The Calgary Flames made their first splash ahead of the trade deadline on Sunday.

To no surprise, it was Rasmus Andersson being dealt, as he went to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenceman Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 second-round pick, and prospect Abram Wiebe.

Andersson, a pending UFA, was expected to be traded ahead of the Olympic break. With him out of the fold, the Flames don’t necessarily have to make any more moves ahead of the deadline, as they don’t have any other prominent UFAs this offseason. That said, they may not be done just yet.

Blake Coleman’s name continues to float around in trade speculation. The other name still being mentioned is Nazem Kadri.

Kadri, 35, is having a disappointing season by his standards with eight goals and 33 points through 48 games. He is, however, just one season removed from a career-high 35 goals. Teams looking to upgrade down the middle could do a whole lot worse than acquiring Kadri, and according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, a move ahead of the deadline is very possible.

“I think there’s a strong chance that Nazem Kadri is moved,” Dreger said in an appearance on the Barn Burner podcast last Friday. “I’m looking at teams that could use a little more help up the middle of the ice. Could a return to Colorado be possible? I think it’s possible.”

Kadri, who has a 13-team no-trade list, has not asked for a trade out of Calgary. There have been rumblings that if the opportunity arose to join a contender, he would be interested. According to Dreger, the Avalanche aren’t the only contender to keep an eye out for regarding the Flames centreman.

“He’d prefer to go to an established contender, like Colorado, maybe Dallas… They’ve got money to play with because of injury, and they have a need at centre ice.”

Whether Kadri winds up getting moved this season remains to be seen. The good news is that, despite his down season and tough stretch as of late, there still appears to be plenty of interest in the 2019 Stanley Cup champion.

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