2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[The EBUG's EBUG]

Originally Posted by Bonded

*In your opinion and you deciding pre-emptively they won't because you don't like the timeline they are on.

Can't speak for everybody but I think that my main fear about this management/ownership group is that we get the impression from a lot of the public comments from Maloney/Insiders/Ownership's Mandate/etc that this team is a 6 game winning streak away from putting the rebuild on pause because "this group has earned the right to try to make the playoffs" and other classic Flamesy comments like that.

That may be totally wrong, maybe they will make the hard choices and commit to selling assets at the deadline even if they theoretically find themselves in a playoff race. It's easy moving expiring contracts and vets that are asking out, it's harder looking at a roster a couple points out and saying "nope, this isn't it".

I really hope if/when the time comes, that they have the conviction in a long term plan to not let the bizarrely tight standings impact things but I don't think it's crazy to be apprehensive.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Ok, so Dawson Mercer is rumored in almost every trade proposal out of New Jersey.

What would NJ want out of Calgary that could land us Mercer?

He's the right age and shoots Right, which like it or not is a rare commodity.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Gavrokov and Roslovic don't move the needle to make the POs. They made zero bids on any of the bigger names in the off season, even though they had room. Marner? K'Andre Miller? Dobson? Ehlers? Zegras?

Were the Flames in on any of those guys?

Well the Flames were not in on anyone in a real way. That is the brilliance of their attempt to win or at least be competitive, they have done nothing to actually try to accomplish that goal.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Hockey is funny and the team way overachieved last season. The same roster is now fighting for last place and I’m guessing that’s closer to where they thought they’d be last season. The random pop last year has fueled a tonne of confirmation bias imo

I hate to break it to you, but if we win tonight we are tied for 9th last.

I don't know if we will be fighting for last place at the end of the year, unless we make some trades. We could be battling for 13th pick.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I hate to break it to you, but if we win tonight we are tied for 9th last.

I don't know if we will be fighting for last place at the end of the year, unless we make some trades. We could be battling for 13th pick.

Better than 10th last, even if we are not actually tied for 9th last either.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by CalgaryFan1988

Ok, so Dawson Mercer is rumored in almost every trade proposal out of New Jersey.

What would NJ want out of Calgary that could land us Mercer?

He's the right age and shoots Right, which like it or not is a rare commodity.

He's a middle six winger and hes 24 now. Unless he can be had for a song I don't see the point.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Minnesota? Carolina? Dallas (1 high pick)?

Carolina is funny. 9 top 15 picks in the last 15 years, and only two of them still play for the team.

3 of them, including 2/3 top of their five picks, have played for the Flames lol.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I hate to break it to you, but if we win tonight we are tied for 9th last.

I don't know if we will be fighting for last place at the end of the year, unless we make some trades. We could be battling for 13th pick.

I also hate to break it to you, but even if they win tonight, they are still only 1 point up on 31st, and still have played more games than anyone else. All it took was them winning 9 out of their last 13 to get to that point. So yes, they are still closer to bottom 5 than a wild card spot.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I hate to break it to you, but if we win tonight we are tied for 9th last.

I don't know if we will be fighting for last place at the end of the year, unless we make some trades. We could be battling for 13th pick.

If we win tonight we, at best, would move up to 5th last.

Still bottom 5. Panic.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I also hate to break it to you, but even if they win tonight, they are still only 1 point up on 31st, and still have played more games than anyone else. All it took was them winning 9 out of their last 13 to get to that point. So yes, they are still closer to bottom 5 than a wild card spot.

Those teams also need to win those games. And all the teams at the bottom are bad. Seattle has lost 8 of their last 9.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

He's a middle six winger and hes 24 now. Unless he can be had for a song I don't see the point.

Yeah, seems redundant to a player like Farabee. Useful player, but you only need one.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Those teams also need to win those games. And all the teams at the bottom are bad. Seattle has lost 8 of their last 9.

You do know all this doesn't happen in a vacuum right? Those bottom dwelling teams we are fighting with also play each other, so they will also win a bunch of games.

Just feels like you're purposely being loose with stats to fit your panicky narrative. If that's what makes you feel better, then all the power to you. Statistically, Flames are still a lot closer to the bottom than they are to the middle.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Point of order:
Its not that nothing is taking place, its that management fails to commit to the degree necessary to properly rebuild the franchise.

I have time for this argument all day.

I'm quickly losing patience with the team isn't rebuilding as a stance.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Can't quote you Vinny (weird).


