The Calgary Flames and Rasmus Andersson know what comes next.
Whether that’s a contract extension or a trade isn’t something they’re speaking about openly, but they’ve agreed on what direction they’ll be working towards in the coming days, weeks and months.
“We’ve been talking to his representation,” Flames GM Craig Conroy said on Thursday morning. “We understand where they’re at and they understand where we’re at and we’re going through that process, but at least we have some clarity on where we’re headed.”
Andersson’s future has been a source of rampant speculation since the end of the season and that will only ramp up over the next week as the NHL’s 2025 Draft approaches on June 27-28.
The 28-year-old blueliner has played all 536 games of his NHL career with the Flames, who picked him in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. But he’s an unrestricted free agent next summer and is eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
With a well-stocked cupboard of defensive prospects, including Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz, in the pipeline, there’s a strong argument that it doesn’t make sense to sign Andersson to a big-money, long-term deal.
And, for Andersson, there may be a better contract elsewhere. That’s something he was all-too-aware of when he spoke at the Flames end-of-season availabilities in April.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, honestly,” Andersson said “I have to sit down with my family. Conny and all those guys upstairs, they have to sit down and talk about what’s best for the team.
“I wish I could say ‘Hey, I’m signing July 1,’ but I can’t at the moment. Or ‘I’m getting traded July 1.’ I just don’t know, right? I hope the fans know I’ve loved every second of it. I’ve never taken it for granted. I hope I’m here for many years to come, but this is where it’s a big decision for me and the Flames. It’s the first time in my career I’m in this spot.”
Andersson played for Sweden at the IIHF world championship in May and it’s understood that he has taken some time to figure out his priorities as he approaches free agency for the first time.
There are a few possibilities for how the next steps could play out.
ANDERSSON RE-SIGNS
Andersson is eligible to sign an max eight-year extension as of July 1 and, technically, it isn’t out of the question that it could happen.
ANDERSSON WANTS TO PLAY OUT THE YEAR
This is something Andersson spoke openly about at his end-of-season chat with the media.
He didn’t have his best year in 2024-25 and, while some of that can be attributed to the fact that he was playing with a broken fibula for the last 12 games of the season, he still finished minus-38 and put up his lowest points total in years.
“If we think about it, point-wise and me chewing on minuses every night, it’s not my best season. Is it smart for me to sign?” Andersson said.
If he wants to put up a better season to give himself a shot at the best possible contract next summer, who could blame him?
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That might not work for the Flames, though, and could push Conroy towards making a move.
ANDERSSON IS TRADED
If the Flames and their veteran defenceman aren’t aligned on what they’re hoping will come out of negotiations, it’s inevitable that he’ll be traded.
Conroy has made it a priority to avoid losing valuable unrestricted free agents for nothing, moving the likes of Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev before their deals expired.
Andersson has a number he’s looking for. The Flames have a number they’re willing to pay.
If there’s no common ground to be found, it only makes sense to recoup some young assets from another team in exchange for Andersson’s services, although he does have a six-team no-trade clause.
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