The NHL is officially back, which means we’re barreling towards the 2026 trade deadline. In what should be a busy seven days, Elliotte Friedman offered some updates on where things stand for the Calgary Flames in his latest 32 Thoughts episode.
Originally thought to be one of the biggest players at the deadline, Friedman poured a lot of cold water on the rumours surrounding the Flames.
Don’t expect Whitecloud to be traded
Friedman started his Flames segment by touching on one of the newest Flames, Zach Whitecloud. Originally thought of as an obvious flip candidate, Friedman suggests Whitecloud may be around in Calgary for a while.
“Another team told me that they heard that Whitecloud is not in a hurry to get out of there. That he’s not the he’s not someone who shows up and says “Nope, this isn’t for me, and can I go somewhere else?”
Now this doesn’t mean he doesn’t get traded, it just means the Flames are happy to have players who are happy there and they’re not motivated to move him. But I’ve just heard from a couple teams that Whitecloud indicated to the Flames he’s happy to stay and therefore they’re not rushing him to the front of the list.”
In a not-so-surprising twist, the Calgary Flames don’t want to trade a veteran player who wants to be in Calgary. It’s hard to understand the logic here, as Whitecloud is blocking younger, more important players, and the Flames would be much better off with draft picks over another veteran defenceman on the roster.
Moving Nazem Kadri won’t be easy
Next up, Friedman touched on the Flames’ biggest trade chip, Nazem Kadri.
“The biggest challenge I think the Flames will have is that all of their guys have competition. Kadri, I think people love Kadri the player. I’m not sure they’re crazy about the term.
And also there’s other centers. There’s Trochek who we’ve mentioned, there’s O’Reilly… there’s other centers available. So, while I do think people like Kadri the player, between the age and the term, I think that’s the challenge that the Flames are going to have.”
Well, that’s not very reassuring. After there’s been so much smoke around a potential Kadri trade, it seemed like a deal was a foregone conclusion at this point. Friedman seems to suggest otherwise.
It certainly sounds like Kadri’s bloated contract is scaring off a lot of teams right now, especially with cheaper options available. Right now, Kadri certainly seems like more of a summer trade.
Craig Conroy plans to be patient
Lastly, Friedman touches on Blake Coleman and MacKenzie Weegar as well as the Flames’ overall plan at the trade deadline.
” And like I said, people like Coleman, people like Weegar, but there are other players around them. And Conroy has shown he’s not afraid to be patient. If you look at some of the deals he’s made to get younger, when he has had some leverage to wait, he’s done a pretty good job using that.”
While patience can pay off, it can also lessen an eventual return. The Flames know this all too well with situations like Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson, among others. The Flames have always waited to move veteran players until they’re on expiring deals, and the way Friedman talks about this deadline, it appears the organization might be taking a similar path with players like Coleman.
