PHILADELPHIA — Few people could have predicted the Calgary Flames would consider buying at this year’s trade deadline.
However, that’s the plan as the club’s “hybuild” (hybrid rebuild) approach has the team shockingly sitting in a playoff spot.
Having already addressed a few needs by acquiring Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee via trade last month, the Flames would still like to fill a few holes in the lineup.
However, as the hybuild dictates, every move would ideally be made with an eye on acquiring young (23- to 25-year-old), established NHLers who can help the team now and down the road.
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Sportsnet’s hockey news breakers, analysts and reporters will have coast-to-coast coverage of all the moves made ahead of this season’s NHL trade deadline. Full coverage on March 7 begins at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Rentals are being considered only if the acquisition cost is low and/or there’s a good chance a test ride could result in a contract extension.
While the fan base is split on whether the team should be adding or subtracting by Friday’s deadline, ownership’s directive is to win now (and in the future).
Despite having almost $18 million in cap space, the delicate balancing act (and high prices brought on by desperate GMs) likely limits GM Craig Conroy’s ability to make a big splash this week.
Projected deadline-day cap space: $17.95 million, according to PuckPedia
Contracts: 44/50
Cap space committed to 2024-25: $59.9 million, committed to 17 players
DRAFT PICKS
Central to the debate over whether the Flames should be buyers or sellers is a conditional first-round draft pick the Flames owe Montreal as part of the Sean Monahan salary dump in 2022.
Websites have drawn up complicated diagrams, and there’s even a 10-minute YouTube video trying to explain the complex conditions. But, given how limited the possibilities are this late in the season, here goes.
Without going into the mind-numbing details of a deal that involves Florida’s and Calgary’s performances this season, the Habs will receive Calgary’s first-rounder this summer if the Flames finish outside the bottom 10 in the standings.
If the Flames plummet in the standings down the stretch and finish with a top-10 pick, the Flames keep it and Montreal will get the late first-round pick the Flames acquired from Florida in the Matthew Tkachuk trade.
If the Flames and Panthers both finish outside the top 10 (which seems the most likely result at this point), the Canadiens receive the better selection, meaning Montreal could get a pick as high as 11th overall from the Flames.
Thus, those on Team Tank in Calgary are hoping the 15th-place Flames fall eight spots in the standings to finish 23rd or worse, solidifying a top-10 pick. Incredibly, there is only a four-point spread separating the Flames from such a fate.
NEEDS
Sitting 30th in league scoring, the Flames need goal scorers, above all else.
However, that involves much bigger swings more likely to be taken this summer.
Positionally, there’s no bigger hole in the Flames’ organization than up the middle. Conroy addressed that, in part, by acquiring Frost.
However, the Flames desperately need a right-shot centre to take key faceoffs and bolster the club’s depth.
The team is also hoping to find a left-shot defenceman who can ideally play alongside MacKenzie Weegar on the second pairing.
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Real Kyper’s Trade Board
Hockey Insider Nick Kypreos shares the latest intel on players who could be on the move ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
POTENTIAL TARGETS
Dylan Cozens: The connection drawn between the Flames and the former 31-goal scorer seems a perfect match. At 24, the righty has the size (six-foot-three, 194 pounds) and the skill the Flames are looking for. Problem being, many teams in the league would like to add Cozens and his five years left at $7.1 million AAV, meaning the price will be exorbitant. The Sabres aren’t even sure they want to trade him.
Luke Kunin: The 27-year-old right-handed centre is a pending UFA whom the Sharks will certainly peddle. He might be worth trading a high draft pick for, so the Flames can see if he’d be worth signing in the summer.
Jamie Oleksiak: At six-foot-seven and 250 pounds, the 32-year-old defenceman could add to the identity of a team trying to be more physical. He has another year left on a deal paying him $4.6 million and plays on the left side.
Bowen Byram: The 23-year-old left-shot defenceman would be a dream add for the Flames, but the fourth-overall pick from 2019 would come at a huge price in terms of assets and the contract he’ll sign this summer as an RFA.
ASSETS TO TRADE
The Flames have plenty of draft capital over the next three years, but will guard closely against giving up high draft picks for anyone other than players who can grow with the organization. Daniil Miromanov has been in and out of the lineup and could easily be moved if there was interest in the 27-year-old right-shot defender who has one year left on a deal paying him $1.25 million.
