2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by indes

Defenseman usually don't peak until around 27-29 years old. There's a ton of growth from their rookie years - defense has a very steep learning curve. I couldn't disagree more that an 19 year old offensive defenseman won't improve defensively. Makar and Hughes have improved every single year since they stepped into the league.

Hughes sure - Makar was ready made. His joining the Avs turned the entire franchise around. Flames were lucky enough to be the first victim right when he turned pro.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Hughes sure - Makar was ready made. His joining the Avs turned the entire franchise around. Flames were lucky enough to be the first victim right when he turned pro.

Yup. Kid came into the playoffs for what I think was his first NHL game and proceeded to look like he'd been in the NHL playoffs before.

[Matty81]

Makar is a much more dynamic skater than Parekh it seems like to me which allowed him to make a huge impact from day one, and avoid getting crushed as much as Zane has. Parekh isn't slow but his game seems more based on patience, decision making and vision and he's not used to getting hit, definitely will adapt but might take a bit more time.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I 100% could be mistaken but I took the statements earlier in the season that Conroy was not allowing Rasmus to talk contract with other teams prior to making a trade at all to mean that this was a buyer beware type situation like how Colorado handled Rantanen to Carolina - not a rental but not a sure fire extension either - you can trade for him and then try to re-sign him after.

I took the message to mean that Conroy was not going to let go of control of the situation. Instead of "letting teams talk to Andersson" he would stay in the process and say "you can talk through me if you want to get an extension in place before the trade".

IMO, so long as Andersson is a Flames asset and multiple teams are involved, this approach makes the most sense.

Originally Posted by Matty81

I'm sure the other teams would have some inkling of whether or not he'd engage in extension talks through the agent even though they are not supposed to, but hashing out the actual deal is their problem not the Flames.

The Wings rumors all obviously said Yzerman wanted an extension first. So maybe that is the delay and Conroy is saying, no we won't do that yet?

Obviously any club trading for him wants to have an extension done but from the flames POV I don't really see a huge benefit where the flames do allow them to talk contract unless you know he is open to multiple markets, because even if you have established a trade value first, he can simply say no to teams that step up and box the flames into the exact same corner Hanifin did. I get that you maybe get slightly better trade value than Hanifin returned because you're having more talks, but it is completely pointless if the Sharks and Wings are the teams that meet your valuation and he just refuses to sign there and you're left having to trade with Vegas who have you over a barrel again (#### Vegas).

I expect that Andersson wants to sign an extension. I cannot think of a single way in which a 7 year deal is better than an 8 year deal when the person signing is 29. When Andersson is in his late 30s, it will be hard work for him to earn another contract, much less a contract that pays close to $10M per year.

I expect that Conroy wants to enable the extension to be in place with the trade but while Conroy has multiple bidders (and Andersson has multiple suitors) Conroy will want to be in the room for all conversations. At no point would the Agent and other team be allowed to talk without Conroy's involvement.

That may slow things down or make the other GMs uncomfortable but if they want to have direct negotiations without the Flames involvement then they should pay the full trade price up front and eliminate the Flames from the equation. Then they can negotiate all they want because they will own the negotiation rights.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Yup. Kid came into the playoffs for what I think was his first NHL game and proceeded to look like he'd been in the NHL playoffs before.

He was also a year older. That was his D+2 year and he played two years in College. A year can make a big difference at this age. Imagine if Zayne had been in College these last two seasons rather than the OHL and whatever you call this season.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

I think it’s the opposite . I think by 18 it’s very hard to reinvent yourself as a player . I think learning the defensive side of the game if you are an offensive dynamo and not ruining your offensive game is rare .

Offensive players go off instinct . When they start thinking about what to do next vs reacting I think most of the time you get the worse of both worlds

I have a hard time believing Bouchard, Hamilton , Phaneuf is another that jumps to mind all choose to not play good D and make boneheaded mistakes . And all 3 seemed to get worse as they got harped on to play better D .

It’s just really really hard to be good on both sides of the puck in the NHL at the same time .

