2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by kehatch

We carried 20 million in cap space and traded a bunch of of our core veterans while doing very little to improve the roster. Call it what you want, but we are rebuilding. Regardless, its a discussion board. Let people discuss without being so snarky to anyone that disagrees with you.

Ah I see, so when I suggest trade ideas or voice an opinion and other posters get snarky that's perfectly fine, nobody says boo. When I do it though I am Darth Vader.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by kehatch

Its not adding Robertson that people disagree with. Its paying the cost to acquire Robertson that is at issue.

Posters have literally shot down Robertson for Ras lol

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Usually when you are retooling, you would want some pieces already on the team that you can retool and build around.

We have Parekh on defense and there is Wolf. But we really do not have any elite building blocks at forward. That is why I believe this is more of a rebuild, regardless of what ownership and management want to say.

Conroy is not dumb, he knows you are not going to be a contender unless you get a couple of elite forwards first. And the only way to find those is usually in the top part of the draft.

They don’t have any elite forwards in the system.

They have a goalie

They have a lot of decent young defenders

They have a lot of GOOD young forwards

Only way I see them getting one or two elite forwards is via free agency in a year or two. Because they also have a ton of cap space.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Posters have literally shot down Robertson for Ras lol

Only person who should be shutting that down is Jim Nill.

[Rhett44]

It really depends what it would cost. But does Robertson make us better today? Yes. Does he make us better next year? Yes.

Does he make us better for the long term? And could we become a contender? I am skeptical. I believe the opportunity cost would also be huge. You would be losing high draft pick spots the next few years. You would also likely not be trading players like Kadri and Coleman if you sign him, which loses more potential draft picks.

Just something to think about.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

It really depends what it would cost. But does Robertson make us better today? Yes. Does he make us better next year? Yes.

Does he make us better for the long term? And could we become a contender? I am skeptical. I believe the opportunity cost would also be huge. You would be losing high draft pick spots the next few years. You would also likely not be trading players like Kadri and Coleman if you sign him, which loses more potential draft picks.

Just something to think about.

What plan gurantee's a contender?

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

It really depends what it would cost. But does Robertson make us better today? Yes. Does he make us better next year? Yes.

Does he make us better for the long term? And could we become a contender? I am skeptical. I believe the opportunity cost would also be huge. You would be losing high draft pick spots the next few years. You would also likely not be trading players like Kadri and Coleman if you sign him, which loses more potential draft picks.

Just something to think about.

I agree (although I'm also paranoid about another Huberdeau situation), but I also agree with diss in that I believe Conroy has been given the mandate by ownership to compete ASAP and make the playoffs. I think if a deal can be reached to land Robertson (or a similar player of a similar age), it will at least be explored. That said, I would rather go for a younger guy like McTavish.

[dino7c]

If Conroy had a mandate to make the playoffs at all costs they would have not had 20M in cap space and 4 1st rounders in 2 drafts after last years TDL.

I mean they could have easily made the playoffs last year if they wanted to lose one of those picks or spend some dough

[Wastedyouth]

2 weeks later.

Same circular conversation is happening.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Or when they are actually being moved.

Right off the bat you had it wrong.

Originally Posted by D as in David

The Flames have Wolf, though. If they didn't, there would be a legitimate question whether he would be a good acquisition - at high cost - at this point on their retool.

Originally Posted by GioforPM

What?? You'd balk at acquiring a star goalie because the's the ripe old age of 24?

What D said was that if we did not have Wolf already then there would be a "question" to acquire an elite goalie at this step of the retool or rebuild.

I believe most of the people on this board would be in agreement that if we did not already have Wolf then now would not be the time to spend assets on acquiring an Askarov or Knight.

I think it would be safe to say that all of team tank would lose their minds if we acquired a goalie that prevented us from picking #1OA and spent assets to do so.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by dino7c

If Conroy had a mandate to make the playoffs at all costs they would have not had 20M in cap space and 4 1st rounders in 2 drafts after last years TDL.

I mean they could have easily made the playoffs last year if they wanted to lose one of those picks or spend some dough

I don't necessarily think it's a "make the playoffs at all costs" scenario, but I do think it's a retool on the fly. I also think more moves would have been made before the deadline last season if the team wasn't overperforming.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by kehatch

Its not adding Robertson that people disagree with. Its paying the cost to acquire Robertson that is at issue.

I mean... I disagree with spending assets on LW when the organization needs C depth more than anything.

I love the idea of adding Robertson to the lineup. I would love it more if we didn't already have Huberdeau for the next 6 years and I would love it even more if we could trade, draft, or surprise develop a #1C into existence before 2027.

The reality though is that Kadri should be a #2C and none of Frost, Backlund, or Zary are able to bump him out of the #1 spot. The Flames priority for spending/trading any big assets should be to acquire someone who can push Kadri down the depth chart.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

2 weeks later.

Same circular conversation is happening.

Welcome to mid July hockey discussion lol

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by dino7c

What plan gurantee's a contender?

There's no guarantee of a contender...but I can guarantee you'd love the team R44 built as long as they have a Flames crest.

