The Calgary Flames have played better of late, but remain 31st in the NHL. The goal for this season is clear: to do everything they can for a top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. As the team remains near last place with the season continuing, more noise will be heard regarding the future of the team’s veteran players.

One of those players is Rasmus Andersson, who we’ve already heard tons of noise about ever since last season. With Andersson set to become a UFA this summer, all signs point to the Flames eventually parting ways with the Swedish defenceman. With that being said, his pending status as a free agent has complicated things quite a bit. The Flames not only need to worry about securing a proper return, but they also need to ensure that Andersson agrees to a contract extension with whatever team he gets traded to. While this isn’t technically mandatory, it can affect the type of return the Flames get, as teams may not be willing to give up premium assets for a rental.

Therefore, the Flames need to get this piece of business done. They cannot afford to make the same mistakes with Andersson, as they did with Noah Hanifin two seasons ago.

The Flames dropped the ball hard with Hanifin

When the Flames traded Hanifin near the 2024 trade deadline, he was also a pending UFA. He used his status to essentially leverage power in his camp’s favour by telling certain teams that he wouldn’t extend with them, and how he would walk himself to free agency. As a result, the Flames had a very limited market since teams wouldn’t want to give up assets for just a rental.

The Flames would eventually trade Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights for an underwhelming return consisting of Daniil Miromanov, a 2026 1st and a 2024 4th round pick. The Flames had to trade him; otherwise, they would just lose him for nothing, and the Golden Knights knew this.

The mistake the Flames made was letting this ordeal drag on for too long. They should’ve given Hanifin’s camp a hard deadline to decide on whether to extend. As the trade deadline got closer, Hanifin got more leverage and was able to force his way to the team that he would ultimately extend with.

The same issues are present with Andersson

When it comes to Andersson’s situation, there is a resemblance to what happened with Hanifin. Andersson is also a pending UFA, and despite only having a six-team no-trade list, there have already been nixed deals. One instance was that the Los Angeles Kings were ready to acquire Andersson during the offseason, but he expressed to the Flames that he simply didn’t want to play there, so the deal fell through.

There were also reports from insiders that Andersson, at one point, was only interested in signing an extension with the Golden Knights. While he claims this wasn’t true, it’s believable that Andersson potentially has Vegas on his radar.

The point is that just like Hanifin, the longer the Flames let this drag on, the harder it may be for the team to trade him. His power will only get stronger as the trade deadline approaches, as the Flames will have to trade him for something to prevent losing him for nothing.

Andersson has had a solid season so far

To Andersson’s credit, he’s had a solid season so far. He was the NHL’s first star of the week not too long ago and has notched 14 points in November alone. He currently has 18 points in 27 games and is exactly at zero in the plus/minus category.

His strong play will certainly help his trade value, and Andersson is currently the best defenseman on the trade market. As the months go by, I expect the demand for Andersson to get even larger. Of course, what complicates things is whether Andersson will be compliant in where he goes, or if he will continue to nix deals? It’s a risk for the Flames, but perfectly in Andersson’s right to do so.

Flames need to open for business

This is why the best time to trade Andersson was last year’s deadline, but the Flames weren’t convinced to do that, given that they were so close to a playoff spot. This season will be different, as the playoffs are a pipedream. It’s time that the team finally shifts gears and officially opens for business, just like the other bottom-feeder teams in the league have been doing.