2024/2025 Season trade rumours and speculation thread

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Yeah, but Dupont and McKenna are not centers. A legit number one defenceman is a key part of many Championship teams. But when has a team that has an ultra stacked defence and not Star Centers winning anything? Nashville had those couple of years with that stacked D core that made the Cup finals. But ultimately lost out to the team with Letang and a rag tag group lead by Crosby and Malkin down the middle.

You could maybe look at Chicago and think they weren't great down the middle if you think Toews to have been overrated in those days, and that their defence, and Kane were the real drivers.

Rumor has it McKenna wants to and may play center next year now that Wiesblatt is gone.

[sch19lks]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Rumor has it McKenna wants to and may play center next year now that Wiesblatt is gone.

Rumour is McKenna will play at Michigan State next season

[Harry Lime]

Rumour has it that Michigan State wants to play center now that McKenna is Wiesblatt.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

Rumour is McKenna will play at Michigan State next season

They are going to try and schmooze him for sure, but AFAIK a final decision has not been made.

[the-rasta-masta]

The sophomore slump is a real thing. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Wolf go through some growing pains next year with some higher expectations on his plate and what’s likely to be his net for a higher percentage of starts. If we trade Andersson, and Wolf’s save percentage slips slightly I think we’re already in that lottery ticket for Mckenna territory. Maybe not a bottom 5 team but a bottom 10 for sure. Some further age regression from Backlund seems likely too.

[Nelson]

If Minnesota would trade Rossi for a late 1st, Craig Conroy should do that deal. I find this report dubious, but I thought it was worth sharing because it’s something to discuss.

Anthony Di Marco
@ADiMarco25
Re. Marco Rossi: I don't think there is a fit w/ PHI at this time. Speaking with sources, the #MNWild    would want Tyson Foerster or one of PHI's late 1sts; PHI has no interest in either.

Rossi's contract demands are said to be "too much" for either team.

@DailyFaceoff

https://x.com/ADiMarco25/status/1928117964860952973

[dammage79]

Flames have the cap. They've been rumored to be pursuing this trade all the way back to the first half of the regular season. Wouldn't shock me if 32 and another piece went to Minny for Rossi.

[dammage79]

Should there be a growing concern of all these CHL players going to the NCAA to garner perhaps use of the UFA Loophole? Afaik so long as they haven't signed their entry level contract, they can stay those 4 years in uni and go to FA.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Should there be a growing concern of all these CHL players going to the NCAA to garner perhaps use the UFA Loophole? Afaik so long as they haven't signed their entry level contract, they can't stay those 4 years in uni and go to FA.

Shush! That’s how we get McKenna and Dupont, obviously.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

The sophomore slump is a real thing. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Wolf go through some growing pains next year with some higher expectations on his plate and what’s likely to be his net for a higher percentage of starts. If we trade Andersson, and Wolf’s save percentage slips slightly I think we’re already in that lottery ticket for Mckenna territory. Maybe not a bottom 5 team but a bottom 10 for sure. Some further age regression from Backlund seems likely too.

I think it's hard to say. Backlund might regress a bit, but I also see the potential for Frost and Farabee to produce more to offset that. I assume Conroy is going to try to sign another pump and dump like Mantha as well and a little bit of better injury luck with Zary probably helps prop up the team. It might even be enough to make the playoffs, who knows.

Or the team could be worse I suppose. The bottom 10 this year starts at 0.500 and the Flames were 14 games above that. I don't know, like no one predicted the Flames would be be 15th overall this season in point %, so it goes to show how unpredictable it can be. Mushy middle always seems like a safe bet with this team any year barring any major moves.

One way or another, they need to find a way to get some elite forwards on this team. Bottom 6 in league goals just isn't going to cut it.

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I think it's hard to say. Backlund might regress a bit, but I also see the potential for Frost and Farabee to produce more to offset that. I assume Conroy is going to try to sign another pump and dump like Mantha as well and a little bit of better injury luck with Zary probably helps prop up the team. It might even be enough to make the playoffs, who knows.

