2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by Icon

Of the young forwards with a shot to make the jump this year, Honz isn't on my list. I think he's going to settle into tweener territory, get some call-ups but not make enough of an impact to look like future top6. Would love to be proven wrong.

I think we mostly see:

Huberdeau - Kadri - Coronato
Farabee - Frost - Sharangovich
Coleman - Backlund - Zary
Lomberg - Kirkland/Kerins - Pospisil

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Suniev or Battaglia get a shot out of camp.

Back on topic for the thread... Obviously trading Kadri, Farabee, Coleman & Backlund would go a long way to freeing up icetime for some of the youth, if they're ready for it. But I don't think we see that until the deadline or even next summer, when more of the recent picks are pushing for spots.

Kerins might get spot duty, but unless his defense has improved a lot I don’t think he is in the running for the 4th line center role. Kirkland, Pospisil and Hunt will the guys competing for that job.

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Top speed is overrated. Burst speed and agility are important. A lot of offensive players don't have high end top speed. Gaudreau was one. Fir centres, Matthews, Scheifele and Crosby don't have elite speed. They have OK speed combined with high IQ and stick.

Gaudreau was in the 85th and 82nd percentile for top speed and 22+ mph speed burts the last season he played. Matthews and Scheifele also have size, so they can get away with not having top end speed, and well Crosby is Crosby. Zary is a good middle 6 player but he isn’t that same category.

Zary is a good player so I don’t want to come off as being overly critical I just don’t see him as a center.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by JTech780

Gaudreau was in the 85th and 82nd percentile for top speed and 22+ mph speed burts the last season he played. Matthews and Scheifele also have size, so they can get away with not having top end speed, and well Crosby is Crosby. Zary is a good middle 6 player but he isn’t that same category.

Zary is a good player so I don’t want to come off as being overly critical I just don’t see him as a center.

I’m no expert, but from my viewing, Zary has looked better as a centre. He is very shifty with high lateral mobility and the ability to skate at full speed with the puck on his stick. He is one of the best on the team at zone entries, and is limited less by his lack of top/end speed when he has more options to use that ability to read plays quickly and use that lateral mobility. High speed straight line skating is more important on the wing.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

I’m no expert, but from my viewing, Zary has looked better as a centre. He is very shifty with high lateral mobility and the ability to skate at full speed with the puck on his stick. He is one of the best on the team at zone entries, and is limited less by his lack of top/end speed when he has more options to use that ability to read plays quickly and use that lateral mobility. High speed straight line skating is more important on the wing.

The analytics have shown that he’s not doing better at centre than anywhere else, and he’s terrible at faceoffs.

Doesn’t mean he doesn’t completely take over the role as early as this season, when it clicks it clicks. But he hasn’t made a strong case for himself yet.

[howard_the_duck]

I think for the sake of understanding what Zary is, he needs to be given considerably more rope at center.

The organization has generally been below average at developing forward prospects, especially center. Might be recency bias with Bennett’s situation, but can’t fall prey again to sticking a player where he fits in your plans vs where is best suited for his development. Especially when you’re at best fighting for a playoff spot.

Develop the asset, see what you’ve got. Very little to lose and much more to gain.

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Originally Posted by JTech780

Backlund was still the best center as far as possession numbers go by a wide margin. Kadri and Frost were given the sweet zone starts, starting in the offensive zone 61.4% and 57.5% of the time. Backlund on the other hand started in the offensive zone only 38.2%, but still spent more time in the offensive zone than in the defensive zone. He is also still one of the best skaters on the team.

I do think that they have to start lowering his ice time, but he is still so reliable that as a coach it's hard to not keep throwing him out there.

Yeah Huska will continue to put out the most reliable center defensively who is Backlund unfortunately still at this age because he’s trying to win as many games as possible and get another contract. Unless ownership forces his hand and change’s their direction and allows Conroy to trade to get younger and move one of Kadri or Backlund, we aren’t going to see Zary at center unfortunately much this year. Just don’t see it happening.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

I think for the sake of understanding what Zary is, he needs to be given considerably more rope at center.

The organization has generally been below average at developing forward prospects, especially center. Might be recency bias with Bennett’s situation, but can’t fall prey again to sticking a player where he fits in your plans vs where is best suited for his development. Especially when you’re at best fighting for a playoff spot.

Develop the asset, see what you’ve got. Very little to lose and much more to gain.

I still do not think there is much to the rumour that Kadri may be willing to go to Montreal... but it would be really great for Zary if he did (and hopefully the Flames). The Flames would be forced to deploy Zary as a C and if he is successful he could establish as a #2C.

Not that Frost is a #1C... basically they would both be #2A/B with Backlund doing his thing as the shutdown #3C.

And if Zary doesn't pan out as a C then the team would be forced to manifest another C solution... which they are hopefully doing now with the Andersson trade.

[Roko]

It feels wild how little the flames have done this offseason. It seems so clearly the right time to sell or pick a lane. Would really like them to get this rasmus situation sorted so we can move to the next step of future planning.

