2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

1 year left on contract or entering the last year of their contract isn’t that bizarre of a definition for expiring contract

Picking an arbitrary point during the season to define that they no longer have term left is actually more bizarre

If the argument is that they had no choice but to move all these players ...

Then you have to allow for a difference between

a) trading a player in March that is a UFA when you're well out of the playoff picture

and

b) trading a player a year before he becomes a UFA when the team hasn't lost a single game (summer).

I mean if you're going to accuse a franchise of always wanting to "get in" or be in the mushy middle how can you then call the two the same when the idiots in charge would be thinking they are playoff bound but move assets that could help them anyways?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

This really shows how much work the rebuild still has to do

We don’t have a great young new core yet , while we also don’t have an older but entering /in their prime established core that will be with the team as the young guys are ready

This isn’t a one year at the bottom scenario to have any chance at building a proper team

And I don't believe anyone thinks it is.

Yes, we still need to acquire high-end talent. That is at least 2 or 3 years right there.

But the key thing about the Flames' situation (as you pointed out) is that the current core isn't 27-30 (and thus will still be here for a while), it is 33-36 and will be entirely gone in 3 years. With only a very slim new core to take over.

Current core players:
Backlund 36
Kadri 35
Coleman 33
Huberdeau 32
Weegar 31

Huberdeau and Weegar will be all that remains in 3 years (at most). And their best years will be behind them.

Next core group:
Andersson 29 (gone)
Sharangovich 27
Frost 26
Farabee 25
Klapka 25
Zary 24

That group will all still be in their prime in 3 years, but none of them can be considered 'core' (yet).

So as we build a stockpile of youth, our core will evaporate. And the current 25-30 group is extremely weak. So we can't expect to be competitive until the youth becomes the new core. And that will take a while:

Wolf: pretty much ready
Parekh: likely 3-4 years (similar timeline to Hughes)
26 1st: 3 years
27 1st: 4 years
Gridin, Reschny and whoever else steps up: 3-5 years

It will be at least 3 or 4 years from now, before anyone is having any significant impact on making the team better. And probably at least another 3 years before they are in their prime and there is any realistic hope that it starts to gel into a competitive team.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

And I don't believe anyone thinks it is.

Yes, we still need to acquire high-end talent. That is at least 2 or 3 years right there.

But the key thing about the Flames' situation (as you pointed out) is that the current core isn't 27-30 (and thus will still be here for a while), it is 33-36 and will be entirely gone in 3 years. With only a very slim new core to take over.

Current core players:
Backlund 36
Kadri 35
Coleman 33
Huberdeau 32
Weegar 31

Huberdeau and Weegar will be all that remains in 3 years (at most). And their best years will be behind them.

Next core group:
Andersson 29 (gone)
Sharangovich 27
Frost 26
Farabee 25
Klapka 25
Zary 24

That group will all still be in their prime in 3 years, but none of them can be considered 'core' (yet).

So as we build a stockpile of youth, our core will evaporate. And the current 25-30 group is extremely weak. So we can't expect to be competitive until the youth becomes the new core. And that will take a while:

Wolf: pretty much ready
Parekh: likely 3-4 years (similar timeline to Hughes)
26 1st: 3 years
27 1st: 4 years
Gridin, Reschny and whoever else steps up: 3-5 years

It will be at least 3 or 4 years from now, before anyone is having any significant impact on making the team better. And probably at least another 3 years before they are in their prime and there is any realistic hope that it starts to gel into a competitive team.

Missing Coronato, Honzek, Brustewicz, Kuznetsov etc from that new core.

And of the core 6 I think you keep 3 move three.

Andersson, Kadri, and Coleman move. Weegar, Backlund, and Huberdeau stay.

Contract status, age, and trade value makes that make the most sense.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

1 year left on contract or entering the last year of their contract isn’t that bizarre of a definition for expiring contract

Picking an arbitrary point during the season to define that they no longer have term left is actually more bizarre

What is the point of this debate anyway?

Almost no one gets traded before the final year of their contract - it's not like it's some issue specific to the Flames.

Fact is, all those guys got traded, which wasn't necessarily going to be the case.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Missing Coronato, Honzek, Brustewicz, Kuznetsov etc from that new core.

And of the core 6 I think you keep 3 move three.

