2024/2025 Season trade rumours and speculation thread

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

NJD receives: Anderson (no retention) + Pospisil
CGY receives: Nemec & Mercer

COL receives: Kadri (retained)
CGY receives: Ritchie & 1st


New centre core:
Frost, Mercer, Ritchie, Backlund

New D core:
Weegar - Nemec
Bahl - Pareyk

I like the basis of these but I think we'd have to give up more. I could see coleman being dealt to either NJ or Dallas. I'd really love to find a way to get Cozens, i think he's ready to exceeding somewhere else and it would be great if that somewhere else was Calgary.

[Rtown]

Geez. It’s like some of you haven’t been a Flames fan long enough. Obviously if Cozens gets traded anywhere but Calgary he’ll turn out to be an 80-90 point, Selke nominated stud Center. And if the Flames acquire him, in 2 seasons he’ll become a 4th line albatross of 7M.
I’m only half kidding.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Highly doubt this turns into a Eichel situation.

The focus should now be less on getting secondary pieces and focus on getting some picks for the drafts so we can take some chances on skilled players who can break games open. We got one in the pipeline but we need more forwards obviously centers. Love how they have focused on taking high skill players.

Let the team develop nicely in their roles. At some point we need to see what we have with our D in the AHL as well.

[Sandman]

I agree, more picks for our talented scouts.

Hope I ain’t jinxing us.

[traptor]

If you're acquiring Cozens and hopping for an Eichel you're going to be very disappointed.

I think it's fair to expect more of a Lindholm outcome. A solid 2c caliber player.


I would acquire him only if the price reflects that.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I doubt Bahl was ever on the table last year so he did capitulate somewhat. The scrub he wanted to send us (Holtz) eventually went to Vegas.

One of our insiders already said bahl was in initial deal. The 2024 1st had so much trade protection that it we wouldn’t have gotten it that year anyways. The only difference came down to flames not having to eat as much retention.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by traptor

If you're acquiring Cozens and hopping for an Eichel you're going to be very disappointed.

I think it's fair to expect more of a Lindholm outcome. A solid 2c caliber player.


I would acquire him only if the price reflects that.

Do we have doug Hamilton.

I agree. No match

[stemit14]

A player that I see dropping in rankings is McQueen. Eight months ago, lots of flames fans would have had him as their biggest target if the flames were finishing in the 4-8 range. I understand his injury is concerning for anyone drafting him but how would everyone feel if the flames ended up trading up to pick him up in the 15th-20th overall range?

Myself, I’m not too sure if it would be worth the risk with his injury making him miss most of his draft year. A player like him would be a project to start with even without losing that critical time in his development. It seems like every year, someone drafts a 6’4” or taller centre with the thought that they will turn into the next Getzlaf or Tage Thompson. And it’s just so rare for that to work out. I’m not sure why these taller forwards struggle to reach their potential but it seems like there is usually a few commonalities:

-seems like they tend to struggle with injuries
-they rarely are very physical players despite being bigger than their opponents
-they usually take a long time to develop and reach their potential. Teams might give up on them too soon in those cases.
-skating is usually an issue. You’ll hear “skates well for a big man” but I prefer to hear that they are a fantastic skater in general. I think they need to be to have a decent chance to translate offence from Junior into the NHL.

I can’t say I’m too familiar with McQueen as a prospect. Would like to know what others think of him at this point. Not just that he’s injured and considered too risky… I would like to know what he looked like last year and why that made him a likely top 5 pick this year if not for injuries. I watched a 20 minute video of his highlights from last year. It doesn’t likely tell the whole story of his strengths and weaknesses but it didn’t seem like he was projecting as much of a play driver. Virtually all of his highlights were him scoring off of a play created by someone else. He definitely has scoring finish, good hands in tight and a nose for the net… but I never saw him carrying the puck through the neutral zone or making power moves around players or beating defenders one-on-one. Maybe ut was just that highlight package.

Sandman - would especially appreciate your assessment of McQueen at this point in his draft year.