It reminds me of when JG , MT and Lindholm were the best line and we were still hearing Sutter complain about their defensive side of the game . And I personally believe after G1 vs Oilers Sutter was so annoyed by the goals against he preached better D and it hurt our offence . They played passive the rest of the way that series instead of accepting a 7-5 win counts the same as a 3-1 win .

I don’t believe Parekh will or can develop a good
Defensive side to his game . But if he ends up as Erik Karlsson who cares . Play to his strengths and accept his weaknesses .

It’s great we all want to next Cale Makar , but we can do a lot worse then a Bouchard type defencemen .

No one is asking him to reinvent his game, what a bizarre comment.

ALL players (that have the desire) improve on their games, and work on the aspects that are lacking. That isn't reinventing, it's practicing and improving.

Playing defense is a learned skill, more than it is a natural ability. Most defensemen don't fully develop and grasp their defensive game until they are 27-28. Do you honestly believe that he isn't going to improve over the next 8-10 years, while playing and practicing in the NHL, with NHL coaches? Like seriously?

Bouchard, Hamilton and Phaneuf - 3 players in the last 25 years. Cool. Everyone else improves - at least everyone who has a desire to. No one is asking him to be Makar. But there is a universe between Makar and Bouchard. And with Parekh's hockey IQ and motivation, it's a safe bet he ends up closer to Makar than to Bouchard.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

He was also a year older. That was his D+2 year and he played two years in College. A year can make a big difference at this age. Imagine if Zayne had been in College these last two seasons rather than the OHL and whatever you call this season.

100%. I said in another thread something similar - if Zayne was able to go down to the Wranglers for one season, his NHL debut would have gone so much differently. He'd be stronger, he'd read plays faster and better and I'd bet he'd be a Calder nominee.

[indes]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Hughes sure - Makar was ready made. His joining the Avs turned the entire franchise around. Flames were lucky enough to be the first victim right when he turned pro.

Makar was 21 and came in as a #1D - and has also steadily improved. His offensive starts have decreased and he's maintaining better counting stats and similar/better possession metrics.

Are we seriously arguing that Dmen don't improve in the NHL from their rookie seasons? (not directed at you but the first post I responded too)

[dino7c]

Makar was older than Zayne is now before he played an NHL game

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by Wolven

Considering the number of teams involved in the bidding war, I wouldn't read too heavily into a few days slipping by after a rumour like that.

Conroy could be getting final pitches from other teams before pulling the trigger and he could be managing the Andersson extension portion of the trade. I would be super curious as to how he is handling that portion of the transaction. Is he sitting back and letting each team pitch their deal to the Flames and their deal to Andersson? Or is he telling the GMs the price the need to beat for both the Flames and Andersson's extension?

Either way, I can see this taking time to work through. Conroy will want to treat the other GMs fairly because he has a couple more assets that he would like to sell off.

But none of that is as interesting as what the Sharks could offer as one of the most asset rich teams interested in Andersson.

If they’re at the point where an offer is on the table the Flames are ready to accept and they’re circling the league for final pitches, I would expect Anderson to be scratched tonight.

Guess we will find out.

[WickerChicken]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Hamilton is not waiving to come back here

No probably not, but would trade Huberdeau for him if it was possibe

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by WickerChicken

No probably not, but would trade Huberdeau for him if it was possibe

I'd rather gain long term value here than worry about Huberdeau.

Coleman and Ras

for

Hamilton, Palat, Silayev and top 10 protected 1st in 26

Hamilton to teams interested in Ras 50% RS. Contenders get Dougie @$4.5M for 3 years vs getting Ras and paying him $9M+

Devils get out of 2 bad contracts and if they can't sign Ras before the deadline and they fall out of the playoff race they could flip him to recover assets.

Flames RS for 2 extra years on Dougie but likely come out of this with a prospect that is top 10ish in the league right now and 2 or more 1sts. NJ 1st in 2026 is trending to be top 20 maybe even top 12.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

I'd rather gain long term value here than worry about Huberdeau.

