2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

If stealing a hubcap doesn’t scream “Detroit”, I don’t know what does.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Roko

This place is gonna go nuts if anyone is healthy scratched tomorrow

Like Sharangovich?

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

You're assuming that does happen, I was simply putting out that they haven't done that so far - and they might (or probably?) won't do that. We'll see. Them kicking the legs out from under the table isn't something they've done, and that'd probably be viewed as 'tanking', no? Which they've said they aren't going to do.

I am following the growing evidence of actions. Conroy said he wouldn't walk any significant player on the team to UFA and he has proved over and over again that is the case. Repeated actions supporting his words. It makes sense to assume that he'll do the same with Andersson.

Your position is to just make up the opposite position, ignore the words Conroy has said about not letting a guy like Andersson walk to UFA and ignore the evidence of him trading all significant pending free agents, and then get upset about the imaginary scenario that hasn't happened potentially happening. Nothing about that is logical.

Yes, kicking the legs out of the table by trading many of the vets that were on the team would be the equivalent of a "rebuild" and "tanking" but they said "retool". Clearly the goal was to draft high last year and this year and probably next year too to get a team ready for the new arena.

They will never say that in the media and expecting them to say that in the media is your mistake. Stop listening for them to say that thing they won't say and watch their actions instead. At this point the only thing keeping them from a full blown bottom out is the fact that Kadri and Andersson have been great, Huberdeau bounced back, and some young prospects have emerged as great players (Wolf, Coronato, etc).

Right now it is a balancing act for Conroy between trying to trade out vets, bottom out the team briefly and get some good picks before more young guys join the team and drive us back up the standings. This is the problem with an unplanned "rebuild" because we did not have the contract structure or the team composition to bottom out for an extended period of time. Treliving left us with too many NTCs and too many young guys are playing better and sooner than expected.

All of this is why I think the priority needs to be a trade to get the C that we need for the top line. We may be able to get one or two good drafts but as guys like Parekh and Gridin establish themselves and join Wolf, Coronato, Bahl, Kuznetsov, etc. etc. the chances of that shrinks.

[CFO]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Flames are ahead of the Jets though

Jets roster is in win now mode. If they don't make the playoffs - it's a huge failure.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Wolven

At this point the only thing keeping them from a full blown bottom out is the fact that Kadri and Andersson have been great, Huberdeau bounced back, and some young prospects have emerged as great players (Wolf, Coronato, etc).

Huberdeau has bounced back? He's on pace for 47 points in 77 games assuming he doesn't miss any more time.

Coronato is on pace for 46 points.

And each is getting great ice time and PP time.

Wolf is at 2.92 GAA, .896 save percentage. He currently ranks 47th in gaols saved above average.

Coronato and Wolf have proven to be NHL players, but neither is considered great yet. Cooley has out played him by a substantial margin this year. Wolf has looked better recently.

Kadri and Andersson are leading the Flames resurgence. Well above anyone else. Cooley and Coleman would be next in line.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Huberdeau has bounced back? He's on pace for 47 points in 77 games assuming he doesn't miss any more time.

Coronato is on pace for 46 points.

And each is getting great ice time and PP time.

Wolf is at 2.92 GAA, .896 save percentage. He currently ranks 47th in gaols saved above average.

Coronato and Wolf have proven to be NHL players, but neither is considered great yet. Cooley has out played him by a substantial margin this year. Wolf has looked better recently.

Kadri and Andersson are leading the Flames resurgence. Well above anyone else. Cooley and Coleman would be next in line.

Well I do think you have to look at the last 25 games or so to see who is playing better and driving the Flames little surge up the standings.

Coronato is scoring some goals, he was doing nothing at start of the year.
Wolf and Cooley are giving them very good goaltending lately.
The defense as a whole is playing well. Rasmus has been great and Weegar at least has improved from his horrendous start.
Agreed that Huberdeau has been his typical self all year long, despite being given all the PP time and offensive zone starts.
Kadri and Farabee have been relatively consistent all year long. Frost is showing up more often on the scoresheet now.
The Backlund/Coleman line consistently gets the job done, no matter who is on their wing.

Overall they are playing like last year now. Actually I'd argue they're playing a little better at the moment.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Huberdeau has bounced back? He's on pace for 47 points in 77 games assuming he doesn't miss any more time.

Coronato is on pace for 46 points.

And each is getting great ice time and PP time.

Wolf is at 2.92 GAA, .896 save percentage. He currently ranks 47th in gaols saved above average.

Coronato and Wolf have proven to be NHL players, but neither is considered great yet. Cooley has out played him by a substantial margin this year. Wolf has looked better recently.

Kadri and Andersson are leading the Flames resurgence. Well above anyone else. Cooley and Coleman would be next in line.

Yes, he did. What started the rebuild was Huberdeau's first season with the team. He was supposed to come in and put up ~90 points or whatever and instead he put up 55 and only 15 goals. That terrible 2022-23 season was what caused Conroy to blow up the core and kick off the retool.

