2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I don't think that's 100% fair.

they had a solid core and a contending team for five years with Gaudreau, Giordano, Monahan, Lindholm and Tkachuk.

Won two divisions. Had roughly 2 110 point seasons.

That's not plugging away.

Monahan got hurt. Covid hit and turned Americans against Canada and things fell apart as they do.

But this isn't a 90-95 point team every year.

It is a middle of the road team most years, and I personally don’t care about division/conference titles. I was under the impression the Stanley cup is the goal, but if regular season records are your definition of success that’s a-ok but not for me.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Contending team for five years? They were make the playoffs, miss the playoffs alternating for nearly their entirety save for the COVID shortened season. Totally fair.

The Flames are the poster NHL team for participation while not really mattering much. They exist to help the NHL round out the total to 32 teams but nobody cares about them or expects them to do anything meaningful. They don't even matter in Alberta anymore as the Oilers are more popular everywhere including a large portion of Calgary these days as you will see more Oilers clothing than Flames in Calgary schools. It is what it is as it's what happens when an organization gets caught nearly perennially in the mushy middle. Fans don't have the highs or lows to get emotional about. They are just there.

Mushy middle when they were division winners or out for five straight years? That's anything but the mushy middle in the time period we are discussing.

I won't defend Calgary team building, they've been in the bottom third of the league, and likely from trying to remain competitive to a fault.

But it's not a run since 1989 of irrelevance as you claim. That's over the top.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I don't think Gaudreau was.

If they would have offered Gaudreau 8 x $9 in the 2021 offseason he would have been a Flames player still.

Once his wife got pregnant, and the Flames walked him right up to UFA, it changed the equation.

Tkachuk probably always was.

I think Covid and the border was a big factor as well.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I don't think Gaudreau was.

If they would have offered Gaudreau 8 x $9 in the 2021 offseason he would have been a Flames player still.

Once his wife got pregnant, and the Flames walked him right up to UFA, it changed the equation.

Tkachuk probably always was.

At this point I think any speculation around Gaudreau's situation is best left to no longer discussed. Not really fair to the family given what they've been through.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think Covid and the border was a big factor as well.

Yeah, when i say always for Gaudreau i mean in the last phase. But here was no way he was being offered a big contract the previous time, after a couple 70 point seasons.

[cam_calderon]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

At this point I think any speculation around Gaudreau's situation is best left to no longer discussed. Not really fair to the family given what they've been through.

He's still dead whether we discuss him or not.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

It is a middle of the road team most years, and I personally don’t care about division/conference titles. I was under the impression the Stanley cup is the goal, but if regular season records are your definition of success that’s a-ok but not for me.

I think winning divisions and conference final appearances are good indicators of very good hockey teams.

You do that often in 5 years you likely win a cup.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think winning divisions and conference final appearances are good indicators of very good hockey teams.

You do that often in 5 years you likely win a cup.

Good point, how close did the flames get to a cup when they won the division?

[Vedder]

Flames last rebuild was undone by three things:

1. Brutal run of head coach decisions, capped by giving a good roster to bargain bin Geoff Ward during the COVID era. Charitably, let's assume that was an ownership pinching pennies thing, because if not it's truly baffling that Treliving is still a GM in the league.

2. Sam Bennett not reaching his full potential here - which I'd attribute largely to #1

3. Terrible asset and contract management by Treliving, biggest issue being forced into short term deal with 19

Flames had the pieces in place to have a sustained run of competitive teams, that might have convinced players like 9, 13 and 19 to stay, but they didn't realize it until the 11th hour with Sutter at the helm.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Good point, how close did the flames get to a cup when they won the division?

Do you want every post to come off as pissy?

We are all well aware of Flames history, but that doesn't change my definition of contending.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Vedder

Flames last rebuild was undone by three things:

1. Brutal run of head coach decisions, capped by giving a good roster to bargain bin Geoff Ward during the COVID era. Charitably, let's assume that was an ownership pinching pennies thing, because if not it's truly baffling that Treliving is still a GM in the league.

Don't see penny pinching as the issue.

You don't pay Darryl Sutter that much to not coach here if you're ruled by the bottom line.

I heard they went all in on Laviolette at the time but he turned them down. I think a lot of coaches turn them down.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I agree with your post except I don’t see why you think the Flames are the only team that struggles to make a good trade. Conroy has obviously made good trades. And with these three, it’s a question of the limited amount of teams that need them, or can afford them, and the lack of quality assets those teams would be able to give up. They don’t have a lot of good prospects because they are good teams whose past good prospects have “made it” and now they pick a lot later in the draft. Dallas, Vegas, Colorado, Fla, Minnie - they don’t have a lot to offer.