Coleman and Ras

for

Hamilton, Palat, Silayev and top 10 protected 1st in 26

Hamilton to teams interested in Ras 50% RS. Contenders get Dougie @$4.5M for 3 years vs getting Ras and paying him $9M+

Devils get out of 2 bad contracts.

Flames RS for 2 extra years on Dougie but likely come out of this with a prospect that is top 10ish in the league right now and 2 or more 1sts. NJ 1st in 2026 is trending to be top 20 maybe even top 12.

Seems like selling Coleman and Andersson cheap. I don’t like Silayev though.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Seems like selling Coleman and Andersson cheap. I don’t like Silayev though.

Elite skater and 6 foot 7. Doubt he is a scorer, but he projects to be an elite defensive dman. NJ 2026 pick is 11th OV right now. I'd rather get quality then splitting up Coleman and Ras in 2 trades and ending up with 2 1sts at the end of the 1st and prospects ranked well outside the top 50 in the league.

[circle]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

I'd rather gain long term value here than worry about Huberdeau.

Coleman and Ras

for

Hamilton, Palat, Silayev and top 10 protected 1st in 26

Hamilton to teams interested in Ras 50% RS. Contenders get Dougie @$4.5M for 3 years vs getting Ras and paying him $9M+

Devils get out of 2 bad contracts and if they can't sign Ras before the deadline and they fall out of the playoff race they could flip him to recover assets.

Flames RS for 2 extra years on Dougie but likely come out of this with a prospect that is top 10ish in the league right now and 2 or more 1sts. NJ 1st in 2026 is trending to be top 20 maybe even top 12.

If you could get a 1st + a good prospect for Andersson and another 1st for Coleman, why take on 2 bad contracts? You'd have to hope Dougie regains his form to then flip him again. As well, like diss said, I don't envision any world where Dougie waives his NMC to come back here.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by circle

If you could get a 1st + a good prospect for Andersson and another 1st for Coleman, why take on 2 bad contracts? You'd have to hope Dougie regains his form to then flip him again. As well, like diss said, I don't envision any world where Dougie waives his NMC to come back here.

If you flip him as a 3-team deal, he isn't coming back here.

Let's get a team like the Stars 1st that is 26-32 OV and get another 1st in that range and try and trade up for a pick in the top 15? Not to mention that Silayev ranks near the top of the best prospects in the league. Typically, right behind Parekh. Flames are deep, we need top end.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

If you flip him as a 3-team deal, he isn't coming back here.

Let's get a team like the Stars 1st that is 26-32 OV and get another 1st in that range and try and trade up for a pick in the top 15? Not to mention that Silayev ranks near the top of the best prospects in the league. Typically, right behind Parekh. Flames are deep, we need top end.

I will eat crow if I am wrong but Silayev looks like another Zadarov to me and I doubt that the Devil's 1st stays at 11th overall if they improve with the trade. It is so tight that they could easily end up in the playoffs.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I will eat crow if I am wrong but Silayev looks like another Zadarov to me and I doubt that the Devil's 1st stays at 11th overall if they improve with the trade. It is so tight that they could easily end up in the playoffs.

is that a good thing? Zadorov is loud and big but he is a pretty mid player

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by dino7c

is that a good thing? Zadorov is loud and big but he is a pretty mid player

He was +25 on a terrible bruins team last year and +15 this year

He has really improved his defensive side over the last 5 years and is an ideal #3 IMO

Add in the size and meanness I would love to find a young Zadorov ! Just hopefully not one that take 7-8 years to reach his potential

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

He was +25 on a terrible bruins team last year and +15 this year

He has really improved his defensive side over the last 5 years and is an ideal #3 IMO

Add in the size and meanness I would love to find a young Zadorov ! Just hopefully not one that take 7-8 years to reach his potential

I'm not saying he is bad but he also isn't what you dream of your 11th overall pick becoming. I was legit asking if the poster said that as a positive or not. Zadorov is a player on is 5th team now? Finding your game at 30 vs. one of the top D prospects in the league.