Then after 7 vets were traded and we were ready to bottom out in 2024-25, Huberdeau wakes up and scores 28? (That was the bounce back.) At the same time, Kadri has a career year. Wolf and Vladar play great, etc. And the team misses the playoffs by a sneeze instead of bottoming out. That season was unfair on so many levels - they gutted out a chance at the playoffs and instead get the league record for most points while missing the playoffs. This was the resurgence / bounce back.

So now we are in year 2 of the bottom out. There was a minor blip up but I wouldn't call it a resurgence as we are still 4th from the bottom of the standings with 2 points separating us from the bottom. Resurgence (IMO) would be if the Flames climbed into a playoff spot, like the Blues did last year.

Now we can watch to see how many more legs Conroy removes from the table. Andersson being traded will be a massive hole in the back-end as the group tries to redistribute his 24 minutes per game. If Kadri goes, our already low team scoring will get even lower and our C depth will change dramatically to Frost - Backlund - Zary? - Kirkland/Beecher. Coleman being traded might not be that much of an impact because of our winger depth but I do think he is a big part of the leadership group.

[GioforPM]

I think Huberdeau has bounced back in that , while he certainly doesn’t produce like he should (which is definitely not all his fault), his underlying play has been pretty darn good. he hits, plays well defensively, seems like a positive element in the room and stands up for teammates.

His point totals would be a lot better if there were better finishers on the team and if the powerplay used him better. His better season last year was with Kadri. This season he has Frost, who is getting better but is not Kadri.

He’s been OK in December - 7 points in 9 games. He’s had 3 mini-slumps (2 in Nov) which is basically the issue. But he seems to be past that now.

[Royle9]

No "new" news from my end that's not already been said.


Though I will add that I was led to believe something was very close on Andersson prior to the freeze, and could likely transpire soon after the ban is lifted as the deal is not dead.
Value is going to be there regardless, but an extension would make it even better (obviously).

Coleman and Kadri are still top forwards rumored to be on the market, Kadri remains willing to work with whatever direction Craig chooses, but will not be sent to a dead market just to make a trade happen.

Interest in Coleman remains very high, there's over a dozen teams who are itching to add Blake for his experience and pedigree, though again I believe there's a few teams at the top of his list (Dallas + Carolina)

Calgary really wants another 1st round pick this year, believe they'll be able to get that through trades. More ammo = more capability of moving up if the right guy is there. Apparently have a number of guys on that 2nd shelf that they would be very happy to get.

Been told that Calgary is VERY high on Lawrence (positionally not surprising) I guess they've been scouting him extensively for the last 2 years.

[Jiggy]

Originally Posted by Royle9

No "new" news from my end that's not already been said.


Though I will add that I was led to believe something was very close on Andersson prior to the freeze, and could likely transpire soon after the ban is lifted as the deal is not dead.
Value is going to be there regardless, but an extension would make it even better (obviously).

Coleman and Kadri are still top forwards rumored to be on the market, Kadri remains willing to work with whatever direction Craig chooses, but will not be sent to a dead market just to make a trade happen.

Interest in Coleman remains very high, there's over a dozen teams who are itching to add Blake for his experience and pedigree, though again I believe there's a few teams at the top of his list (Dallas + Carolina)

Calgary really wants another 1st round pick this year, believe they'll be able to get that through trades. More ammo = more capability of moving up if the right guy is there. Apparently have a number of guys on that 2nd shelf that they would be very happy to get.

Been told that Calgary is VERY high on Lawrence (positionally not surprising) I guess they've been scouting him extensively for the last 2 years.

Always appreciate your updates, Royle. Merry Christmas!

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think Huberdeau has bounced back in that , while he certainly doesn’t produce like he should (which is definitely not all his fault), his underlying play has been pretty darn good. he hits, plays well defensively, seems like a positive element in the room and stands up for teammates.

His point totals would be a lot better if there were better finishers on the team and if the powerplay used him better. His better season last year was with Kadri. This season he has Frost, who is getting better but is not Kadri.

He’s been OK in December - 7 points in 9 games. He’s had 3 mini-slumps (2 in Nov) which is basically the issue. But he seems to be past that now.

You are still defending Huberdeau?
He hits, he defends well? Is that a satire?

He is one of the biggest disappointments in the NHL. So disappointed that nobody cares to talk about him any more

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think Huberdeau has bounced back in that , while he certainly doesn’t produce like he should (which is definitely not all his fault), his underlying play has been pretty darn good. he hits, plays well defensively, seems like a positive element in the room and stands up for teammates.

His point totals would be a lot better if there were better finishers on the team and if the powerplay used him better. His better season last year was with Kadri. This season he has Frost, who is getting better but is not Kadri.

