2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[PepsiFree]

Yeah, that deal would hinge on an extension I think. No way Ottawa risks that again.

[MacFlame]

Originally Posted by FlamesAreOne

Are people having any change of heart of moving Ras given how good he's looked? Or is it still full blown sell high mode.

I'm a firm believer that teams need some carryover of vets from "re-build" to "re-build". These vets need to be players that WANT to be a part of the organization through the lean years. Ras' hesitation thus far does not indicate to me that he is someone who WANTS to be a part of such a scenario.

Retaining key vets through a re-build is important and is what can help ensure this is 3-4 year re-build vs. a 14 year re-build.

I've always said that Edmonton's biggest mistake in their re-build (other than poor drafting) and why it took so long was that they traded away players that desperately wanted to be a part of the organization, regardless of the direction it was going.....Ryan Smyth was a good example of that. He clearly didnt want to be traded and could have been a key player in the transition they were going through. Instead, they went down to the studs and re-built over and over and over again until they finally lucked out.

Backlund was a key piece from the Iginla era to the Gaudreau era.

I dont think Rasmus is that guy. I think he should be traded.

[PepsiFree]

On the keep/trade Andersson front, I would look at who you could get more for: a rental Andersson or Weegar with a pretty choice contract for 4 more years. If it’s Weegar, trade him and sign Ras long term, if it’s Ras, you trade him.

I love both players though so I’ll hate to see either go.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Frank teasing something...watch it be a podcast thing

I hope it's a cage match between him and Buble.

[Shazam]

I don't think vets are required at all for a rebuild. Their main purpose seems to be for rebuilding teams to reach the cap floor.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

I'm my opinion, given his age and where we are in the competitive cycle, the team would be better off leveraging his value to build assets for the future.

That being said, I wouldn't be upset if we did end up keeping him. I appreciate his work ethic and willingness to dive head first into the fight, and we're probably not worried about cap space for the next 4-5 years.
Keeping guys like him around to mentor the younger players is a key part of any rebuild, and you can always trade him in a few years, if need be.

Just seems like a bit of a waste, having a very good player toiling away outside of the playoffs for the next 4-5 years.

With the rebuilding direction, IMO it's critical to move out players like Ras in a timely fashion. Otherwise things drag on unnecessarily long.

He's of more value to the Flames in futures than he is playing well on a bad team. There are other, less valuable vets that can be culture setters.

[Vinny01]

I thought there were rumors that Ottawa was on the not trade list for Ras?

Getting a recent top 10 pick for him seems like a stretch but he is doing a great job of raising his value

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

On the keep/trade Andersson front, I would look at who you could get more for: a rental Andersson or Weegar with a pretty choice contract for 4 more years. If it’s Weegar, trade him and sign Ras long term, if it’s Ras, you trade him.

I love both players though so I’ll hate to see either go.

Both can and probably should happen at some point.

Ras's next deal will get all sorts of trade and movement protection, so it's not like you can easily move that contract if you wanted to.

Much easier to move him now and keep Weegar and maintain the flexibility to move Weegar down the road.

[Toonage]

Looks like Frank's thing was about a guest on his show. Bah.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I thought there were rumors that Ottawa was on the not trade list for Ras?

Getting a recent top 10 pick for him seems like a stretch but he is doing a great job of raising his value

I'd assume they were as they weren't really a contender. But they've kind of shifted the narrative a bit from borderline perpetual rebuilding to cusp of contending.

That might change Andersson's thinking if he got a pitch from the team, that included a massive bag of cash, to waive his no trade to go there.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

I'd assume they were as they weren't really a contender. But they've kind of shifted the narrative a bit from borderline perpetual rebuilding to cusp of contending.

That might change Andersson's thinking if he got a pitch from the team, that included a massive bag of cash, to waive his no trade to go there.

True they do look to have most of the pieces to contend. I haven’t followed Yakemchuk since he was drafted but he is off to a great start stats wise in the AHL. Feels like if he was a piece they were moving the Flames would have to add but getting another high end RHD (who played for the Hitmen) sounds like a great target.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

True they do look to have most of the pieces to contend. I haven’t followed Yakemchuk since he was drafted but he is off to a great start stats wise in the AHL. Feels like if he was a piece they were moving the Flames would have to add but getting another high end RHD (who played for the Hitmen) sounds like a great target.