Or the team could be worse I suppose. The bottom 10 this year starts at 0.500 and the Flames were 14 games above that. I don't know, like no one predicted the Flames would be be 15th overall this season in point %, so it goes to show how unpredictable it can be. Mushy middle always seems like a safe bet with this team any year barring any major moves.

One way or another, they need to find a way to get some elite forwards on this team. Bottom 6 in league goals just isn't going to cut it.

True, it’s just one potential path. It’s also very reasonable to see a scenario where Parekh comes in as a new weapon and Wolf continues to be a top goalie in the league. Maybe Huberdeau’s confidence is back and he’s further settled in Calgary and puts up 75+ points, maybe Zary and Coronato take steps, and Frost and Farabee benefit from starting the year with the team from training camp. This team is probably more likely to be better than worse IMO, but I was just pointing out to the conversation about Wolf preventing them from being a lottery team doesn’t weigh in the fact that he might need some time to truly cement himself. Goalies can be very sporadic I’ve seen the sophomore thing too many times to not consider it in my expectations.

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Should there be a growing concern of all these CHL players going to the NCAA to garner perhaps use of the UFA Loophole? Afaik so long as they haven't signed their entry level contract, they can stay those 4 years in uni and go to FA.

I think that concern is a there but hard to see many high end prospects foregoing a few years of NHL play and salary to stay for the full college term to become UFA just to pick their spot.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

The sophomore slump is a real thing. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Wolf go through some growing pains next year with some higher expectations on his plate and what’s likely to be his net for a higher percentage of starts. If we trade Andersson, and Wolf’s save percentage slips slightly I think we’re already in that lottery ticket for Mckenna territory. Maybe not a bottom 5 team but a bottom 10 for sure. Some further age regression from Backlund seems likely too.

Agreed. The book the league has on Wolf is going to expand. Every goalie has 'weaknesses' or shots they find harder to stop. That's why I could see the league making a couple more adjustments, resulting in a bit of a slump, until the goaltending staff, and the D adjust to mitigate those.

In this post season EDM stands out as a team that scouts, and game plans the goalie weakness with great success. They made all of Kuemper, Hill, and Oettinger look rather bad/average with their shot choices, and now they're making Skinner look like a Vezina caliber goalie by limiting rush chances against.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Agreed. The book the league has on Wolf is going to expand. Every goalie has 'weaknesses' or shots they find harder to stop. That's why I could see the league making a couple more adjustments, resulting in a bit of a slump, until the goaltending staff, and the D adjust to mitigate those.

In this post season EDM stands out as a team that scouts, and game plans the goalie weakness with great success. They made all of Kuemper, Hill, and Oettinger look rather bad/average with their shot choices, and now they're making Skinner look like a Vezina caliber goalie by limiting rush chances against.

Goalies also adjust, everyone thought shoot blocker side on Vasilevskiy and you could score, until you couldn't.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Goalies also adjust, everyone thought shoot blocker side on Vasilevskiy and you could score, until you couldn't.

For sure, that's why I mentioned our goalie coaches, and Wolf himself as the ones that will make adjustments. I still see Wolf as a #1 goalie, I just wouldn't be surprised if he had a couple of lackluster stretches or seasons.

Take Kipper for example, the best goalie I've seen play in CGY:
2003-04: .933sv%
2005-06: .923sv%
2006-07: .917sv%
2007-08: .906sv%
2008-09: .903sv%
2009-10: .920sv%
2010-11: .906sv%
2011-12: .920sv%

There are some definite blips in the Keenan years due to the lack of defensive play, but also later under B. Sutter, with a pretty good D-core.

