2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

You can't possibly know what steps Zary would take if he was healthy and took a step. Especially on a much more talented Stars team. It's funny how posters seem to think he might do that here' next year but not if he was in Dallas.

I don't think he will. I'm not one of those posters.

I don't see a #1 C, I don't see him being someone who excels on the PP. More of an energy guy with skill.

Solid player, but he is not 1st line IMO. Been on the trade him now in a 2 for 1 deal for a higher end player all summer

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

You do realize all of the Stars good D men are LD right?

Lindell will play with Heskinen and Harley with Ras. Ras no PP and will not be #1 PK. His minutes will drop on the stars, could care less if he is right-handed.

He would be a nice addition, but not for Johnston.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by VilleN

Behind Heiskanen and Harley, I don't see it. I'm not even dismissing your point of view - I can see how you are getting there, but I disagree with it. You on the other hand, are acting like it's the only opinion and if you disagree you don't know anything about hockey. In any case - I've made my argument and I think a deal like that would play out very poorly for the Stars. I think you'd see the Flames get better next year and the Stars get worse.

I agree and after this season I think Andersson is probably closer to #2/3 guy rather than a solid #2 on a contender.
No other contender is scared of a Hintz, Duchene, Seguin, and Bourque/Zary center core no matter how much depth they add in Andersson, Coleman, and Zary and that’s why I think they are worse off going into next year. It’d be a gigantic gamble on Zary and Bourque.

[Groot]

So we've gone past Johnston not even being available to arguing about what Dallas team would be better next year, with or without Johnston? There is no right answer now as it is impossible to determine in advance, and it can't even be retroactively correct as you cannot compare a real season to a hypothetical one.

Please Conroy make a trade or something to just stop this insanity.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

You do realize Andersson is still young right? Saying he can't have a career year on a much better Stars team is not ridiculous at all.

Agreed, Defenseman seemingly age better than forwards, hell Gio had his best year at age 34, I can see Andersson having a few very good years if he can stay healthy and if it wasn't for right D depth in the system I would say give him the money.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

I don't think he will. I'm not one of those posters.

I don't see a #1 C, I don't see him being someone who excels on the PP. More of an energy guy with skill.

Solid player, but he is not 1st line IMO. Been on the trade him now in a 2 for 1 deal for a higher end player all summer

Yeah, part of the issue with the trade for Dallas. Zary’s upside if he hits is a good #2C but also not hard to see him ending up a winger. I wouldn’t trade him for futures but wouldn’t hate it too much for a swing at a top six guy.

[kehatch]

Originally Posted by Royle9

If Calgary/Craig we're willing to give up the assets a lot of you are concerned about him giving up (1st's/top prospects) then we'd be looking at Miller or Byram on the Flames right now.
Fortunately he's not, which is why you don't see them on the roster.

That "should" give you doubters (maybe too strong) so we'll go with concerned fans a bit of hope regarding what he's willing to give up to bring in certain players.

Conroy started the off season by admitting he would like to make a splash for the right player. Numerous people close to the team have had us involved on players that would likely cost those types of assets. One media report had us contemplating an offer sheet (since refuted).

I agree its hypothetical until there is a move, but its natural to discuss what type of assets the Flames should trade for what type of players.

Personally, I don't think a little hand wringing is surprising or unwarranted given the teams history. I am more surprised by they types of assets many posters would be comfortable trading. But credit to Conroy who so far hasn't pulled the trigger on any dangerous moves.

[kehatch]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Yeah, part of the issue with the trade for Dallas. Zary’s upside if he hits is a good #2C but also not hard to see him ending up a winger. I wouldn’t trade him for futures but wouldn’t hate it too much for a swing at a top six guy.

I might be in the minority, but I really like Zary's upside. He thinks the game well, is creative, and he has a reasonably set of skills in the toolbox. He is also good at things like zone entries, something the Flames need.

The two big issues with Zary have been injuries and deployment. The coaches just dont see to know what to do with him. But if he can stay healthy and get some stability in the line up I think he is going to show a lot of progress this season.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by kehatch

I might be in the minority, but I really like Zary's upside. He thinks the game well, is creative, and he has a reasonably set of skills in the toolbox. He is also good at things like zone entries, something the Flames need.

The two big issues with Zary have been injuries and deployment. The coaches just dont see to know what to do with him. But if he can stay healthy and get some stability in the line up I think he is going to show a lot of progress this season.

Depends how you define "upside". The most likely outcome is that Zary becomes a #2 centre. There's a chance he develops into a #1 centre, but it's far less likely than him becoming a #2 centre.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by VilleN

Based on his age and his trend it is not much of a leap for him to be in the 90-100pt range. The idea that Andersson and Coleman are going to have career years at this point in their careers is a ridiculous argument and you know it. Zary, hasn't been able to play a full season and hasn't gotten more than 34 points - it is a way less realistic stretch to say he will A) stay healthy for a full season, and B) double his point production over a full season - he currently sits at about a .5ppg pace, and you are suggesting he could go to 1ppg... no one is making that bet, but I bet a lot of people could see Johnston getting close to 100pts next year.

