2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Grifters keep grifting!

very very few people live on on the internet after making so many verifiably false claims and yet here he is.

I will never forget the hilarious sportsnet special eklund edition.

Yeah I only posted it because how ridiculous it is. I think a Leafs fanboy couldn’t have made worse proposals.

[CF84]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

EKLUND warning!!!!!!

https://www.hockeybuzz.com/2025/12/0...e-kadri-flames


Just an absolute terrible article about Kadri to the Leafs. Littered with errors and over hyping of Leafs players. I want nothing do with it and luckily it is all fan fiction anyway

Hahaha. He knows Kadri is worth more than that and he just wants some hopeful or angry clicks. The Leafs are just a bad trading partner for the Flames and I don't think they'd be willing to meet value required for a player like Kadri.


We're all familiar with Brad and his "I think my offer was better, but it came down to the last second and the other team switched directions."

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by DreDayPucks

Nobody is trading a top 10 pick for any of our players. Why would a team that’s heading to a bottom 10 finish trade for any of them. It just makes no sense.

That isn't what Royle was saying, I don't think.

1st round picks are currency. Acquire as many as we can so we have the ammo to convince one of those bottom 10 teams to move down. You throw 3 first round picks at them, might be enough to convince someone.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Kadri and Andersson are easily commanding a 1st++
Coleman under the right circumstances/team could fetch a 1st
Flames could come out with 3 more firsts in this years draft, which sounds like something they're very interested in.

2 picks in the top 10? Yes please.

This. Can we has?

I'll settle for 2/3 and two extra firsts in this draft.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

That isn't what Royle was saying, I don't think.

1st round picks are currency. Acquire as many as we can so we have the ammo to convince one of those bottom 10 teams to move down. You throw 3 first round picks at them, might be enough to convince someone.

That scenario or an unprotected first just winds up being in the bottom ten because the team falls off. Meaning the team that trades isn't currently bottom ten, but things go off the rails and that ends up being where the pick is.

Whether that be Vegas or whomever else sends a 1st. Maybe another unprotected pick comes their way.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Exactly where I've landed.

I spent more time watching Tynan Lawrence content in the last week or so, and yeah...Top-4 pick and I'd be happy. Obviously still have oodles of love for McKenna and he'd be the one I want, but any of those top-4 has me overflowing with joy.

I think only on wacky world would he get out of the top five.

[stemit14]

What a haul it would be to have 3-4 first round picks in this draft and 2-3 first round picks in the 2027 draft. I know the smart move would be to spread out the picks across the 2 drafts but it would be pretty funny for the flames to go to the podium 5 times in the first round (three 1sts from the Andersson, Kadri and Coleman trades + the Vegas 1st + their own 1st) of the 2026 draft. Would make for a blast of a draft. And likely enough draft capital to actually move up in the draft if they really wanted it.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Draft 6 times in the next two first rounds and I think you can start replenishing your veteran presence leading up to the new arena opening.

That should be more than enough cupboard filling to set them up to have the next young core going forward. Between all the good looking prospects from the last two drafts and those to come in the next two, the group that comes out as the best of that litter should set them up well.

Even before 2026 and 2027 you have

Coronato, Gridin, Honzek, Kuznetsov, Parekh, Wolf as definite NHLers

Morton, Brz, Kerins, Hunt are knocking on the door in the AHL

Reschny, Potter, Wyttenbach, Mews, Hoskins, Stockselius projecting very well

Battaglia, Gruschnikov, Stromgren, Basha, Morin, Phillips, Suniev, Misa, Jamieson, Lipinski, Matveiko still have potential to get there

[Royle9]

Leafs and Flames are not partners for any of our guys.
Kadri won’t be going to the leafs for anything less than Knies, which means he won’t be.

Don’t feed the trolls and terrible Toronto trade media guru’s where they give up EA calibre fodder for star players just by adding more junk to the already terrible value trade.

[Ped]

For over-hyping the Leafs, my favourite article was still earlier this season concluding that Maxi Domi was the most tradeable asset that could get the Leafs something valuable.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Leafs and Flames are not partners for any of our guys.
Kadri won’t be going to the leafs for anything less than Knies, which means he won’t be.

Don’t feed the trolls and terrible Toronto trade media guru’s where they give up EA calibre fodder for star players just by adding more junk to the already terrible value trade.

Amen.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Bingo

What would the power rankings for Conroy deals be?

1. Lindholm
2. Markstrom
3. Frost/Farabee
4. Mangiapane
5. Toffoli
6. Zadorov
7. Tanev
8. Hanifin
9. Okhotiuk

In terms of assets gained/lost compared to how I value said players with hindsight.

[Ashes]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Which out of the playoffs teams that would be interested in bolstering their lineups have 1st round picks in the top 15?

Seems nonsensical.

The teams trading for these guys are going to be offering late 1st round, lottery protected 1sts at best to upgrade their teams for this year and playoffs.

None of teams that currently have a high first rounder are paying for rentals or older players to bolster their non-playoff rosters.

Genuine question, have you seen the latest NHL standings and how close just about every time on the outside is to being in a playoff spot?

IMO it's not nonsensical at all to think that some teams that are 2-6 points out could conceivably think that they're capable of fighting their way into a spot if they upgraded their centre or defensive depth with a Kadri/Andersson addition.

Right now the entire eastern conference (Maple Leafs in last place) are within 6 points of the last wild card spot.

Right now the entire western conference are within 6 points of the last wild card spot (except Nashville, 8 points out).

With all of this parity, if the Flames make a deal with one of those teams just on the outside you just hope that they don't find themselves in a playoff spot at the end of the year.