[activeStick]

I can definitely see the Flames finishing in the bottom 10 with their offensive struggles and it being Wolf's sophomore year. If the Flames don't end up finding a suitable replacement for Andersson's underappreciated minutes, their defensive game will really take a hit. I'm guessing Parekh will make the team next season and I'm also guessing he'll be one of the Flames best defencemen in history down the road, but hoping he'll come in and backfill for a loss of Andersson is setting yourself up for disappointment.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I can definitely see the Flames finishing in the bottom 10 with their offensive struggles and it being Wolf's sophomore year. If the Flames don't end up finding a suitable replacement for Andersson's underappreciated minutes, their defensive game will really take a hit. I'm guessing Parekh will make the team next season and I'm also guessing he'll be one of the Flames best defencemen in history down the road, but hoping he'll come in and backfill for a loss of Andersson is setting yourself up for disappointment.

Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I don't see how the team is worse than last year. Half the offense had career lows. They didn't get lines sorted out until like March. Plenty of internal improvement. Our special teams were horrendous for half the year but made huge improvements along the way. Hell, even Backlund was clearly injured for what seemed like months. End of the year plus worlds he looked great again.

I can't imagine Conroy would lose Andersson and not replace him with anyone. Even if its a drop off, Bahl and Parekh should be improvements to offset the loss.

Who knows if it will translate into wins but the team should be substantially better

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by DJones

Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I don't see how the team is worse than last year. Half the offense had career lows. They didn't get lines sorted out until like March. Plenty of internal improvement. Our special teams were horrendous for half the year but made huge improvements along the way. Hell, even Backlund was clearly injured for what seemed like months. End of the year plus worlds he looked great again.

I can't imagine Conroy would lose Andersson and not replace him with anyone. Even if its a drop off, Bahl and Parekh should be improvements to offset the loss.

Who knows if it will translate into wins but the team should be substantially better

Who had a low that you think will bounce back? Kadri had a career high in goals at 34 is that something we should continue to expect?

Seems like this team is going to need Frost, Farabee, Sharangovich to have near career years to ensure this team stays on track.

For me I wonder if this team can play with the same level of intensity as they did all of last year especially if they get off to a rocky start. I feel like last year’s strong start allowed them to remain competitive and then make a push late that was unfortunately not enough to beat the streak the Blues were on.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Who had a low that you think will bounce back? Kadri had a career high in goals at 34 is that something we should continue to expect?

Seems like this team is going to need Frost, Farabee, Sharangovich to have near career years to ensure this team stays on track.

For me I wonder if this team can play with the same level of intensity as they did all of last year especially if they get off to a rocky start. I feel like last year’s strong start allowed them to remain competitive and then make a push late that was unfortunately not enough to beat the streak the Blues were on.

Agreed on the last bit for sure.

How long can you play that way? It's such a tough ask.

Older players get older.

The mystery variable is Parekh. Does he help the transition and PP enough to boost offence? Seems like a big ask.

That and as Dan said ... Andersson. If he's out and they don't bring in a top four things could get much more difficult for Wolf. The fear signing Andersson group has him pegged as the worst defenseman in the history of hockey, but he's a huge component in last year's team.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by DJones

Hell, even Backlund was clearly injured for what seemed like months. End of the year plus worlds he looked great again.

The Flames were quite fortunate when it came to injuries last season. Of their top nine players, only Zary missed considerable time (and he’s on the fringes of the top 9), while Backlund and Andersson was at less than 100 per cent for a good chunk of the season. Which isn’t bad by NHL standards.

Looking at other teams we were competing with in the middle of the pack:

* Blues lost Thomas for 12, Parayko for 18, and Fowler for 31.

* Wild lost Kaprizov for 41, Spurgeon for 16, Brodin for 32, and Eriksson Ek for 36.

* Canucks lost Hughes for 14 (and he wasn’t close to 100 per cent for most of the rest), Hronek for 21, Pettersson for 18, and Demko for most of the season.

* Devils lost Hughes for 20 games and Hamilton for 21.


A significant injury to Weegar, Kadri, or Wolf would likely be enough to derail next season.