Flames’ asking price for Rasmus Andersson is equivalent to two first-rounders: report

Gang, now that the holiday roster freeze is over, much of the chatter and discourse around the Calgary Flames has revolved around the future of blueliner Rasmus Andersson.

More specifically: everyone is wondering when Andersson could be moved, and the potential haul of assets the Flames could obtain for such an attractive commodity as the Swedish defender.

During the first intermission of Sportsnet’s television broadcast of Monday night’s clash between the Flames and the Boston Bruins, host Brendan Parker was joined by Pat Steinberg and Eric Francis for a discussion of Andersson’s season and future. Arguably the most newsworthy part of their chat was Steinberg and Francis providing some insights into what the Flames would be hoping to get back for Andersson in a potential trade.

Steinberg: “And the last thing I’d add is I think they’ve got their baseline. They know what their asking price is: kind of that equivalent of two first-round picks, first-round pick and a prospect. When somebody meets that, they’ve got an opportunity to see if they can up that, and then make the deal.”

Francis: “It’s my understanding there’d be a third player involved as well if the first-rounder is a real, real late first-rounder.”

But with the Flames trending more and more towards younger players in recent years, and with Andersson turning 30 next October, you can understand why (a) the Flames may be exploring a future without Andersson and (b) why other teams might be calling Craig Conroy asking about Andersson’s services.

And with Quinn Hughes now off the market following his trade to the Minnesota Wild by the Vancouver Canucks, Andersson may be the most exciting blueliner available. And similar to how Conroy handled the Elias Lindholm saga in 2023-24, it sounds like that when somebody meets Conroy’s price for Andersson, he could be on the move.

We’ll have more on this story as it continues to develop.

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