Andersson, Kadri, and Coleman move. Weegar, Backlund, and Huberdeau stay.

Contract status, age, and trade value makes that make the most sense.

Yeah, forgot to add a Coronato line (though that doesn't change anything)

The other guys are part of the 'Gridin, Reschny and whoever else steps up' line.

The point was a simple one: we don't have a group in their prime or early prime, that can take over from the aging core that we have. So we will have to wait for the kids to develop into a new core. And that is at least 5 years away, IMO.

This team will be worse, two years from now, than they are now.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Markstrom
Toffoli
Mangiapane

And to a lesser extent

Zadorov
Tanev

Top three traded with term left.

Bottom two wanted too much money or term so the team moved them.

Ya think maybe could be considered rude.

The others traded were still young enough that, on a decent contract, they could stay through a rebuild. Especially Hanifin. But Lindholm was only 28 at the time as well. SJ signed Granlund the year before they got Celebrini.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

What is the point of this debate anyway?

Almost no one gets traded before the final year of their contract - it's not like it's some issue specific to the Flames.

Fact is, all those guys got traded, which wasn't necessarily going to be the case.

Sharks traded Hertl, Meier, Karlsson all of whom had multiple years left on their deals left, and in the case of Hertl and Meier much younger and more likely to contribute on the back side of the rebuild than the Flames guys are.

Hawks traded Jones, Debrincat, McCabe, Dach, Hagel, as players with mutiple years of control / contract left.

Ducks traded Zegras, Fowler, Manson, etc with term left on their deal.

Habs traded Petry, Lehkonen (RFA), Toffoli, with either control or term left on their deal.

Rebuilding teams trade players with term left all the time.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Missing Coronato, Honzek, Brustewicz, Kuznetsov etc from that new core.

That’s pretty a weak group. Coronato is likely the only player that has a long NHL career ahead. Honzek will have missed so much developmental time that if he ever sticks it will likely be on another team.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

100 this!


I remember around the McDavid draft, there was a valuation that popped-up somewhere (and for the life of me, I can't remember where it came from) that valued McDavid at roughly 1 billion dollars to his organization.


I also look at 'growing your fanbase'. I can't stand the Oilers, and I find them to be a rather despicable organization on top of my own personal feelings. However, in the last 10 seasons, which organization has grown their fanbase? "Most exciting" player in the NHL + 2 finals appearances? I bet that Calgary grew their fanbase a little from the 2015 season and probably to the 2018 season - Johnny Hockey. However, the Flames have done little to grow their product. In the last three seasons, I would be very surprised if the fanbase hasn't shrunk.


The new building will definitely bring more profitability to the organization. Drafting a couple of wonder-kids, and having legitimate playoff success will really help. I had said this a few seasons ago: If I was not a fan of this team already, Calgary would be one of the last organizations for me to pick and become a fan of.


This rebuild may 'suck', but long-term, it will create excitement and generate a bunch of new fans. Even young kids in Calgary - when they are playing street-hockey, and pretending to be a star, who are they pretending to be? Few if any Flames I bet. I remember being Nieuwendyk, or Loob, or MacInnis. Not so long ago I am sure there were lots pretending to be Gaudreau. Now I bet a lot of them are picking other stars from different teams.


This is the breath of fresh air that this organization needs - financially, as well as drawing in a new generation of fans in the coming years.

McDavid and McDavids success don't seem to be inflection points in those 2 graphs at all. If you compare them side by side, the value of the Canadian Economy, the Value of the NHL brand overall, seem to track well with the ebs and flows. Then where the graphs separate could be directly linked to number of playoff wins. Both go up more than expected with more playoff wins, and down more than expected with a lack of playoff wins.

Based on the limitation of those 2 graphs, I'd argue winning in the regular season doesn't matter, names on the jerseys only matter to the extent that they get you deeper into may. You see a game at the end of May into June, and your value skyrockets.

It's a good argument for rebuild, because finishing between 32nd and 17th doesn't seem to impact value much, but going deep has a big impact, lower downside and higher upside.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Sharks traded Hertl, Meier, Karlsson all of whom had multiple years left on their deals left, and in the case of Hertl and Meier much young and more likely to contribute on the back side of the rebuild than the Flames guys are.