Andersson has just hit his peak. At 28 he likely has 4-6 years of peak hockey ahead of him. With a better team around him it is easy to believe that his production can go up, especially since his production already did not rely on significant PP production. Last season he got all of 9 points off the PP.

Coleman doesn't need to have a career year, if he maintains his average he can hold down the middle 6 role that Marchment was just removed from. 15-20 goals would be great, especially if he continues to be deployed as a shutdown winger.

Zary has huge potential, if he can stay healthy and play with strong linemates then chances are more likely that he doubles his production than for Johnston to get from 71 to 100.

Originally Posted by VilleN

Behind Heiskanen and Harley, I don't see it. I'm not even dismissing your point of view - I can see how you are getting there, but I disagree with it. You on the other hand, are acting like it's the only opinion and if you disagree you don't know anything about hockey. In any case - I've made my argument and I think a deal like that would play out very poorly for the Stars. I think you'd see the Flames get better next year and the Stars get worse.

Heiskanen, Lindell, and Harley are all LD. Heiskanen has to play on his off side because they have no RD.
Andersson is a RD. He won't be "behind" anyone on the Stars.

Adding Andersson to the group can play one of two ways:
Heiskanen-Andersson
Lindell-Harley

or

Lindell-Heiskanen
Harley-Andersson

Either composition would be an upgrade on last season for both the Stars and for Andersson.

[tkflames]

Originally Posted by VilleN

Based on his age and his trend it is not much of a leap for him to be in the 90-100pt range. The idea that Andersson and Coleman are going to have career years at this point in their careers is a ridiculous argument and you know it. Zary, hasn't been able to play a full season and hasn't gotten more than 34 points - it is a way less realistic stretch to say he will A) stay healthy for a full season, and B) double his point production over a full season - he currently sits at about a .5ppg pace, and you are suggesting he could go to 1ppg... no one is making that bet, but I bet a lot of people could see Johnston getting close to 100pts next year.

Remember the last time Dallas trades us a 100 point player? They won the cup...we sucked for a while longer then got much better. Make it so Conroy!!

[Tbull8]

Royle, Sec. Are we all out to lunch even talking about a
Mctavish
Rasmus
Robertson
three way trade? or is there anything there to hang our hopes on

[Sec214]

Originally Posted by Tbull8

Royle, Sec. Are we all out to lunch even talking about a
Mctavish
Rasmus
Robertson
three way trade? or is there anything there to hang our hopes on

I KNOW NOTHING

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by tkflames

Remember the last time Dallas trades us a 100 point player? They won the cup...we sucked for a while longer then got much better. Make it so Conroy!!

Iggy never got 100. So close at 98. Neither did Nieuwendyk for that matter!

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Tbull8

Royle, Sec. Are we all out to lunch even talking about a
Mctavish
Rasmus
Robertson
three way trade? or is there anything there to hang our hopes on

While I love that the insiders are here providing fun and exciting tidbits, I think it is absurd that we sit around and wait for them to validate speculation before we speculate.

I think that 3 way trade has potential on the surface. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that the Stars just jettisoned their LW depth.

Robertson
??????
Benn
Steel

It makes more sense for the Stars to offer Robertson the Marner/Rantanen extension and then trade something else to shore up their #2LW position.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Andersson has just hit his peak.

If last year is Andersson's peak, we are in big trouble.

The hope is that Andersson was over his head playing against the other team's best players, and that if he is more properly slotted as a 3-4 guy, his production will improve.

[FBI]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

If last year is Andersson's peak, we are in big trouble.

The hope is that Andersson was over his head playing against the other team's best players, and that if he is more properly slotted as a 3-4 guy, his production will improve.

If Andersson was at his peak last year with the -38 I think our defense is in good shape going forward because he wasn't that good.

[Rhett44]

Why are we arguing about Johnston? I would be thrilled to get him in a trade.

I don't know if he makes the Stars more of a contender than the other 3 assets would. But I consider him worth more than Coleman, Zary and Anderssson combined because of the position he plays.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Oof this is a hard thread to follow
Are we arguing if the Stars are better with Johnston v. Andersson, Zary, and Coleman?

It comes down to how much of a downgrade they taking with Johnston v. the upgrades they get from the other 3. It seems like Duchene is primarily a winger now? So your downgrade is from Wyatt to Sam Steel. That seems like a big step down. And the study I showed earlier demonstrates that a strong top 2 C is really key to a championship.

Andersson is an upgrade in their top 4 or maybe even top 2.

I guess what I'm less sure of is Coleman much of an upgrade to their 3rd line? And how much impact will that have.

And where does Zary slot in? Probably instead of Bourque? I'm not sure how much of an upgrade here really is.

In my view, the hit they take at centre is worse than the gain they get from Andersson + the marginal gains (at best) from the other two.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Yeah, part of the issue with the trade for Dallas. Zary’s upside if he hits is a good #2C but also not hard to see him ending up a winger. I wouldn’t trade him for futures but wouldn’t hate it too much for a swing at a top six guy.

He’s already likely a top 6 guy. If you’re looking for a sure-fire first liner or blue chip 2C, fine. But a trade for a top 6 winger is a lateral move at best.