[dino7c]

Pettersson just put up ZERO points at the 4 Nations...this has gone beyond a slump. At 9.6M for nearly a decade does he even have value anymore? I think there is a player in there somewhere still but its a huge risk he might be the worst contract in the NHL this season....certainly up there.

[Goriders]

It’s not Hubie anymore. He’s played well this year.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Pettersson just put up ZERO points at the 4 Nations...this has gone beyond a slump. At 9.6M for nearly a decade does he even have value anymore? I think there is a player in there somewhere still but its a huge risk he might be the worst contract in the NHL this season....certainly up there.

*11.6m

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

He's arguably a top 10 center in the league.

He's a point per game player throughout his career. Johnny Hockey was similar stats wise and we consider him one of the best 2 Flames of all time.

He's a few levels above a Kadri, who is a 2nd line center.

Eichel might be barely a top 10 centre. I'd put McDavid, Mackinnon, Matthews, Point, Barkov, Hughes, Crosby at least ahead of him, and you can make an argument for Draisaitl, Aho or Schiefele ahead of him.

And Johnny is not one of the top two Flames all time. Probably not a top 5 player, or even skater. Iggy, Kipper, Newy, Macinnis, Fleury, Nilsson, and arguably Regher were all better. Gaudreau is around Mullen, Suter, Loob or Makarov level for me.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by stemit14

A player that I see dropping in rankings is McQueen. Eight months ago, lots of flames fans would have had him as their biggest target if the flames were finishing in the 4-8 range. I understand his injury is concerning for anyone drafting him but how would everyone feel if the flames ended up trading up to pick him up in the 15th-20th overall range?

Myself, I’m not too sure if it would be worth the risk with his injury making him miss most of his draft year. A player like him would be a project to start with even without losing that critical time in his development. It seems like every year, someone drafts a 6’4” or taller centre with the thought that they will turn into the next Getzlaf or Tage Thompson. And it’s just so rare for that to work out. I’m not sure why these taller forwards struggle to reach their potential but it seems like there is usually a few commonalities:

-seems like they tend to struggle with injuries
-they rarely are very physical players despite being bigger than their opponents
-they usually take a long time to develop and reach their potential. Teams might give up on them too soon in those cases.
-skating is usually an issue. You’ll hear “skates well for a big man” but I prefer to hear that they are a fantastic skater in general. I think they need to be to have a decent chance to translate offence from Junior into the NHL.

I can’t say I’m too familiar with McQueen as a prospect. Would like to know what others think of him at this point. Not just that he’s injured and considered too risky… I would like to know what he looked like last year and why that made him a likely top 5 pick this year if not for injuries. I watched a 20 minute video of his highlights from last year. It doesn’t likely tell the whole story of his strengths and weaknesses but it didn’t seem like he was projecting as much of a play driver. Virtually all of his highlights were him scoring off of a play created by someone else. He definitely has scoring finish, good hands in tight and a nose for the net… but I never saw him carrying the puck through the neutral zone or making power moves around players or beating defenders one-on-one. Maybe ut was just that highlight package.

Sandman - would especially appreciate your assessment of McQueen at this point in his draft year.

Here is my write-up from the Draft Thread:

Draft Thoughts (Monster Edition, Vol. 8):

RHC Roger McQueen (6'5",192lbs)
Brandon (WHL): 8gp/ 8g/ 3a/ 11pts, even, 18 PIM.

Roger McQueen is a huge, game-breaking pivot who plays a power game, but has been out of action with a back injury since early October. McQueen is an older player by draft standards, with an Oct 2nd birthday, and it seems like he's been around forever. At the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, when he was still only 16 years old, he was tied for 4th in scoring on Team Canada's Gold Medal winning squad, with 4 goals and 7 points in 5 games. He followed that up by posting 21 goals and 51 points for the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2023-24, but his regular season was cut a bit short by the same back injury that is plaguing him now. He managed to return for the playoffs, and contributed 4 goals and 5 points in 4 games. The numbers point to his goal-scoring as being his primary weapon, but I've always thought of him as a pass-first playmaker with top-notch vision and awareness, combined with well-developed passing skill. He does indeed possess a hard and heavy shot though, with an elite set of hands to beat goalies in-tight. This part of his game is augmented by his inate ability to locate open spaces to sneak into, with the timing to arrive in high-danger at the right moments. McQueen is a force down-low, and a dangerous net-front presence.