2023-24 - I remember they had a super-easy end of the season schedule. They drafted 9th, and were trending down anyway. That was the 'tear-down year' anyway.
2024-25 - they simply over-achieved. From a roster design standpoint, that team was supposed to fail, but they out-worked everyone trying to prove a point.
This season - they are on track for that.


So, in essence, the Flames just had one single 'unexpectedly good season'. By design, this team should have finished last season where they find themselves this season. Considering the similar rosters, that theory holds. So the outcome was unexpected, but that doesn't mean that the Flames were not rebuilding. They are bottoming-out this season, and likely will again next season as well.

It can also be stated the unexpected good season in 14/15 launched them out of the rebuild too quickly and by the 2017 draft they had traded 2 1st and 5 2nds for win now pieces something that is clearly not happening now.

There is also the fact this team typically has been wildly inconsistent for the last decade rarely putting together similar performances or results in back to back years. One of the reasons I predicted a down year for this team this year.

I am not sure anyone is saying the flames are not doing a rebuild except for those few posters who bitch and whine about wins and want players traded for tanking purposes.

For me I remain cautiously optimistic they move off more than Andersson and take a more proactive approach with their 34-35 year old vets and capitalize on their value in a strange season that could see this team out of the bottom 10 relatively quickly if they are able to sustain their level of play

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Those teams also need to win those games. And all the teams at the bottom are bad. Seattle has lost 8 of their last 9.

I know your mind has already decided the Flames will pass every team above them to get just outside playoffs but I’m not too worried.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

You do know all this doesn't happen in a vacuum right? Those bottom dwelling teams we are fighting with also play each other, so they will also win a bunch of games.

Just feels like you're purposely being loose with stats to fit your panicky narrative. If that's what makes you feel better, then all the power to you. Statistically, Flames are still a lot closer to the bottom than they are to the middle.

Maybe I just see the Flames as better than their record at the beginning of the year. I think we are better than some of these teams at the bottom, because of our structure and goaltending and Kadri/Andersson.

I don't think we are the worst team in the league. Probably closer to bottom 12 when you factor in goaltending.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The EBUG's EBUG

Can't speak for everybody but I think that my main fear about this management/ownership group is that we get the impression from a lot of the public comments from Maloney/Insiders/Ownership's Mandate/etc that this team is a 6 game winning streak away from putting the rebuild on pause because "this group has earned the right to try to make the playoffs" and other classic Flamesy comments like that.

That may be totally wrong, maybe they will make the hard choices and commit to selling assets at the deadline even if they theoretically find themselves in a playoff race. It's easy moving expiring contracts and vets that are asking out, it's harder looking at a roster a couple points out and saying "nope, this isn't it".

I really hope if/when the time comes, that they have the conviction in a long term plan to not let the bizarrely tight standings impact things but I don't think it's crazy to be apprehensive.

Why would you still hang on to this when we have evidence that they didn't and because of that likely won't?

Last year in a playoff spot at the deadline sitting on a mountain of cap space and copious amounts of draft capital they added nothing.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The EBUG's EBUG

Can't speak for everybody but I think that my main fear about this management/ownership group is that we get the impression from a lot of the public comments from Maloney/Insiders/Ownership's Mandate/etc that this team is a 6 game winning streak away from putting the rebuild on pause because "this group has earned the right to try to make the playoffs" and other classic Flamesy comments like that.

That may be totally wrong, maybe they will make the hard choices and commit to selling assets at the deadline even if they theoretically find themselves in a playoff race. It's easy moving expiring contracts and vets that are asking out, it's harder looking at a roster a couple points out and saying "nope, this isn't it".

I really hope if/when the time comes, that they have the conviction in a long term plan to not let the bizarrely tight standings impact things but I don't think it's crazy to be apprehensive.

Why would you still hang on to this when we have evidence that they didn't and because of that likely won't?

Last year in a playoff spot at the deadline sitting on a mountain of cap space and copious amounts of draft capital they added nothing.

How can you not make prudent ass moves as far out as they are when they didn't make silly asset moves when they were right there weeks from the playoffs?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I also hate to break it to you, but even if they win tonight, they are still only 1 point up on 31st, and still have played more games than anyone else. All it took was them winning 9 out of their last 13 to get to that point. So yes, they are still closer to bottom 5 than a wild card spot.

This feels like the Kadri is almost 40 fact again.

[Major Major]

Pretty interesting how steinberg has changed his tune over the past couple of weeks. I hesitate to call him a mouthpiece, but I don't think there's a more influential voice in Flames media, and he's connected and he works for them. So if you want to know what the org is thinking, listen to Pat, and he's pretty rebuild forward these days.