Hawks traded Jones, Debrincat, McCabe, Dach, Hagel, as players with mutiple years of control / contract left.

Ducks traded Zegras, Fowler, Manson, etc with term left on their deal.

Habs traded Petry, Lehkonen (RFA), Toffoli, with either control or term left on their deal.

Rebuilding teams trade players with term left all the time.

This list is not accurate. Multiple players you listed had one year or less remaining on their contracts, including Meier and Debrincat.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

This list is not accurate. Multiple players you listed had one year or less remaining on their contracts, including Meier and Debrincat.

Debrincat was a RFA wasn’t he ? To me that’s equivalent to having more term - the team has control past the season

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Debrincat was a RFA wasn’t he ? To me that’s equivalent to having more term - the team has control past the season

I believe Meier also was approaching RFA status.

[Ba'alzamon]

Wouldn't Mintyukov's value be similar to David Jiricek's when Minnesota acquired him? Like I know he wasn't drafted as early and it's been a year, but he's also been better in the NHL so far (or at least he's played more and scored at a better rate).

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Bingo

If the argument is that they had no choice but to move all these players ...

Then you have to allow for a difference between

a) trading a player in March that is a UFA when you're well out of the playoff picture

and

b) trading a player a year before he becomes a UFA when the team hasn't lost a single game (summer).

I mean if you're going to accuse a franchise of always wanting to "get in" or be in the mushy middle how can you then call the two the same when the idiots in charge would be thinking they are playoff bound but move assets that could help them anyways?

What everyone seems to be forgetting when arguing the Toffoli was some type of proactive move remember he was traded in part for the team to be cap compliant. Craig inherited that but they were up against the cap and that move helped with that.

I think the Markstrom and Mangiapane moves were made because Wolf and Coronato were ready. I had also heard both guys welcomed a change of scenery

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Sharks traded Hertl, Meier, Karlsson all of whom had multiple years left on their deals left, and in the case of Hertl and Meier much younger and more likely to contribute on the back side of the rebuild than the Flames guys are.

Hawks traded Jones, Debrincat, McCabe, Dach, Hagel, as players with mutiple years of control / contract left.

Ducks traded Zegras, Fowler, Manson, etc with term left on their deal.

Habs traded Petry, Lehkonen (RFA), Toffoli, with either control or term left on their deal.

Rebuilding teams trade players with term left all the time.

It's an interesting list because, for example,

San Jose: Hertl was signed when they were in the beginning of the rebuild (2022), and Meier was actually an expiring contract - he was traded 21 games into the final year of his deal, Karlsson was just a huge mistake in signing in the first place - no one could believe it.

There are different circumstances in all of these. Seth Jones had JUST been signed by Chicago at the beginning of their rebuild. And then they turned him into Fla's first. So if the Flames signed Andersson to a contract and then traded him, maybe that would be better than trading him now.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

That’s pretty a weak group. Coronato is likely the only player that has a long NHL career ahead. Honzek will have missed so much developmental time that if he ever sticks it will likely be on another team.

Think this is pessimistic about Honzek - he's looked great in his two years of NHL time as a 200 ft player. Just can't stay healthy, but seems determined to stick in the NHL.

I break it down similar to Enoch.

Old Core:
Huberdeau - 5.5 years - 32
Weegar - 5.5 years - 32
Backlund - 2.5 years - 36
Kadri - 3.5 years - 35
Coleman - 1.5 years - 34
Anderson - .5 years - 29
Lomberg - 0.5 year - 30

IMO age, trade value, and contract length means that Huberdeau, Weegar and Backlund stay as your veterans to lead the young, Kadri, Coleman, and Andersson move on.

Transitionary Players
Sharangovich - 4.5 years - 27
Farabee- 2.5 years - 25
Frost - 1.5 years - 26
Bean - 0.5 years - 27
Hanley - 1.5 years - 34
Pachal - 1.5 years - 26
Cooley - 0.5 years - 28

These guys were brought in to bridge the gap in that 24-28 year old age range that just didn't exist in the Flames organization due to them trading a lot of picks in the Treliving era.

All these guys are UFA at contract Expiry.

Young Core Adjacent
Zary: 2.5 years (RFA) - 24
Klapka: 1.5 years (RFA) - 25
Pospisil : 3.5 years - 26

These guys were really the only guys around in the aforementioned age range that the Flames were looking to supplement. Don't think they are looked at as Core players right now, but are still guys developed internally by the org that could stick around longer term.

