2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[MissTeeks]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1964400354172567702

[gvitaly]

Carolina actually makes the most sense for me as far as Andersson destinations go.

LD                        RD
------------------------------------
Slavin                    Chatfield
Miller                    Walker
Gostisbehere        
Nikishin
Reilly

That right side looks pretty weak, and I think Andersson would be a great partner for Slavin. Nikishin could play on the right side with Gostisbehere, but it would make more sense to free up a spot for him on the left.

Carolina still has 4 1sts(DAL 26', 28'; CAR 27', 28'), in the next 3 years. They also have a lot of interesting, though slightly smaller prospects, like Nadeau, Artamanov, and Ryabkin.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Carolina actually makes the most sense for me as far as Andersson destinations go.

LD                        RD
------------------------------------
Slavin                    Chatfield
Miller                    Walker
Gostisbehere        
Nikishin
Reilly

That right side looks pretty weak, and I think Andersson would be a great partner for Slavin. Nikishin could play on the right side with Gostisbehere, but it would make more sense to free up a spot for him on the left.

Carolina still has 4 1sts(DAL 26', 28'; CAR 27', 28'), in the next 3 years. They also have a lot of interesting, though slightly smaller prospects, like Nadeau, Artamanov, and Ryabkin.

Yeah. Carolina is a good fit. They have the extra draft capital and the prospect quality to pull it off. Only question is, are they willing to pay for a rental? Not sure if they have been big on rental players in the past. They tend to be a very practical organization when it comes to players and contracts.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Yeah. Carolina is a good fit. They have the extra draft capital and the prospect quality to pull it off. Only question is, are they willing to pay for a rental? Not sure if they have been big on rental players in the past. They tend to be a very practical organization when it comes to players and contracts.

Rantanen, Guentzel, and Kuznetsov are the rentals I remember over the last couple of years. Though they back paddled on Rantanen as soon as it was clear he's not signing there.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Rantanen, Guentzel, and Kuznetsov are the rentals I remember over the last couple of years. Though they back paddled on Rantanen as soon as it was clear he's not signing there.

Which raises the question… have they ever paid a 1st round pick in recent years for a pure rental? Guentzel was a conditional 1st that ended up being a 2nd round pick but I don’t think they paid a 1st round pick for any of those players.

[AustinL_NHL]

With how deep into analytics Carolina is, I can't imagine they'd be willing to part with the same quality of assets as other teams unless they thought Andersson was a massive missing piece

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

With how deep into analytics Carolina is, I can't imagine they'd be willing to part with the same quality of assets as other teams unless they thought Andersson was a massive missing piece

One thing about Carolina is they are willing to part with talented young players if they don't think the salary ask fits their model. I'm not sure if they have anyone that fits that description at the moment. But you can get RFAs out of Carolina

[The Original FFIV]

Kuznetsov is down to two teams but the teams need to make room. Wonder if that corresponds to the increased talk of Rasmus (maybe Stars/knights are one of/both of the teams interested).

[Ped]

Which raises the question… have they ever paid a 1st round pick in recent years for a pure rental? Guentzel was a conditional 1st that ended up being a 2nd round pick but I don’t think they paid a 1st round pick for any of those players.

Depends on what you consider recent, but they gave up a 1st for Brady Skjei in 2020. They had two 1sts and kept the right to decide which one the Rangers got (they got one in the Marleau trade).


Fun fact, that pick was traded to the Flames along with the pick that became Poirier, for the pick that became Braden Schneider. It was then traded to the Caps for the pick that would become Zary and the pick that would become Boltmann. The Caps drafted Hendrix Lapierre.


That was the first 1st round pick the Canes traded since the Andrej Sekera trade in 2015.

[The Original FFIV]

NJD trying to trade palat with no success to date. $6m cap hit this year and next. Should have to pay handsomely to get that contract off their hands (or take back a similar bad deal with a lesser amount). Nmc so we may not even be an option. But a rumor nonetheless.

https://t.co/MMoSxS9NcH

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

NJD trying to trade palat with no success to date. $6m cap hit this year and next. Should have to pay handsomely to get that contract off their hands (or take back a similar bad deal with a lesser amount). Nmc so we may not even be an option. But a rumor nonetheless.

https://t.co/MMoSxS9NcH

Call me crazy but he would do well here with Coleman and Backlund as a line. Just a matter of finding a deal that makes sense. We're already cluttered at forward though.

[The Cobra]

The problem with Carolina as a destination, they haven’t historically signed guys like Andersson to long term contracts. A rental, sure.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Call me crazy but he would do well here with Coleman and Backlund as a line. Just a matter of finding a deal that makes sense. We're already cluttered at forward though.

You're Crazy, we don't need a whole line of guys in their mid 30s, when we have tons of prospects pushing for spots soon. If they wanna pay us a 1st and take back Farabee it's a different story.

[browna]

Nm

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

You're Crazy, we don't need a whole line of guys in their mid 30s, when we have tons of prospects pushing for spots soon. If they wanna pay us a 1st and take back Farabee it's a different story.

It’s implied we would be compensated for taking on that bad contract.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

It’s implied we would be compensated for taking on that bad contract.

Yes clearly, doesn't mean there's a spot. And saying he would be good with Backlund and Coleman has no value, we have players that can play with those 2 that aren't 34 year old has-beens.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

You're Crazy, we don't need a whole line of guys in their mid 30s, when we have tons of prospects pushing for spots soon. If they wanna pay us a 1st and take back Farabee it's a different story.

Do the Flames actually need young players who are waiver eligible playing in the NHL if having those players play in the NHL prevents them from getting further young assets? Like is there any proof that having a 20 or 21 year old playing in the NHL is better for their development? If that young player prevents the Flames from getting additional prospects or picks it is probably a net negative for the franchise.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

It’s implied we would be compensated for taking on that bad contract.

For the right sweetener, it would be worth considering IMO. My main worry would be whose spot he takes.

Our current roster has Hunt on the team, so if Palat was slotting in instead of Hunt, then fine. But if some prospect shows up and really impressed, I wouldn't want Palat and his no movement clause (can't be sent down unlike Hunt) holding back a prospect who can be sent down. The whole "numbers game" thing. But if no forward prospect impresses enough, then I'd be fine with it. Wait until after camp before doing anything.

Palat definitely isn't a $6 million player, but he is a pretty consistent double digit goal scorer with 3rd-4th line ice time.

[sureLoss]

Just spitballing but wonder if there is a GM with the balls to try and go around the new double retention rules.

The new rule states: "a team cannot retain on a contract that has already been retained within 75 regular season days of the first retention."

If you look at a March 6 trade deadline, 75 days before is December 21 which is during the NHL holiday roster freeze.

What if a GM traded for a 50% retained rental player just before the holiday roster freeze with the intention to flip him at the deadline so that the player could have double salary retention?

There is of course risks: player could get injured, player's trade value might go down, etc.

And the team has to pay more money than they did in the past. So they would want a significant return for the double retention (more than the mid round picks we have seen previously).

But if it is the only way a star player can get on a cup contender with the salary cap, I wonder if there are some backroom agreements to get this type of deal done.

[Jay Random]

I'm sure there are GMs who would like to try, but it's going to be very difficult to get those deals made – especially when most of the players it's worth trying on have some kind of trade protection. You can't just acquire them and pinky-promise to trade them to a team they like 75 days later. A lot can change in the run-up to the deadline, and the deal may no longer be there.