McQueen is an excellent skater, especially for his size, but a slight lack of power in his stride holds him back from being a burner. Still, he looks pretty smooth when it comes to technique and mechanics, and he's also reasonably agile, with the quickness to push pace and force defenders back. He has smooth hands and catches well, with superb puck-skill- and he can impressively deke and dangle around defenders with a set of refined deception tactics to manipulate opponents. His puck-protection is also outstanding, giving him the capability to handle around outstretched sticks, or out of the reach of checkers. McQueen plays a physical game, and sometimes shows a real mean edge-he finishes his checks, and he can dole out some thunderous hits. He goes to the hard areas and dominates with a competitive streak- he's tenacious and hard-working, and skates his routes hard. A massive wingspan gives him a huge advantage on the forecheck in dislodging pucks, and he brings this attribute to defensive situations as well, to block lanes, pick off passes, and poke pucks off of sticks. McQueen may not be Patrice Bergeron, but he doesn't cheat the game and always appears defensively engaged, highly aware, and well-positioned. He makes proactive stops in the neutral zone, and his range gives oncoming rushers fits. He's supportive of his teammates in battles, and will help his D down low. McQueen shows up to play in all three zones, and is a high-value transitional player who can rush the puck through the neutral zone just as effortlessly as he can find open teammates on the fly. He can stickhandle through, or around defenders for clean entries, and will transport the puck from one end to the other on occasion.

It will be interesting to see where McQueen is picked in the 2025 draft, as his situation appears to be strikingly similar to that of another big center, Cayden Lindstrom, who was selected 4th-overall in 2024 by Columbus, but hasn't played a game since December of 2023- due to a back injury. McQueen has NHL-attributes, and easily possesses top-5 talent, with very few real weaknesses- all he needs is to keep improving his skating power, and get stronger. If he can get over his injury, he's a top-line C in-waiting. Look for him in the top-6 of the 2025 draft.

[Sec214]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Pettersson just put up ZERO points at the 4 Nations...this has gone beyond a slump. At 9.6M for nearly a decade does he even have value anymore? I think there is a player in there somewhere still but its a huge risk he might be the worst contract in the NHL this season....certainly up there.

Yes he has Value but Vancouver will lose any trade involving him.

He’s probably closer to a PPG player than a 1.2 or 1.5.

He’s not skating like he use too.

He’s not playing the two way game that use to generate offence.

Vancouver just has to hope he rebound. I wouldn’t move him if I was the GM.

But GMs don’t run this league.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by traptor

If you're acquiring Cozens and hopping for an Eichel you're going to be very disappointed.

I think it's fair to expect more of a Lindholm outcome. A solid 2c caliber player.


I would acquire him only if the price reflects that.

Sorry didn't mean Cozens is Eichel not even close, just meant getting a #1C.

Lindholm comparison is probably right, he will need to switch to winger to get carried by a play driving C or switch to 2 wingers who are play drivers like Johnny and Chucky.

Kind of like Mangiapane, signing a guy after 1 big season. Now on pace for 25 points making 5.5M

[Rick M.]

The last Capitals game I watched, Mangiapane was playing on the 4th line.

[D as in David]

What are the characteristics of a play-driving forward/centre and are there objective criteria that can be used to measure that or is it an eye-test thing?

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by D as in David

What are the characteristics of a play-driving forward/centre and are there objective criteria that can be used to measure that or is it an eye-test thing?

I don't know how to quote posts from other threads, but SuperMatt had a great post breaking down the numbers. Basically, he is underwater and rode a hot shooting % for his career year, but what is happening now is pretty much career averages.

His play driving stats are a Lindholm without a Johnny or Chucky.

Backlund is a good example of a play driver, he just doesn't have the top end offensive skill.

[kyuss275]

Are nhl teams back at practice today?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

*11.6m

I actually knew that not sure why the type-o but it makes the argument more dramatic