Earlier, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun dropped some news that dramatically changed the outlook for the Calgary Flames and Rasmus Andersson. Much like a year ago with Noah Hanifin, it’s reported that Andersson and his camp are only interested in extending with the Vegas Golden Knights in any potential trade.

In other words, the market has drastically shrunk for Craig Conroy and the Flames, as it appears Andersson is turning away any other inquiring teams by refusing to talk contract with them. So, if the Flames are inevitably forced to deal Andersson to Vegas, what assets could Vegas offer up in return? Let’s take a look.

Draft picks

Starting off with the obvious, the Flames would almost certainly be looking to get a high draft pick back in any Andersson return. Here’s what Vegas’ draft pick stock looks like over the next two years.

YearDraft Picks20262nd, 3rd20271st, 2nd, 3rd

What immediately makes any trade with Vegas awkward is the fact that Vegas doesn’t have a first-round pick in the loaded 2026 draft, because the Flames already own it from the Hanifin deal. In other words, if the Flames wanted a first-round pick as part of a return from Vegas, it wouldn’t come until 2027. That’s a full two years away from today. By the time the player they picked was skating in training camp, the Saddledome won’t even exist anymore.

For a team that has aspirations of becoming a playoff contender by the time their new arena opens in the fall of 2027, getting a first-round pick in 2027 isn’t exactly the most appealing. The only upside is Vegas could potentially take a step back by then, but that’s incredibly unlikely. The most likely scenario is the 2027 first falls somewhere in the 20s, and whoever the Flames pick won’t be making their NHL debut until 2030 or later.

Vegas does have their second and third-round picks in both 2026 and 2027, so those could be used as a deal sweetener at least, but should absolutely not be the centre piece of any deal.

Prospects

Vegas has never been shy about trading away its top prospects for immediate help, and it’s the reason they have one of the most shallow prospect pools in the entire NHL. Back in January, The Athletic ranked Vegas’ farm system as the 22nd best in the league. Here are their most notable prospects.

PlayerPositionAgeDraftedTrevor ConnellyLW1919th overall, 2024Jakob Ihs-WozniakRW/C1855th overall, 2025Mathieu CatafordC/RW2077th overall, 2023Lukas CormierLD2368th overall, 2020Mateo NobertC1885th overall, 2025Matyas SapovalivC2148th overall, 2022

If you’re the Flames looking to add young talent in an Andersson return, the pickings are incredibly slim with Vegas. Throughout their entire prospect pool, they don’t own a single true blue-chip prospect. In fact, they only have one first-round talent in their entire prospect pool right now in left winger Trevor Connelly.

Connelly is talented and would immediately become one of, if not the Flames’ best forward prospect. He’s arguably Vegas’s most valuable young asset and fits what the Flames need. He does, however, carry some off-ice baggage that the Flames may want to stay away from.

Given Conroy’s tendency to target NHL-ready players in recent trades, perhaps defenceman Lukas Cormier makes sense? The 2020 third-rounder has spent the last three seasons in the AHL and looks ready to push for an NHL job soon. Given the Flames’ need on the left side of their defence, he could be a worthwhile piece to target. With that said, his projection is likely a bottom-pairing defender, and he should be viewed more as an add-in to any deal and not the main piece.

The most enticing name in the whole group is likely Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, who was selected just a few days ago in the second round of the 2025 draft. The Swedish forward has impressive size and skill and has real top-six upside. Again, a solid piece, but nowhere close to an A-grade prospect.

Past the above group, there isn’t a whole lot there. Mathieu Cataford could be interesting to the Flames given he’s a centre, but his upside is quite limited, and if he does make the NHL, it’ll likely be in a bottom-six role.

NHL players

Given they’re currently in win-now mode, Vegas doesn’t have a ton of young talent on its veteran-heavy roster. With that said, here are some young NHL players Vegas currently has who could potentially be of interest to the Flames:

PlayerPositionAge2024–25 Stat LineCurrent ContractPavel DorofeyevLW/RW2482GP, 35-17-52$1.83 AAV, YR 2 of 2Brett HowdenC/LW2780GP, 23-17-40$2.5 AAV, YR 1 of 5Kaedan KorczakRD2440GP, 0-10-10$825K AAV, YR 2 of 2Alexander HoltzRW2353GP, 4-8-12Pending RFA

Pavel Dorofeyev is really the only interesting option here. The 2019 third-rounder had a monster 2024–25 season, posting 35 goals and 52 points. Sure, he’s another left wing, but at just 24 years old, he’s undoubtedly the best young asset Vegas has. For that reason, I’d be shocked if Vegas was willing to part with him. If they were, he’s absolutely the first piece you ask for.

After Dorofeyev, there’s a significant drop-off in terms of value. Brett Howden is the next best forward option and could be a good fit down the middle for the Flames, but as a 27-year-old with one season over 25 points, he’s not exactly a super intriguing piece for a retooling team.

On the back end, the newly acquired Jeremy Lauzon or Kaeden Korczak could be targets, given the Flames are reportedly looking to replace Andersson immediately. Both are big, physical defenders, which the Flames need more of. The issue is that Lauzon is already 28 years old, and Korczak is a right-shot like Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and MacKenzie Weegar. I don’t see a great fit with either player.

Alexander Holtz was an interesting piece last year in a potential Jacob Markstrom return, but after a tough season in Vegas, his value is almost nothing, and I don’t see any point in targeting him.

No easy path to a good return

The unfortunate fact for the Flames is Vegas has one of the least impressive groups of future assets of any team in the entire NHL. They don’t have a first-round pick in 2026, have zero blue-chip prospects to speak of, and have limited young talent on their NHL roster.

If Andersson forces his way to Vegas, be prepared for an underwhelming return coming back the other way.

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