The Calgary Flames are continuing to dominate headlines as the March 6 trade deadline inches closer and closer.
GM Craig Conroy and his staff are already in the swing of things, as they opted to trade Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights 10 days ago. That move was one that needed to be made, given that the 29-year-old is a pending UFA. Others, however, are a bit more complicated.
The two remaining Flames who are being the most discussed in trade speculation are veteran forwards Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri. Both are said to be receiving considerable interest from several teams across the league.
Coleman, who will be out of the lineup until the Olympic break due to injury, has one additional season remaining on his contract. He carries a $4.9 million cap hit. Kadri’s deal is trickier.
The 35-year-old, who scored a career-high 35 goals in 2024-25, is in the fourth year of a seven-year deal with a $7 million cap hit.
In order to maximize a return, Conroy would ideally retain money on their contracts in order to give cap-strapped teams a chance to make an offer. Unfortunately, he has just one retention spot remaining.
The Flames chose to retain 31.25 per cent of Jacob Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit when they traded him to the New Jersey Devils. They also retained 50 per cent of Andersson’s $4.55-million tag. NHL teams are only permitted to have three retention spots at any given time.
Given the term remaining on Kadri’s contract, one could understand the Flames’ hesitancy to retain a significant chunk of his deal. With Coleman’s, however, it’s much easier.
Retention spots last through the duration of a contract, meaning the Flames would be free of Coleman following the 2026-27 season. With the surplus of cap space they have, they could wind up retaining the maximum 50 per cent of his deal, making him a much more intriguing option for playoff-bound teams.
Should Coleman be dealt with retention, all signs would point to Kadri remaining a Flame for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. That doesn’t rule out a trade in the summer, however.
By July 1, the Flames would no longer have retention spots wasted on Markstrom and Andersson. That would then allow them to retain Kadri, who would be easier for teams to add in the offseason with more cap flexibility.
How things wind up shaking out remains to be seen, but Flames fans shouldn’t be surprised to see one of the two stick around in Calgary past the trade deadline. Given their contract situations, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kadri as the one who stays.
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