It's not that I think that the Flames are the only team that struggles, nor was it an attempt to say Conroy is bad at trades. My point is that other teams seem to navigate those same hurdles succesfuly. I just have a hard time with the fact that we traded Tanev for a 2nd + Grush, or Hanifin for a 1st + Miro, when next year a much worse D in Carlo got a 1st + Minten + 4th, and even Walman got a 1st back.

Now if it only happened the one year, then you could convince me it's only the market changing, or that Conroy was a new GM under a lot of pressure, and a looming deadline. However if the Flames were only offered something like a 2nd for Kadri, when a comparable in Nelson brought back a 1st + Ritchie last year, then it would reinforce my belief that it isn't just the market that's the culprit.

[Flamescuprun2018]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Don't see penny pinching as the issue.

You don't pay Darryl Sutter that much to not coach here if you're ruled by the bottom line.

I heard they went all in on Laviolette at the time but he turned them down. I think a lot of coaches turn them down.

Agreed. Penny pinching was never the issue.

Core imploded because culture was lacking a bit that loyalty to franchise was not there. BT also prioritized signing some mid UFAs putting us right at the cap ceiling rather than our core players to longer term deals.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Dino7c and Aarongavey seem to really question why you'd even consider moving Kadri and Coleman at all.

You just making #### up now, bet you cannot find a single quote to that effect.

One would think if you are going to lie you would try to back it up by the quote function on the site. Maybe you do not know how to use it but you can search what people say and then quote it. Of course it is harder to lie about something when you do not have a quote to back it up so best to just make #### up in the absence of evidence.

[dino7c]

Flames were 2nd overall one year..."sneaking in"

Most teams blow it in the playoffs a couple seasons before tjey break through...too bad our top players bailed at their peak.

[keenan87]

This may be a weird question but I was thinking about it last night. Do people feel differently about how to build a team based on their life stage?

Kids = they like to see wins
Adults = could go either way but I wonder if it changes based on having kids and busy life
Older Adults = they like to see wins. I mean if you are 75, do you really care to see a 5-7 year rebuild.

Just some random food for thought.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Flames were 2nd overall one year..."sneaking in"

Most teams blow it in the playoffs a couple seasons before tjey break through...too bad our top players bailed at their peak.

The Flames were also changing coaches every 2 years due to their lack of buy-in or inability to stay at that peak, for more than one season at a time. I absolutely loved those 2018-19, and 2021-22 teams, and both were contenders in my eyes, but I was questioning the effort level more than a few times in any other year.

I really thought that the Flames' 4-5 year contention window opened with Sutter when he won the Jack Adams, but I underestimated how much Sutter alienated players against him at the same time.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

It's not that I think that the Flames are the only team that struggles, nor was it an attempt to say Conroy is bad at trades. My point is that other teams seem to navigate those same hurdles succesfuly. I just have a hard time with the fact that we traded Tanev for a 2nd + Grush, or Hanifin for a 1st + Miro, when next year a much worse D in Carlo got a 1st + Minten + 4th, and even Walman got a 1st back.

Now if it only happened the one year, then you could convince me it's only the market changing, or that Conroy was a new GM under a lot of pressure, and a looming deadline. However if the Flames were only offered something like a 2nd for Kadri, when a comparable in Nelson brought back a 1st + Ritchie last year, then it would reinforce my belief that it isn't just the market that's the culprit.

No fair comparing trades with Edmonton and Toronto. And we all know what happened with Hanifin and his agent (which still has potentially decent first). But compare the Lindholm trade. Or the Markstrom trade. Tanev IMO wasn’t worth a lot as a trade piece as an expiring contract for an older guy winding his career down, and I was OK with that return.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by keenan87

This may be a weird question but I was thinking about it last night. Do people feel differently about how to build a team based on their life stage?

Kids = they like to see wins
Adults = could go either way but I wonder if it changes based on having kids and busy life
Older Adults = they like to see wins. I mean if you are 75, do you really care to see a 5-7 year rebuild.

Just some random food for thought.

I just want to watch entertaining hockey for 2+ hours

I don't let this team effect my lively hood, once its all said and done - these are paid entertainers to play a game at the end of the day. So rebuild/no rebuild - I don't really particularly care what direction they go in.

I find it odd for the ones who live or die by a sports team and lets it alter their mood/perception once the game/season is over. Although I guess sports gambling has a stranglehold on a lot of the younger adults, which may swing the pendulum that way.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

It is a middle of the road team most years, and I personally don’t care about division/conference titles. I was under the impression the Stanley cup is the goal, but if regular season records are your definition of success that’s a-ok but not for me.

Thats kinda silly, a team consitently finishing at these levels eventually go on runs. There are 32 teams so if a cup is your only measure of success they isn't going to be a very fun hobby.