While the Calgary Flames traded defenceman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, the focus now turns to who else could be moved off the roster.
Flames general manager Craig Conroy acknowledged to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic that a trade to send Andersson to Vegas was close in the summer, with the completed deal finally ending months of speculation around the pending unrestricted free agent.
Moving up the TSN Trade Bait board with Andersson now dealt, forwards Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman have term left on their contracts as both draw interest on the trade market.
“It’s a tough one,” Conroy said of weighing trades involving the veterans. “Because you don’t ever want to say in our job, ‘It’s never going to happen.’ If there’s a deal out there that makes you better? That could be anybody [not just Kadri or Coleman]. You’re always trying to focus in on, ‘How do we do this? Do we get younger? Do we get draft picks?’ We’re just looking forward to make this team as competitive as we can as quickly as we can, but that could also mean keeping guys.
“I don’t even want to attach names, but you’re always talking to teams.”
Kadri has nine goals and 34 points in 49 games with the Flames this season, his fourth with the team.
The 35-year-old centre, who helped the Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup in 21 years in 2022, is signed through 2028-29 at a cap hit of $7 million.
Coleman, who is currently on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury, has 13 goals and 21 points in 44 games this season.
The 34-year-old winger is signed through next season at a cap hit of $4.9 million. The Montreal Canadiens have been linked to the former back-to-back Stanley Cup winner, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported last week the Flames are in no rush to move Coleman.
Calgary currently sits six points back of the Anaheim Ducks for the final playoff spot after narrowly missing the postseason a year ago. Conroy made it clear, though, that the focus for the Flames remains on their long-term vision and continuing to add youth to their roster.
“It started three years ago, when I got the job,” Conroy said of the Flames current rebuild. “Especially with the new rink coming in in a few years, we’ve got draft picks that we’ve made and more capital coming into the future — we’re always looking to make trades. If we can find younger assets that fit the long-term vision, that’s really still the goal.”
In exchange of Andersson, the Flames added 29-year-old blueliner Zach Whitecloud (signed through 2027-28), 22-year-old defenceman Abram Wiebe, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder that will upgrade to a first-rounder if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup this June.