After a summer where his name seemed to headline the NHL’s rumour mill, Rasmus Andersson spoke with the Calgary media on Tuesday.
And, well … there can’t be many complaints.
It wasn’t a “nothing to see here” situation, exactly, but Andersson seemed genuinely happy to be back in Calgary and at the Flames Charity Golf Classic. He reiterated that he’s eager to start the season with the Flames, despite being in the final year of his contract.
He’s an unrestricted free agent next summer and it remains likely that he’ll be moved before the NHL’s trade deadline, but anyone expecting fireworks on Tuesday is sure to be disappointed.
Here’s what to know about where Andersson and the Flames stand in the final hours before training camp begins:
Clarification
Shortly after the draft, there were reports that Andersson was only willing to accept a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights.
More specifically, the rumour was that the Swede was only willing to sign a long-term deal with the Golden Knights and that was hampering the Flames’ efforts to find a trade partner because other teams weren’t willing to give up an attractive package for a player they might only have for one season.
Andersson did take time to provide some clarity and refute those reports.
“The thing that bothers you is fake information that comes out,” Andersson explained. “I saw some reports that I would only sign with one team and this and that and it’s the furthest from the truth.
“Me and Conny have had a few conversations over the summer and I would never handcuff him and give him one team, if I can put it like that.”
Related
Since the end of last season, Andersson has been open about his feeling that the summer of 2025 probably wasn’t the best time for him to negotiate a new deal. He was coming off a difficult 2024-25 that saw him put up an abysmal minus-38, and he rightfully believes he’ll have more leverage for negotiating a better deal if he has a better year in 2025-26.
Distractions
There don’t seem to be any concerns about Andersson turning himself into a distraction as his situation gets sorted out.
He showed up on Tuesday morning, dutifully answered the media’s questions and seemed genuinely happy to be there. It was in stark contrast to a similar situation a few years ago when Elias Lindholm arrived at the Flames golf tournament before the start of the final season of his contract and seemed genuinely miserable.
“I think the distraction is from the outside and not the inside, right?” Andersson said. “I’m not the first player in history to go in with one year left and I probably won’t be the last, either. It is what it is. I’m here and ready to play and quite excited for the season.”
Even for people looking for signs of discord, they were hard to find on Tuesday. Andersson and Conroy were seen having a friendly chat and they definitely said all the right things.
It might not make sense for the Flames to sign Andersson long-term and there might be better situations for him in other markets than Calgary. But even if this all leads to a breakup, there’s no reason to believe Andersson will create any sort of issue for the team this season.
Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson takes part in the 44th annual Calgary Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic at the Country Hills Golf Club on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.
“We kind of came up together and he’s always held a real special place in my heart,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I have a strong belief in his ability. He is one of the ultimate pros around and Ras is going to come to work every day. My hope and maybe a portion of my belief is he’s going to be here, as well.
“He understands what’s at stake for himself, he understands where our team is and he knows how important he is to our group. That isn’t going to change, no matter what his contract situation looks like.”
Door still open
The most likely outcome for Andersson and the Flames is he gets traded at some point before the trade deadline.
With young defencemen like Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews coming up and looking to anchor the blueline for the next decade, re-signing a soon-to-be 29-year-old to a big-money, long-term deal doesn’t seem to make a tonne of sense.
Is there any chance it goes the other way and Andersson sticks around beyond the end of the 2025-26 season? Nobody is publicly ruling it out.
“We’re not going to close the door on anything,” Conroy said. “We need Rasmus to come in and be the player we think he is. He looks like he’s in great shape, he’s ready to go, he’s motivated and the one thing, he wants to win.”
Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson takes part in the 44th annual Calgary Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic at the Country Hills Golf Club on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.
When asked directly, Andersson largely echoed those sentiments.
“I’ve grown up in the city, I’ve loved every second of it, that’ll never change,” Andersson said. “Now, it’s the business side of it. Is it smart of me to re-sign now after last season? I don’t know. I read all season about how much I sucked, so it is what it is. I just have to come out of the gates hot and worry about myself and get the team in the best position possible.”