2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

I agree, this guy has some bad takes. I really don't see how we have a bottom half of the league prospect pool.

I really think even trying to be unbiased it is close to if not in the top 10. Parekh has so much potential too, not to mention so many other promising young player.

Seven of the players in our main lineup are under 25 now too. A lot of young guns have graduated

Coronato
Wolf
Pospisil
Klapka
Zary

Being the draftees.

[Jiri Hrdina]

But keep in mind it’s not just prospects
It’s any player under 23 including nhlers

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

But keep in mind it’s not just prospects
It’s any player under 23 including nhlers

Okay well in that case the Flames should definitely be higher. We don’t have any fancy pants types like the Hawks and Sharks but we have a lot of really solid young guys right now that we actually drafted.

[TheIronMaiden]

Lots of solid young guys, but right now its hard to say that anyone not names parekh and wolf are top players in the NHL.

[RedHawk12]

We've build up a lot of depth in our prospect pool, to the extent I would say the depth is top 10, maybe even top 5, in the league. We have so many prospects who should become middle 6, top 4 type players and play 500 games in the NHL. What we don't have, outside of maybe Wolf and Parekh, are prospects who track to be elite franchise type players. We don't have a Celebrini, Bedard, Michkov type of a prospect. Some guys believe that to have an elite prospect pool, you need high end prospects and we don't have as many. That's a fair opinion. It's not that stupid.

As for Parekh, I think he's elite, but there are many out there that believe Buium is better. They could be right. Some believe Dickinson has more value than Parekh because Dickinson is more well rounded. They could be right too. It's not as ridiculous as some of you make it seem.

If we had Buium and Minnesota had Perekh, who would you all like better? If we drafted Iggy Jr and Parekh was with Utah, are you all going to be creating threads about some Utah prospect breaking Bobby Orr's records?

I love our prospects and I get that many of you do as well, and maybe Pronman is a bit too pessimistic about ours, but it's not like he's factually incorrect, or you're all factually correct. They're all just opinions.

[Goriders]

The way things are trending I think our elite forwards will be coming in a couple of years via excess cap space and free agency.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Okay well in that case the Flames should definitely be higher. We don’t have any fancy pants types like the Hawks and Sharks but we have a lot of really solid young guys right now that we actually drafted.

Only one is under 23

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Goriders

The way things are trending I think our elite forwards will be coming in a couple of years via excess cap space and free agency.

That’s fine as a supplement but it can’t be the the only way they elite talent. They’ll need another Eichel situation to pop up. UFAs won’t cut it.

[YyjFlames]

Backlund says it’s obvious Andersson is getting traded.

Rare public comment to make. He expects Andersson to play hard to maximize his value for his next contract, and the flames want that too for his trade value. Couple other comments on the team this season, his perspective on the pffseason and that he’s looking to sign an extension rather than be traded.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Goriders

The way things are trending I think our elite forwards will be coming in a couple of years via excess cap space and free agency.

If they keep their cap sheet clean and continue to make good picks and stockpile assets I see an elite player coming via trade not free agency

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by traptor

That article means nothing.


Lindholm says he was willing ti stay in Calgary.
Im sure he was at a certain price.


That doesn't mean CC didn't make him a competitive offer.


All it says is they didnt reach an agreement

If you go back to CC appearance on Barnburner after the trade he said they knew they would be trading Lindholm after their first conversation in September or before camp. That tells me the ask was high and the parties were never going to make a deal. The signing speculation through out the season was just media speak to make sure he could get the best deal.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

Backlund says it’s obvious Andersson is getting traded.

Rare public comment to make. He expects Andersson to play hard to maximize his value for his next contract, and the flames want that too for his trade value. Couple other comments on the team this season, his perspective on the pffseason and that he’s looking to sign an extension rather than be traded.

I didn't say it in the other thread, but I don't mind if Andersson stays. It ultimately depends on the cap hit he is willing to take. Anything over 8m and I am not a happy camper. But, if we can lock him in an 8-year deal on a cap hit a little under 8 (I am thinking 7.5-7.9), I think that's a great deal for us. The cap will be going up, and Andersson gets himself a nice pay-day. He's not going to be able to get an 8-year deal elsewhere unless he inks it this season.

I am still in the trade-Andersson boat, however, I won't be mad if we can lock him in. He is still a valuable player and would be a perfect middle pairing player *if* Parekh becomes the top pairing potential D that we see him as.

[flambers]

My guess, Andersson wants to sign with a contender

He is going to be traded in my opinion, key is when does it occur.

[Samonadreau]

As long as Andersson isn't going for the green jacket award again, we should be good.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Here is the next batch of teams in the Pipeline rankings from Pronman.
For me, a lot of these teams are all in one big blob in the middle, and where you rank them depends on how you evaluate specific prospects.