Doesn't seem like a bad gamble to me IMO. Worst case they do sneak in and the pick still likely ends up between 16-20 with a bad first round performance.

Just being optimistic here, not trying to be rude. I really think this is the year to trade for 1sts as we could lucky with one or even both of those picks being 15th or lower if we trade both Kadri and Andersson (God i hope we trade them both for 1sts).

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

That scenario or an unprotected first just winds up being in the bottom ten because the team falls off. Meaning the team that trades isn't currently bottom ten, but things go off the rails and that ends up being where the pick is.

Whether that be Vegas or whomever else sends a 1st. Maybe another unprotected pick comes their way.

Teams seem to protect picks as a matter of right these days. Unless the pick gets kicked down the road. It seems unlikely that Calgary can trade for an unprotected 1st in 2026 from the current crop of tradables that becomes a top ten lottery pick.

Their hope is from their own pick and somehow Vegas falls off the rails. Which could happen. Right now, the Jets and Florida are picking 10 and 11. Leafs are 5th, Mammoth 7th. Oilers 9th.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Ashes

IMO it's not nonsensical at all to think that some teams that are 2-6 points out could conceivably think that they're capable of fighting their way into a spot if they upgraded their centre or defensive depth with a Kadri/Andersson addition.


With all of this parity, if the Flames make a deal with one of those teams just on the outside you just hope that they don't find themselves in a playoff spot at the end of the year.

The above could happen, but those picks would be lottery protected. It's standard these days.

[Ashes]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

The above could happen, but those picks would be lottery protected. It's standard these days.

Yeah they'll likely be lottery protected but even with protection they can still turn into a middle of the first round pick (or better if the team slides), OR they become a unprotected 2027 pick which would be just fine. Chances are quite slim that a team between 10-16 are going to win the lottery anyway.

[Ped]

And not only that, there are quite a few trades that are lottery-protected, that turn into unprotected the following year, if they are indeed in the lottery.

[Calgary4LIfe]

That's the thing with trading for 2026 picks - unless you are making the trade early, you are generally getting late-round picks. Definitely not terrible for a team like the Flames that have been drafting well - adding another Gridin-level prospect would be fantastic, right?


However, there are so many of them that I would like. I would absolutely love a good bet. If one of Kadri or Andersson goes to Toronto, and that 2028 pick is part of the return, that would be glorious. Now, if you don't see them falling off a cliff in the next couple of years, then that's poor value having a pick that far off. However, there are restrictions on the 2027 pick, that 2028 pick could be rolled-into a 2029 unprotected pick. They will have a lot of cap space by then, but at the same time, nothing coming through the pipe. They are already a fairly shallow team. Will McDavid want to sign there, really? A bit of a gamble, but one I would love to see happen. Inserting a top 5 prospect (or higher!) into the organization just as the Flames are turning a corner would be huge.


Tough to wait that long, I know, especially if it goes sideways and Toronto (whomever the GM is at the time) finds a way to turn them around. I think they are going to fade, so if that 2028 pick is ever on the table, I would love for Conroy to snap it up. Would be so nice to reverse that Gilmour trade and have something to lord over them for once.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

That isn't what Royle was saying, I don't think.

1st round picks are currency. Acquire as many as we can so we have the ammo to convince one of those bottom 10 teams to move down. You throw 3 first round picks at them, might be enough to convince someone.

In order to make it worth it, we would need to trade up to the top 5. No team is trading a top 5. Not sure it is worth trading up to get 8-10 using multiple 1sts.

Last year was a prime example, I was high on McQueen and very high on O'Brien. Do you trade Rechsny and Potter to get one of them. D+1 so far says the Flames did well not pulling off the trade to get McQueen. Could change, but more years it isn't worth giving up a ton to get a pick 8-10, extra bullets are the better way to go.

Top 5, different story. Nobody is trading top 5 for late 1sts though.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

That's the thing with trading for 2026 picks - unless you are making the trade early, you are generally getting late-round picks. Definitely not terrible for a team like the Flames that have been drafting well - adding another Gridin-level prospect would be fantastic, right?


However, there are so many of them that I would like. I would absolutely love a good bet. If one of Kadri or Andersson goes to Toronto, and that 2028 pick is part of the return, that would be glorious. Now, if you don't see them falling off a cliff in the next couple of years, then that's poor value having a pick that far off. However, there are restrictions on the 2027 pick, that 2028 pick could be rolled-into a 2029 unprotected pick. They will have a lot of cap space by then, but at the same time, nothing coming through the pipe. They are already a fairly shallow team. Will McDavid want to sign there, really? A bit of a gamble, but one I would love to see happen. Inserting a top 5 prospect (or higher!) into the organization just as the Flames are turning a corner would be huge.


Tough to wait that long, I know, especially if it goes sideways and Toronto (whomever the GM is at the time) finds a way to turn them around. I think they are going to fade, so if that 2028 pick is ever on the table, I would love for Conroy to snap it up. Would be so nice to reverse that Gilmour trade and have something to lord over them for once.

This is the way to go IMO. The Flames already have a ton of prospects to sort through as they have had extra picks and had a strong 2024 draft. There are only so many prime spots on the Wranglers, only so many spot in the top 6 on the Flames. We need top end talent, less depth. We are up picks in 2026 and have a bunch of prospects. Give them time to develop and have extra down the road. A team like Toronto is so thin on prospects and picks, at some point they could tank. I would wait for that and even if that pick is 15-20 OV, having time to sort through what we have now and move out vets over time will be beneficial for Conroy.

Kuznetsov is a prime example of a player playing very well but we had him on waivers a month ago and he could have been lost for nothing.

Zary's play will improve IMO as soon as we ship someone out and get him more ice.