Kadri trade would be next. Clearly he didn’t shut down the rumours at all.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by Bingo

There is room if Backlund lost it over the off season, or one of the other three have exceeded his shutdown ability.

I think Backlund has clearly lost a step as the season progressed, but I can't help but wonder if it was more his usage than age. He played a lot of really hard minutes.

In a more normalized role with more normalized #3C minutes, I think he's still a very capable shutdown center.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Roko

It feels wild how little the flames have done this offseason. It seems so clearly the right time to sell or pick a lane. Would really like them to get this rasmus situation sorted so we can move to the next step of future planning.

Kadri trade would be next. Clearly he didn’t shut down the rumours at all.

That's what stuck out to me- he doesn't seem to be shooting down the rumours anymore, or that's how it would appear.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Roko

It feels wild how little the flames have done this offseason. It seems so clearly the right time to sell or pick a lane. Would really like them to get this rasmus situation sorted so we can move to the next step of future planning.

Kadri trade would be next. Clearly he didn’t shut down the rumours at all.

Kadri doesn't have to shut down rumours.... All he has to do is tell the Flames that he isn't being traded and a trade cannot happen. Rumours cannot manifest a trade.

He may find the rumours hilarious and the fan reactions even more so.

As for the quiet summer... that is a good thing. I really wanted Andersson traded at the draft (for Misa) but now I do not really care when the trade happens so long as the return is good.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I think Backlund has clearly lost a step as the season progressed, but I can't help but wonder if it was more his usage than age. He played a lot of really hard minutes.

In a more normalized role with more normalized #3C minutes, I think he's still a very capable shutdown center.

I wonder if Frost will be our next Backlund in some capacity by the time we're contending- his defensive metrics are outstanding, and he can chip in offense when needed.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Sandman

That's what stuck out to me- he doesn't seem to be shooting down the rumours anymore, or that's how it would appear.

I disagree
I read his response basically saying he understands why there are rumours. He doesn’t say a thing about any interest in moving on

Here’s the full quote

“It's happened quite often over the last couple of months, so it's a little bit bizarre just scrolling around and seeing your face pop up and name pop up,» Kadri added.

«Obviously, the rumour mill is pretty strong, especially around these parts. And a lot of the times, the rumours can catch some fire, and the fire turns into bigger fires. It is what it is.»

«I mean, there's not a whole lot in terms of sports going on right now,» he said at the Nazem Kadri Charity Golf Classic. «I think it's definitely a topic to talk about. And hey, why not talk about it?»

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Kadri doesn't have to shut down rumours.... All he has to do is tell the Flames that he isn't being traded and a trade cannot happen. Rumours cannot manifest a trade.

He may find the rumours hilarious and the fan reactions even more so.

As for the quiet summer... that is a good thing. I really wanted Andersson traded at the draft (for Misa) but now I do not really care when the trade happens so long as the return is good.

No, he certainly doesn't have to shoot down rumours, and he's firmly in the driver's seat when it comes to a trade, but there's something about the way he responded to the questions that made him seem more "open" to the possibility than usual.

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I wonder if Frost will be our next Backlund in some capacity by the time we're contending- his defensive metrics are outstanding, and he can chip in offense when needed.

That’s my hope, and I don’t see why not.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Roko

It feels wild how little the flames have done this offseason. It seems so clearly the right time to sell or pick a lane. Would really like them to get this rasmus situation sorted so we can move to the next step of future planning.

Kadri trade would be next. Clearly he didn’t shut down the rumours at all.

Quiet on July 1st
Didn't get stupid by buying at the last trade deadline
Two more first rounders in 2026
Past 2 drafts so far (yes it's early) look potentially excellent
Stick to bringing in players in mid 20's or under

Looks like they've picked their lane. Be competitive while re-tooling and continue to draft well. Those hoping they sell off every vet will be disappointed, it ain't happening. Rasmus almost for sure, maybe one or two at or near the deadline, and that's about it. I like the direction Conroy is taking them.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I wonder if Frost will be our next Backlund in some capacity by the time we're contending- his defensive metrics are outstanding, and he can chip in offense when needed.

That's a great observation

Really great skater too and flashes of offense. If anything, he's trying too hard to be offensively minded, but would become and A+ shutdown center of he put his mind to it.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

That's a great observation

Really great skater too and flashes of offense. If anything, he's trying too hard to be offensively minded, but would become and A+ shutdown center of he put his mind to it.

With the fact that he's 26, and seems to be topping out as a 40-45 point player (perhaps less on our team), maybe asking him to be a top-6 center is a bit too much. I guess there's always hope for more, but he's an excellent two-way player as it is.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Having listened to Kadri interviews, that’s just how talks. He often tends to repeat the meat of the questions and adds an ‘and I understand fans reaction/media has their job’ type of softener.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

Having listened to Kadri interviews, that’s just how talks. He often tends to repeat the meat of the questions and adds an ‘and I understand fans reaction/media has their job’ type of softener.

I feel like there was another set of quotes that seemed less ambiguous- perhaps I'm wrong.