Coleman at peace with ‘murky’ future with Flames

CALGARY — “Murky” was the way Blake Coleman described his future with the Calgary Flames before his club left for its recent five-game road trip.

Returning home with just two wins to keep the club seven points out of a wild-card spot did little to clear up the 34-year-old’s fate, especially since he suffered an upper-body injury while on the trip 

Make no mistake, Coleman will be traded.

The only question is whether it’s this season or next.

With another year left on his contract, the two-time Stanley Cup winner knew his fate would be riding on the team’s performance.

And when this season’s roller-coaster ride began with an eight-game losing skid, it started to seem more like his rebuilding club would move him a year early.

“Obviously, the way we started, it’s kind of where all the speculation starts from, and I think it’s natural — that’s the business,” said Coleman, one of the league’s more complete wingers. “I’m not 25, and I’ve won a few times, and I think it’s naturally an easy thing to talk about. 

“I don’t know how murky it gets if we start really pushing here, but, you know, at the end of the day, I’m a Flame until I’m not. So I’m gonna give everything I’ve got to our team here and keep pushing and trying to get us into a spot to compete.”

While it’s a foregone conclusion Rasmus Andersson and his expiring contract will be moved any day now, the debate surrounding Coleman is more complex.

He’s arguably the Flames’ best forward this season — he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury — is tied for the team lead with 13 goals, is integral to shutting down the opposition’s top lines and power play, and is as valuable a player and leader as the team has as it continues trying to defy all odds by clawing back into the playoff race.

Culture matters in Calgary, and he’s a huge part of shaping it as a mentor, winner, leader, spokesman and engine on the ice.

Few players in Flames history are as respected as the Texas Tiger. 

However, the attractiveness of that package is one the Flames may soon be ready to cash in on, as every contender in the league has interest in adding a player and person of his character for a pair of playoff runs.

He is, without question, the bellwether of change around here.

When the Flames choose to trade Coleman will say everything about how serious this club is about rebuilding by leaning into what is shaping up as another lost season.

“If we’re in the mix, do they want to shake things up, or do they want to try to see where it goes?” asked Coleman, whose club surged back to .500 in December

“There’s a lot of hockey before the break and the deadline, so I think maybe the picture gets clearer. But if the West and the East look like they do now, I don’t know who’s selling and who’s buying, because it’s so tight. 

“So, I’m kind of at that point where I just need to put my head in the sand, let the chips fall where they fall.”

As of last week, he had yet to discuss his situation with general manager Craig Conroy.

“Not really, but I joked after our run in December about, ‘Now that we’re buyers …,’” said a laughing Coleman, whose 21 shorthanded goals are more than anyone in the NHL since 2017-18. 

“I like to plug it in his ear, make him sweat a little bit. 

“I think, at the end of the day, and I could be wrong, but I would imagine from their end that they probably set a price on probably every guy. If it gets hit, it gets hit, and that’s the business. So I don’t think it’s exclusive to me, necessarily, but I think there’s just easy names to talk about, for sure.”

Asked what he thought his price tag was, he laughed.

“A bag of pucks?” said the ever-smiling forward, who would fetch the Flames a healthy return involving at least a first-round pick and a prospect … or you don’t make the trade. 

Not surprisingly, his is a healthy, pragmatic approach to a situation that has been known to hamper plenty of others in his shoes.

Some of that comes from being traded once before, in 2020, when he least expected it. 

“My agent had talked to (New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald), and I still remember where I was driving when he’s like, ‘Yeah, they see you as part of the core, and they’re looking to probably extend you this summer,’” said Coleman. “I was still pretty new in the league, so those were all exciting things. I enjoyed being in Jersey, it’s all I knew.

“And then a week-and-a-half later, I was gone.

“So that’s kind of my thing. I’m like, ‘If the right deal comes across, that’s the business. Anybody is available at the right price.’”

Tampa paid a premium, sending Jersey a first-round draft pick and first-round prospect Nolan Foote.  

The price tag now would be similar.

With 10 NHL seasons under his belt, he’s seen and heard it all, prepping him well for what he’s been reading online of late. 

“My family gets more of a kick out of it than I do,” said Coleman, whose wife will pack up the kids and head back to Dallas at the Olympic break, as she had long ago decided she wanted to have their fourth child at home. (She is due mid-April.)

“My parents, and inlaws, and everyone in a group chat gets fired up with all the rumour mill. I try to just ignore it and just keep playing because I think it’s a slippery slope, and if you start thinking that way, you’re not fully in the moment and playing the way you need to for your team. 

“I mean, some of (the speculation) is comical, some of it is what it is. It’s hard to completely miss it. At the same time, I was also traded in a situation where I was far from being the guy that was supposed to go. So I know that in this business, the best offer takes the cake.

“Until it happens, I just ignore it and go play.”