Young Core - NHL / Close to NHL
Coronato - 6.5 years - 23
Honzek - 2.5 Years (ELC) - 21
Gridin - 2.5 years (ELC) - 19
Bahl - 5.5 years - 25
Kuznetsov - 1.5 years (RFA) - 23
Brzustewicz - 1.5 years (ELC) - 20
Parekh - 2.5 years (ELC) - 19
Wolf - 7.5 years - 24

This is the young core that is a bit more of a known quantity at this point and look like they will be NHLers for sure.

Unknown Quantities / Will Require Waivers Soon
Stromgren - 22
Kerins - 23
King - 24
Morton - 26
Poirier - 23
Grushnikov - 22

Unknown quantities that are closer to either graduating or just aging out as prospects. Probably not core pieces but could be NHLers.

Top Prospects
Battaglia -19
Suniev - 21
Basha - 20
Reschny - 18
Potter - 18
Stockselius - 19
Wyttenbach - 18
Hoskin - 21
Mews - 19
Jamieson - 20
Misa - 19
Morin - 20

The top prospects that haven't really shown what they are at the NHL or AHL yet, but could still become core pieces. In the end the biggest issue is that outside of Wolf, Parekh, and maybe Reschny they don't really have anything that looks like elite pieces (who knows maybe Wyttenbach based on how he's playing). So that's what the focus really needs to be, they need more top end talent.

It's where adding a guy like Mintyukov could be awesome, as he's shown flashes of having that type of potential, in a position the Flames need it (LH dman)

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

What everyone seems to be forgetting when arguing the Toffoli was some type of proactive move remember he was traded in part for the team to be cap compliant. Craig inherited that but they were up against the cap and that move helped with that.

I think the Markstrom and Mangiapane moves were made because Wolf and Coronato were ready. I had also heard both guys welcomed a change of scenery

IIRC Markstrom only wanted a change because he was mad that he was being marketed (and told there was a trade only to have that trade scuttled).

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

This list is not accurate. Multiple players you listed had one year or less remaining on their contracts, including Meier and Debrincat.

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's an interesting list because, for example,

San Jose: Hertl was signed when they were in the beginning of the rebuild (2022), and Meier was actually an expiring contract - he was traded 21 games into the final year of his deal, Karlsson was just a huge mistake in signing in the first place - no one could believe it.

There are different circumstances in all of these. Seth Jones had JUST been signed by Chicago at the beginning of their rebuild. And then they turned him into Fla's first. So if the Flames signed Andersson to a contract and then traded him, maybe that would be better than trading him now.

Sorry messed up on Meier as I thought he had term left but you're right he was expiring to RFA - which I did mention 1 year left or team control.

Same with Debrincat who was traded with 1 year left - but he was expiring as an RFA so still had team control.

So not quite term but still a lot different than a UFA with 1 year left.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Sharks traded Hertl, Meier, Karlsson all of whom had multiple years left on their deals left, and in the case of Hertl and Meier much younger and more likely to contribute on the back side of the rebuild than the Flames guys are.

Hawks traded Jones, Debrincat, McCabe, Dach, Hagel, as players with mutiple years of control / contract left.

Ducks traded Zegras, Fowler, Manson, etc with term left on their deal.

Habs traded Petry, Lehkonen (RFA), Toffoli, with either control or term left on their deal.

Rebuilding teams trade players with term left all the time.

The Sharks also waited to trade those players until after they missed the playoffs for 3 to 4 years. The Sharks keep getting held up as this shining beacon when in reality they did pretty much everything fans on here are complaining about. I've posted them before but they had the owner saying they wouldn't rebuild in 2022 and Grier saying he wasn't hired to rebuild in his presser.


Give the Flames this year, see what they do, and then continue to gnash your teeth if they don't trade more vets.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

That’s pretty a weak group. Coronato is likely the only player that has a long NHL career ahead. Honzek will have missed so much developmental time that if he ever sticks it will likely be on another team.

Upper roster maybe not ... but we've seen a solid sample size from Honzek and Kuznetsov is currently holding down a top four role and playing quite well.

Jury in? Nope

But writing them off for having long careers seems premature.