So what's to worry about?

[Rhett44]

I agree with Sandman that there may not be an "official mandate".

But I do believe the owners do not have the patience needed to build a contender. So we likely will need Parekh to become elite and hit on some other picks.

I do not believe the owners will be happy with years and years of missing the playoffs.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Wolven

I mean... I disagree with spending assets on LW when the organization needs C depth more than anything.

I love the idea of adding Robertson to the lineup. I would love it more if we didn't already have Huberdeau for the next 6 years and I would love it even more if we could trade, draft, or surprise develop a #1C into existence before 2027.

The reality though is that Kadri should be a #2C and none of Frost, Backlund, or Zary are able to bump him out of the #1 spot. The Flames priority for spending/trading any big assets should be to acquire someone who can push Kadri down the depth chart.

The only realistic way to do that is to draft one, and the only realistic way to do that is to bottom out for a chance to win the draft lottery. Trading for a true #1 center is such a rare thing that you can't really sit around waiting for it to happen. Even if one does become a available, said player likely has some kind of control over where he goes and several teams making competing trade offers to chose from. And if they have control over where they are going, they are probably going to pick a team that also has some high scoring wingers to play with. It's also such a rare thing to happen that Ras will probably be long gone one way or another before such a scenario presents itself.

Having some dark horse prospect emerge into a #1 center is also so rare that it's not something to include in any plans for building a team.

I get that people want to hold off making any big trades if it doesn't include a center coming back, but centers that are difference makers are hard to acquire and you typically need to overpay for them, even for a 2nd or 3rd liner. Ras alone certainly isn't getting it done. You would need to be throwing in some quality picks, prospects, or players as well.

If someone is hoping that a trade for #1 center emerges, that kind of time frame allows you to still work on improving the team in other areas because of how infrequent opportunities like that actually come up.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I agree with Sandman that there may not be an "official mandate".

But I do believe the owners do not have the patience needed to build a contender. So we likely will need Parekh to become elite and hit on some other picks.

I do not believe the owners will be happy with years and years of missing the playoffs.

Thanks, that's a better way of putting it than my posts did.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The only realistic way to do that is to draft one, and the only realistic way to do that is to bottom out for a chance to win the draft lottery. Trading for a true #1 center is such a rare thing that you can't really sit around waiting for it to happen. Even if one does become a available, said player likely has some kind of control over where he goes and several teams making competing trade offers to chose from. And if they have control over where they are going, they are probably going to pick a team that also has some high scoring wingers to play with. It's also such a rare thing to happen that Ras will probably be long gone one way or another before such a scenario presents itself.

Having some dark horse prospect emerge into a #1 center is also so rare that it's not something to include in any plans for building a team.

I get that people want to hold off making any big trades if it doesn't include a center coming back, but centers that are difference makers are hard to acquire and you typically need to overpay for them, even for a 2nd or 3rd liner. Ras alone certainly isn't getting it done. You would need to be throwing in some quality picks, prospects, or players as well.

If someone is hoping that a trade for #1 center emerges, that kind of time frame allows you to still work on improving the team in other areas because of how infrequent opportunities like that actually come up.

It is funny you say that because we are talking about the Stars a lot and their #1C is a second round pick and their #2C is a late 1st.

The Flames do not need an Elite #1C or a Franchise #1C or a Generational Talent. They just need someone who can do the job better than Kadri while also being a decade younger.

The reason I think / hope the Andersson trade hasn't happened yet is because Conroy's asking price is a young C and that he is sticking to it.

Also, just to state it again.... Top pair RHS D are incredibly rare and acquiring one with under $3M cap hit is impossible. People keep trying to diminish or dismiss Andersson's value in a ridiculous hope to reduce future disappointment but with very little effort to try and understand what his value may actually be. It is an odd exercise of wanting to see something happen while also burying one's head in the sand and disagreeing with anyone that is trying to figure things out.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I agree with Sandman that there may not be an "official mandate".

But I do believe the owners do not have the patience needed to build a contender. So we likely will need Parekh to become elite and hit on some other picks.

I do not believe the owners will be happy with years and years of missing the playoffs.

Who would be happy with that.

Hopefully no one.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Wolven

It is funny you say that because we are talking about the Stars a lot and their #1C is a second round pick and their #2C is a late 1st.

The Flames do not need an Elite #1C or a Franchise #1C or a Generational Talent. They just need someone who can do the job better than Kadri while also being a decade younger.

The reason I think / hope the Andersson trade hasn't happened yet is because Conroy's asking price is a young C and that he is sticking to it.

Also, just to state it again.... Top pair RHS D are incredibly rare and acquiring one with under $3M cap hit is impossible. People keep trying to diminish or dismiss Andersson's value in a ridiculous hope to reduce future disappointment but with very little effort to try and understand what his value may actually be. It is an odd exercise of wanting to see something happen while also burying one's head in the sand and disagreeing with anyone that is trying to figure things out.

I would actually argue the single most important thing for being a contender is having an elite #1 center.

The only team in the last 20 years that won without one is probably the Blues. But they did have two great centers playing well over their head that year.