2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Sure, as I said, you never know. And it sounds like you agree with me.

If Huska wants to win then having a 4th line full of tweeners an AHL guys like Kirkland really doesn’t move the needle, so if a rookie looks better why wouldn’t he put Pospisil or that rookie or whoever might be “above” 4th line minutes there and give the 4th line more minutes/take pressure off the other lines?

Dallas being a contender just backs my position. We don’t have the top end talent Dallas does and yet they still roll 4 lines and give their 4th line decent minutes and actual responsibility. If they can do it, surely the Calgary Flames top 10 players are not so incredible that a couple of them can’t play on the 4th line and make room for a rookie who outplays them. As you said, we don’t even have 4 true centers, so should one emerge from the rookies they’ll make room. Team wants to win after all.

If Backlund is your sticking point then keep him on the third line and make the 4th line a 3b scoring line. Problem solved, and just semantics for what I was proposing anyway.

But Huska is the coach, and his job is to coach to win...he controls ice time.

Conroy is the GM, he is the one that needs to plan the current vs future of this team. Huska doesn't need to trade someone to help with the log jam and create an opportunity to give more ice to someone and give yourself a true evaluation of that player. That's Conroy's job, we are discussing what Conroy should do, not what we think Huska's lines should be. I'm just brining up Huska as when it's time to win a tight game, Backlund will get more ice than most. Don't count on him to bench Backlund if he is the best we got to stop elite players.

Conroy has the following players on short term deals.

Zary - more than likely
Frost - 2 years
Farabee - 3 years
Klapka - 2 years

He also has some young players in the AHL that have proven they deserve a crack.

Zary is rumored to have been offered a bridge. He is hasn't signed. Maybe he will but it's a risk for Zary to sign short term if the Flames are going to play him 13 a night for 2 more years and he doesn't get a true crack to prove himself.

Klapka might be something, might not. But we may never know if he plays 4th line for the next 2 years.

Frost might have growth left in him, we probably won't know if he plays 13 a night. He did get top PP so he probably gets a good crack

Farabee - might be a Coleman replacement, but who knows if he is playing 4th line.

Then there is trade value of players. If the plan is to trade Coleman and Backlund when you can, value is going down if you play them on the 4th line.

This whole idea that everyone will do well playing even minutes will not work and I really doubt Huska manages the lines that way either.

[PepsiFree]

Sorry why are all these guys playing 13 minutes/4th line just because one rookie makes the team?

And aren’t we very literally talking about what Huska’s lines should be if we’re trying to figure out whether a logjam even exists?

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Sorry why are all these guys playing 13 minutes/4th line just because one rookie makes the team?

And aren’t we very literally talking about what Huska’s lines should be if we’re trying to figure out whether a logjam even exists?

Why? Because Huska's job is to coach to win games.

Only so many players can play on Kadri's line. If his line is the top scoring line, sure there will be some rotation and times where Kadri isn't going and maybe Frost's line gets more ice. But by the end of the year, Kadri is playing 17+ mins a game, maybe more.

If Backlund continues to be the best by quite a bit against the best players in the league. When they are on the ice, Backlund is option #1. Only so many players can play on that line and Huska is going to play who plays the best with Backlund. If that is Coleman, most of the year he will be on the line with some rotation.

If Kadri's line plays similar to last year and so does Backlund's, 3rd and 4th line won't get a ton of time unless they play on the PK or PP.

If Huberdeau plays well with Kadri, that leaves 2 players.

Coronato
Sharangovich
Zary
Klapka
Pospisil
Farabee.

2 will play with Frost, Frosts gets big PP mins so he should be fine unless he loses those minutes.

I see 4 guys struggling for minutes and 2 will be 4th liners. All IMO should not be 4th liners. This doesn't factor in a young player having a good camp and making the team.

0 times in NHL history has a team played 4 lines even. Even if you have top forwards at around 16 and bottom around 14, it's never happened. Coach is going to coach to win games and Kadri's line is the line that more than likely will be asked to score the big goals and Backlund will be asked to shut down other team's best players.

[PepsiFree]

Not sure why we’re bringing Kadri into this. I guess we’ll just agree to agree or disagree or something because nothing you’re saying tells me there’s a logjam that’s going to stop a rookie forward from making the team. Certainly not the prospect of playing Pospisil or Klapka on the 4th line which seems totally reasonable for a team rolling 4 lines (that don’t have to be even, don’t know why you’d assume that).

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Not sure why we’re bringing Kadri into this. I guess we’ll just agree to agree or disagree or something because nothing you’re saying tells me there’s a logjam that’s going to stop a rookie forward from making the team. Certainly not the prospect of playing Pospisil or Klapka on the 4th line which seems totally reasonable for a team rolling 4 lines (that don’t have to be even, don’t know why you’d assume that).

I just look at a player like Bennett who in Florida has gotten 16:30 to 18 mins a game where his career high in Calgary was 15 in his rookie year. He got 12-14 annually with the Flames after his rookie year, showed some glimpses of being good but a lessor role with lessor linemates and short leash on top line chances lead to a trade of a player than now has 2 cups, 1 Conn Smyth and played for Team Canada.

