priorities.
Could a player like Mikael Backlund be on teams’ radars? The 37-year-old captain has 12 goals and 31 points through 49 games. He may have over 1000 games under his belt, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Is there a world where Backlund decides he wants to play for a contender at the end of his career?
Circling back on Coleman
Blake Coleman has resumed skating, donning a yellow non-contact jersey. He is still listed as day-to-day as he deals with an upper-body injury. Coleman is a name that is constantly swirling. The Flames haven’t seemed too keen on trading him in the past, but I think they’re slowly releasing the grip on their quick-fix dreams.
Coleman has always been one of those solid third-line guys that playoff teams wish they could clone. He proved himself in back-to-back Stanley Cup championship wins with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Flames got to see a bit of it in 2021–22. One of the reasons Coleman may be attractive to a team is that his contract isn’t up until next year. You aren’t giving up an unjustifiable amount for a rental.
Coleman currently has 13 goals and 22 points in 44 games. He has a 10-team approved trade list.
Playing your cards right
Conroy has done fairly well in his trades thus far. The Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev trades are really the only ones that leave a sour taste. Even Conroy was stunned to receive the quality return on the Andersson trade without an extension in place.
Conroy has repeatedly reinforced that the plan has not changed. They are still looking to build a playoff-worthy team. The Flames have one salary retention spot left. I would be inclined to believe that they’d have to retain some of Kadri’s money should a trade happen.
The ball remains in Conroy’s court, and it is safe to assume he will be working the phones up until the 11th hour.