He’s been OK in December - 7 points in 9 games. He’s had 3 mini-slumps (2 in Nov) which is basically the issue. But he seems to be past that now.

When the best you can say about a player is that he is good in the locker room, you know his production is quite poor.

His production has dropped into the 40's now, notwithstanding his premium ice time.

The PP is poor. He's one of the reasons for it.

His linemates points would be better if he was better also.

Calgary has a bunch of players who are basically 45 point players. Even though they are getting good ice time and PP time. That's a recipe of a bad team.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

You are still defending Huberdeau?
He hits, he defends well? Is that a satire?

He is one of the biggest disappointments in the NHL. So disappointed that nobody cares to talk about him any more

Perfect, that should be the last time you post about him.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

When the best you can say about a player is that he is good in the locker room, you know his production is quite poor.

His production has dropped into the 40's now, notwithstanding his premium ice time.

The PP is poor. He's one of the reasons for it.

His linemates points would be better if he was better also.

Calgary has a bunch of players who are basically 45 point players. Even though they are getting good ice time and PP time. That's a recipe of a bad team.

Yes, you are catching up to the point. This team should have been bottom 5 last year and they exceeded expectations. This year it looks like they are on pace to meet expectations and stay in the bottom 5.

Trading Andersson will help make that happen. Trading Kadri would be overkill.

[Strange Brew]

Huberdeau is 14th on the Flames in hits. This is a case of focusing on a player so much that you remember all of their hits but don't notice what else happens on the ice.

He is second among all forwards in giveaways behind only Kadri. Given how little Huberdeau carries the puck compared to some of the forwards, that is awful. Rarely starts in the defensive zone. By my eye test, conditioning still seems like an issue.

The Huberdeau hate has generally stopped for the most part thankfully. The guy has accepted his role and he obviously cares. And he still has talent.

But to praise him for hitting and defensive awareness is a bridge too far. And the common excuse is that his teammate's drag down his offensive production. Shouldn't he be elevating his teammate's offensive production?

[united]

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Huberdeau is 14th on the Flames in hits. This is a case of focusing on a player so much that you remember all of their hits but don't notice what else happens on the ice.

He is second among all forwards in giveaways behind only Kadri. Given how little Huberdeau carries the puck compared to some of the forwards, that is awful. Rarely starts in the defensive zone. By my eye test, conditioning still seems like an issue.

The Huberdeau hate has generally stopped for the most part thankfully. The guy has accepted his role and he obviously cares. And he still has talent.

But to praise him for hitting and defensive awareness is a bridge too far. And the common excuse is that his teammate's drag down his offensive production. Shouldn't he be elevating his teammate's offensive production?

Calgary's offensive system right now is pretty non-conducive to creating talent for skilled players. It's reverted back to working hard, throwing lots of pucks at the net, crashing the net, forcing turn overs, etc....

I'm still seeing Huberdeau throwing great passes to player who have no idea how to receive them. On another, more skill orientated, team, Huberdeau would have better numbers.

Not saying Huberdeau is playing great hockey, but his numbers don't reflect what he's putting in either. He's playing a lot with guys like Morgan Frost, who btw is on pace for 1 point below his best season ever. I really love Frost as a middle centre option, but he's not who you want playing with your best offensive guys.

[Robbob]

listening to the radio yesterday they had a conversation and talking about Alex Tuch and how he could get 10+M in FA. With the cap going up, I am really having trouble with player values and cap hits. If Tuch is getting Huberdeau or more money, is Huidreau's contract really that bad?

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by Royle9

No "new" news from my end that's not already been said.


Though I will add that I was led to believe something was very close on Andersson prior to the freeze, and could likely transpire soon after the ban is lifted as the deal is not dead.
Value is going to be there regardless, but an extension would make it even better (obviously).

Coleman and Kadri are still top forwards rumored to be on the market, Kadri remains willing to work with whatever direction Craig chooses, but will not be sent to a dead market just to make a trade happen.

Interest in Coleman remains very high, there's over a dozen teams who are itching to add Blake for his experience and pedigree, though again I believe there's a few teams at the top of his list (Dallas + Carolina)

Calgary really wants another 1st round pick this year, believe they'll be able to get that through trades. More ammo = more capability of moving up if the right guy is there. Apparently have a number of guys on that 2nd shelf that they would be very happy to get.

Been told that Calgary is VERY high on Lawrence (positionally not surprising) I guess they've been scouting him extensively for the last 2 years.

Thanks for reporting, and not casting shade as you are the messenger.

From the past few years though, the cost to move up has been under estimated by this management group and the previous. If theyre talking about our own pick, we can just lose which is kinda free, if theyre talking about pairing with the Vegas pick, other teams have the math too, and its doubtful we can get into the top 10 with out giving up 3 assets.

For a team trying to accumulate skill this seems counter productive to just trading a few players and kicking the legs out.

Frustrating to hear.

[Rick M.]

When does the trade freeze end?