[sureLoss]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...-trade-clause/

Would he waive his no‑trade clause if the Calgary Flames asked?

“I think I'll put it this way, ” he said as the dressing room emptied for a quiet one-on-one chat.

"I think everything's got to be put into consideration at some point. Will I? I don't know, but obviously it's the first time I've ever been in a situation with a lot of rumors around me. So, it's new, it's different.”

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s the reality punctuating another lost season in Calgary where the rebuild hasn’t progressed anywhere near as quickly as anyone hoped.

And so, as roughly one third of the Flames roster is being bandied about by insiders and observers as potential trade targets ahead of Friday’s deadline, it’s only natural to ask the 32-year-old if he has, or would, reevaluate his trade protection.

“It's not something that I wanted to be a part of,” he said of the speculation, and likely the losing.

“When I first came here, obviously I wanted to be a part of a winning team. Obviously times change. It's been four years since then. But I love it, so I always want to elaborate on that part, because I do love it here. If something did occur, and Connie came up to me and asked, it would be a tough decision, for sure.”

That’s not a trade request. Not even close.

But it is the first time the Ottawa native has publicly acknowledged that, under the right circumstances, he’d listen.

And that alone is significant, given what a pillar he’s long considered to be in Calgary.

“Just like they’ve got to consider trading me, I’ve got to consider all the options too,” he said.

“But I love it here. I want to win here. And it's just, it's too bad that we're all put into situations like this. But it's part of the game. I kind of just want to focus on how we all have got to find a way to play together, even with all the rumors and stuff. It's a weird time, for sure.”