Possibly, but an extended Rasmus Andersson has a lot of value right now. Ottawa also has a clock on getting firmly into a contention window in the next two years.

They're more likely to trade off high end assets for a major piece than a team like Montreal which has a longer window to get into contention.

[The Fonz]

As far as retaining key-vets through a rebuild, I do agree. Here's a list of the players whose last 200 games played have been with this team (I picked this number because I feel it's a good idea of the guys who both know how to approach the day-to-day life of an NHLer, as well as they understand the identity and approach of being a member of this team specifically):

Andersson
Backlund
Coleman
Huberdeau
Kadri
Weegar

By the end of this season, you can add these names to the list:

Coronato
Pachal
Pospisil
Sharangovich
Zary

Comes down to how one defines a veteran I guess, and whether it's simply # of games played in the league, or # of games played in this jersey.


My opinion is having Huberdeau, Weegar, and Backlund around as your older vets, along with a secondary group of younger vets in Coronato, Zary, and Pospisil, is good enough for a rebuild. Can't hang on to too many of the older vets when they've got trade value and you're rebuilding.

[TOfan]

There’s no chance the Flames are getting Carter Yackumchuk or Tij Iginla in any deal involving Andersson, Kadri or Coleman.

To have serious conversations about either player the Flames would need to have Parekh or Wolf on the table. Or perhaps their own first round pick in this years draft.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by TOfan

There’s no chance the Flames are getting Carter Yackumchuk or Tij Iginla in any deal involving Andersson, Kadri or Coleman.

To have serious conversations about either player the Flames would need to have Parekh or Wolf on the table. Or perhaps their own first round pick in this years draft.

I agree with that on Kadri and Coleman but I think you're missing the value of an extended Andersson. He's a top pairing, two-way defender who is young enough that an 8 year extension will likely provide value for the entire term.

I suspect he'll get less and be traded without an extension, but the value is there to return a prospect like Yakemchuk with an extension, particularly with the other timeline pressures the Senators have.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Eyeballs on Twitter this morning

https://twitter.com/user/status/1996957741852639502

Boo! It's just John Buccigross joining Frankly Hockey as a co-host. They made me tune in, in the hope of some NHL news.

[FlamesAreOne]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Looks like Frank's thing was about a guest on his show. Bah.

Truly one of the worst in the business.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

I agree with that on Kadri and Coleman but I think you're missing the value of an extended Andersson. He's a top pairing, two-way defender who is young enough that an 8 year extension will likely provide value for the entire term.

I suspect he'll get less and be traded without an extension, but the value is there to return a prospect like Yakemchuk with an extension, particularly with the other timeline pressures the Senators have.

Why would they trade a guy that they think have higher ceiling for the privilege of overpaying a guy in his 30s?

Unless they soured on Yakemchuk, it’s not going to happen

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by FlamesAreOne

Are people having any change of heart of moving Ras given how good he's looked? Or is it still full blown sell high mode.

He's playing like a 10m player right now. However, he's still volatile and can easily go back to playing like a 6/7m d-man. Maybe he's playing his butt off for a hefty raise wherever he goes. I know he loves it here, and we the fans and Flames brass love him too. But the NHL is and always is a business, and we have to leave feelings out the door. He is one of my favorite Flames to put on a Flames sweater, but I don't want to keep him if he is wanting more than 8.5m. 8.5m x 8 is more than fair. But, if we are going to do that, then we better have a plan on upgrading at forward with Brzustewicz, because I don't view him as a bottom pairing RD. We have Parekh and Andersson taking the right side, and Weegar can play left.

There's no better time to sell, so we need to sell him as soon as the best offer comes on the table. There's a lot of parity in the NHL, especially during the beginning 25-50% of the season. Wait until some teams start to push themselves up more and we will start to see some offers. Andersson is approaching top prospect, a 1st, and a decent roster player at this rate. Hopefully we can get it.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Why would they trade a guy that they think have higher ceiling for the privilege of overpaying a guy in his 30s?

Unless they soured on Yakemchuk, it’s not going to happen

Yakemchuk is at least three years from reaching that ceiling and may never get there. Andersson is at peak and will be for the next four-five years or more.

Tkachuk's contract expires in three years, and if they're not making long playoff runs in the next two, they'll be where Calgary was around 2021 and 2022 with their core jumping ship and pushing them back into a longer term rebuild.

That's why.