#16 Blues: Pronman very high on Snuggerud and feels he's already established. I would say the Flames have a similar player in Bison, but seems like Pronman like Snuggerud a little more.
#15 Caps: On the strength of their top guys: Leonard, Huston and Miroshnichenko. I love Leonard but overall I would put the Flames ahead of the Caps.
#14 Wild: This is all about Buium. Pronman clearly values him higher than Zayne. I would put the Flames above Minny because I think they are similar prospects and I like the rest of the Flames system a little more.
#13 Buffalo: Important point here is that Power is still included. That's really why they sit here. Absent that, I think the Flames are above them.
#12 NJD: Again, the key thing here is guys like L. Hughes, and Nemec are still included in the ranking criteria. After those prospects, their pipeline isn't that great, except for Silayev who is a complete wild ard
#11 Detroit: Edvinnson, Kasper included. Danielson the #1 rank guy. But again the key theme is the inclusion of young established NHLers.
#10 Nashville: This is one I truly don't get. Their top guys are Martin, Edstrom, Molendyk, Cam Reid. I nice group but I don't think there is a single elite guy there. #10 seems high. Not even relative to the Flames, just high overall. This one puzzles me.
#9 NYI: Schaefer. Enough said. Though a top 5 of Schaefer, Eklund, Aitcheson, Ritchie and then Eiserman (at #8) is pretty damn good.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Not it was in his article from earlier in the year covering his ranking of under 23 players.

In this new article he says this (this is only a snippet as I really think people should pay for this content)

Parekh is an extremely talented offensive defenseman who has dominated the OHL over the last few years. He has a ton of skill and hockey sense. When the puck is on his stick, he beats opponents one-on-one often. His brain operates differently from other players on the ice in how he sees the ice and can take an extra second with the puck to create a scoring chance.

....

He’s not overly physical and tends to cheat for offense. He makes stops but will likely never be a tough-minutes defender. He projects as a top-four defenseman who can run a first power play, and you’re hoping he will be good enough at even strength to make a coach trust him regularly.


They are also doing daily podcasts of these rankings, and if you listen today, he doesn't really offer clarity on the low ranking for the Flames. He is more positive about Parekh including his defense. Still calls him a top 4 dman who can run a PP. Is very high on Reschney. Talks a bit about Coronato but doesn't seem him necessarily hitting another level (e.g. a 30 goal guy).

So I think that's really it. It's a combination of factors:
- Pronman cares less about the depth of the pool. Focuses on the top end
- The Flames lack any young NHLers that he considers elite.
- He isn't as high on Zayne as others.

Factor that all in, and you net out to where he ranks them.

And that is all fine, and he is free to have his opinions, as we all are. But that doesn't preclude a bias - the simple fact of the matter, event to just about anyone that has followed him for a while - is that his opinions are ALWAYS less positive about Flames players. It may be random coincidence, but it very much appears as though there is a bias there, as every opinion he holds on Flames' prospects, seems less positive than those of the field.

It isn't the negative assessment, it's that his assessments of the Flames are consistently skewed to the negative.

[Toast_Man]

In more uplifting news, this Nick Iacoban guy ranked Flames prospect pool 3rd.



His writeup:

#3) Calgary Flames: Calgary may not have landed elite lottery picks, but under Craig Conroy they’ve built a smart, value-driven system that mixes upside swings with strong later-round finds. It’s a group that looks deeper and more balanced than you’d expect for a team without top-eight selections. Cole Reschny leads the way as a potential top-line center, slipping in the draft due to size but showing elite skill and strong early flashes with Team Canada. Zayne Parekh is already considered one of the league’s premier defensive prospects and looks NHL-ready after dominating the OHL. Ethan Wyttenbach represents their knack for finding value late, projecting far better than most fifth-rounders after a strong USHL season. Henry Mews brings steady production and should thrive at Michigan, while Theo Stockselius adds another high-upside European scorer with SHL potential in his near future. Beyond their headliners, the Flames also boast depth names like Suniev, Gridin, Brzustewicz, Potter, and Batinga, each of whom carries NHL potential. Efficiency and upside define Calgary’s drafting approach, and it shows in the strength of this pool.

[Toonage]

Batinga.

[Toast_Man]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Batinga.

I was tempted to correct but decided to leave it as is.

[Royle9]

We knew all along Andersson was gone, we've been saying it for months.
Unfortunately the timing has been poor and a few nixed trades have thrown a wrench into it but I've been saying since the deadline last year that priority #1 is moving Andersson and he was never going to sign here again (unless we wanted to overpay him substantially)