Bennett got 18 a night in the 1st 10 games in Florida and got 15 points. Played a big role ever since and is a 57-point guy per 82 games. Sure, some of this is chemistry, some is age and development related. But most is opportunity and to produce like that immediately, 5 more mins and game is the top reason for that 180.

Do you have an example of someone having a big year on 13 mins a night and no PP time? It just doesn't happen and Kadri was brought up because he gets 19 a night and Backlund is going to get 17+

[topfiverecords]

This has to be the quietest off season for transactions and news leaguewide in history.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

Do you have an example of someone having a big year on 13 mins a night and no PP time? It just doesn't happen and Kadri was brought up because he gets 19 a night and Backlund is going to get 17+

What’s a “big year”?

Most guys playing well get moved up the lineup.

Most guys playing well also play on the power play.

Why would I have an example of something you pulled out of thin air? lol

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Why would I have an example of something you pulled out of thin air? lol

I see you ask essentially the exact same question every day here, but alright.

Player development takes time. We cant just expect players we bring in to be successful immediately. They need runway to learn and adjust. This means the team might find less success while they get their legs under them. I would rather marry that timeline to the timeline of us bottoming out draft wise and seeking a top line player through the draft. Rather than bleeding out the life of players like kadri and backlund to block development timelines for our already fairly longshot top 6 prospects and ensuring we draft 15th next summer.

How is honzek going to be a legit top 6 prospect in 2 years if he is never once given 5 games to play there? He won't.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I see you ask essentially the exact same question every day here, but alright.

Player development takes time. We cant just expect players we bring in to be successful immediately. They need runway to learn and adjust. This means the team might find less success while they get their legs under them. I would rather marry that timeline to the timeline of us bottoming out draft wise and seeking a top line player through the draft. Rather than bleeding out the life of players like kadri and backlund to block development timelines for our already fairly longshot top 6 prospects and ensuring we draft 15th next summer.

How is honzek going to be a legit top 6 prospect in 2 years if he is never once given 5 games to play there? He won't.

Pelletier got a long audition in a top six role. Honzek will get the same if he sticks with the team.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I see you ask essentially the exact same question every day here, but alright.

Player development takes time. We cant just expect players we bring in to be successful immediately. They need runway to learn and adjust. This means the team might find less success while they get their legs under them. I would rather marry that timeline to the timeline of us bottoming out draft wise and seeking a top line player through the draft. Rather than bleeding out the life of players like kadri and backlund to block development timelines for our already fairly longshot top 6 prospects and ensuring we draft 15th next summer.

How is honzek going to be a legit top 6 prospect in 2 years if he is never once given 5 games to play there? He won't.

That’s nice but the conversation is whether there is currently a logjam stopping a rookie from making the team this year and I’m the one suggesting that they have room to give rookies plum minutes by moving other guys down the lineup who would probably have lesser roles on better teams anyway, OR, by changing the way certain lines are deployed.

Hoping you agree and this isn’t just a precursor to another one of your meltdowns. Your first sentence gives me pause that you’re just gearing up for the latter.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That’s nice but the conversation is whether there is currently a logjam stopping a rookie from making the team this year and I’m the one suggesting that they have room to give rookies plum minutes by moving other guys down the lineup who would probably have lesser roles on better teams anyway, OR, by changing the way certain lines are deployed.

Hoping you agree and this isn’t just a precursor to another one of your meltdowns. Your first sentence gives me pause that you’re just gearing up for the latter.

If a rookie proves themselves, I don't think this team will hesitate to throw a vet further down the depth chart or into the press box.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by traptor

Backlunds not Crosby or Ovechkin. We're not coming off a storied history as a contender and cup winmer.


Hes a really good middle 6 center. Its nice he wants to stay but I hope they atleast explore the market to see if they could get a 1st.


It seems to me like we let the players dictate what we do lately.

Backlund is the 24th oldest player in the NHL now. A few guys ahead of him probably won't get gigs, so he could push for top 20. Most of the players older than him are also star players, like Ovechkin, Burns, Crosby, Kane, etc... who make up for their declining speed/strength with elite level skills and hockey IQ.

The reason he's playing as long as he is, is due to his high hockey IQ and being a very smart two way player, but that won't last forever.

I like Backlund, but everything points to him being a non-NHL level talent in the very near future.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That’s nice but the conversation is whether there is currently a logjam stopping a rookie from making the team this year and I’m the one suggesting that they have room to give rookies plum minutes by moving other guys down the lineup who would probably have lesser roles on better teams anyway, OR, by changing the way certain lines are deployed.

Hoping you agree and this isn’t just a precursor to another one of your meltdowns. Your first sentence gives me pause that you’re just gearing up for the latter.

I mean, if youre hoping just to talk personally would you care to tell us all why you insist on acting like a perverse, insolent dweeb about literally every subject possible? Are you going to take accountability for being an instigator of basically any type of malign on the board?
I highly doubt it but you could choose to surprise, for once in your life, instead of mirroring the disappointment you bring to everyone else here.

[PepsiFree]

The latter it is