2024/2025 Season trade rumours and speculation thread

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by really?

Make sure you don’t miss and hit him in the neck, ‘cause it would likely snap and result in his head rolling on the floor. Bad optics.

In other words you're saying he's a pencil neck geek?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Either go grab Pettersson (AND Rossi), or just draft high.


Flame can't come out of this without strength through the middle.



We all hope that they manage to draft a #1 center through this draft and the next, but why hasn't it happened before? They haven't prioritized the middle? Or is it that drafting a #1 Center in the back-half of the 1st round and beyond is incredibly difficult and unlikely? It can happen, but I don't think you can plan for it.


So either draft high, or go out and acquire a #1 center through other means.

1) SIgn one through UFA: #1 Cs rarely come to market. When they do, Calgary is probably not the team they choose.
2) Offer-sheet: Player still has to sign that offer. If the player does sign that offer, it will likely get matched as it is a premium position, or it will have to be fairly outrageous. Flames will need to live with the risk too, as they are hardly a given for finishing in the first half of the standings. Plus, there is usually a risk as these guys are usually not seen as a future #1 C (See Kotkaniemi).

3) Trade: Only realistic avenue (outside of the top-end of the draft).


Lots of players through trade will also have Calgary on their NT lists. None come without warts. I can't remember the last time a #1 C was traded without risk - Eichel and his injury risk, ROR with his drunk driving crash and questions about his fitness at the time, or you are getting potential players who haven't become #1 Cs yet like Cozens.


If I am Conroy, I am going to try and pick high in the draft. This isn't NYR or another desirable destination where it gives you more options. Flames have basically two legitimate options - draft high, or trade for one. Even through trade, they may get blocked - player may have NTC, or if not eligible for a NTC will tell the Flames he isn't willing to extend here (apparently like Stone for example, or Tkachuk leveraging his way out).


Point I am trying to make is that the Flames don't really have many options. #1 Cs don't come to market often, and when they do, will come with warts. If the Flames don't want to draft high, then they will have to trade for one. I would much rather draft high. However, if that's not possible, then I would go for both Pettersson and Rossi (as long as the value made sense here). I would get both, or neither. If you see Rossi as a very good bet in becoming a #1 C, then you are likely going to disagree. I see Rossi as a good #2 as he improves his defence and rounds out his game. I think he is good enough to further push the Flames a bit higher up the standings even. I just don't see the Flames competing with him as the top player down the middle. A spine of Rossi-Parekh-Wolf is not one that I feel super confident about building around.


Pettersson - Rossi - Parekh - Wolf is a spine I would feel much more comfortable building around, even if I don't exactly love the Pettersson or Rossi individually. I think there is a good chance that Pettersson rebounds in the RIGHT situation. On a team with Backlund, Huberdeau, Weegar, Coleman and Lomberg (assuming Kadri is out - hard to fit Kadri here after that), I think that MAY be a solid group to help Pettersson get his own headspace back into alignment, if that makes sense. Still a gamble.


I don't love it, but I fail to see any other more legitimate or likely scenarios in which the Flames address the center position long-term while continuing to draft in the second half of the first round.

[FlamesAddiction]

I don't think that trading up to the top 3 or 5 in the draft is an option unless you want to include top young players like Wolf or Coronato. This team isn't bottoming out with Wolf in net and it would be a monumental waste to even try.

The way I see it is you either go hard trying to acquire players at or near their prime like Pettersson, Rossi, Marner, or whoever else might be available, or you just accept being in the mushy middle.

Sure, there is always a slim chance you find star players outside of the top end of the draft in that much middle, but it's probably a smaller chance than if you bottom out and try your luck with the lottery. You can certainly go a generation without it happening.

Or if you really wanted to bottom out, start by trading Wolf and hope to win the McKenna and/or Dupont lotteries then hope beyond hope that the goaltending situation resolves it's self in 5 years or so. I know this is going to be unpopular and I am prepared to take my lumps for this suggestion, but I would actually consider this route. I feel that this team should be bottoming out and rolling the dice as a lottery team in 2026 and 2027. I feel that as nice as it is to have a gem like Wolf, it's bad timing given where the team is right now. For me, goalies are the cap stone, but not where you build your foundation.

Just for ####s and giggles, say you could trade Wolf to Chicago or San Jose for their 1st this year and draft Misa, then win the lottery draft McKenna in 2026 and/or Dupont in 2027... would you take that? I know that there is no guarantee that we'd win the lottery, but just as a thought experiment, would you take that if that was the result? I would and I think the odds of bottoming out and winning the lottery are greater than staying in the mushy middle and hoping established stars come to Calgary via trade or later round drafting. I think elite and generational forwards are the biggest keys to long term success. Edmonton is going to their 2nd finals in a row with Stuart Skinner in net and Florida is going to the 3rd in a row with a goalie they had to overpay for from the free agent heap. The three Vezina candidates this year were all sent packing, plus other elite goalies like Oettinger, Binnington, and Thompson. Based on regular season save%, the #4 and #20 goalies left in the finals. I think long gone are the days when a team could be talent deficient and ride goalies while focusing on defense. With out elite top line centers, you just aren't going to get there no matter who you have in net.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The three Vezina candidates this year were all sent packing, plus other elite goalies like Oettinger, Binnington, and Thompson. Based on regular season save%, the #4 and #20 goalies left in the finals. I think long gone are the days when a team could be talent deficient and ride goalies while focusing on defense. With out elite top line centers, you just aren't going to get there no matter who you have in net.

Yeah, the ‘ride an elite/hot goalie and otherwise average roster to the Cup’ strategy doesn’t have a great hit rate. The Blues in 2019, and before that you have… the Hurricanes in 2006? Powerhouse teams today are all pretty good defensively, so you’ll just get shut down offensively with a roster plucky underdogs and a goalie standing on his head. As you say, you can find a lot more teams who make the finals without elite goaltending than without a true #1C.

[YyjFlames]

I get riled up by suggestions of trading our star goalie. I understnaf and don’t really even disagree with the fundamentals of the strategy, but after underperforming for a decade, largely because the team couldn’t find consistency in net, no one should be discussing trading him (even if it is the right long term strategy.)

I also believe that Wolf embodies the culture of this team going forward: a plucky, hard working player, who has been told he’ll never make it in the pros who goes from an afterthought in the draft to hopefully a massive star with a hall of fame career (I know, way too early).

May the entire Flames’s team be following this path

[Flames_F.T.W]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I don't think that trading up to the top 3 or 5 in the draft is an option unless you want to include top young players like Wolf or Coronato. This team isn't bottoming out with Wolf in net and it would be a monumental waste to even try.

The way I see it is you either go hard trying to acquire players at or near their prime like Pettersson, Rossi, Marner, or whoever else might be available, or you just accept being in the mushy middle.

Sure, there is always a slim chance you find star players outside of the top end of the draft in that much middle, but it's probably a smaller chance than if you bottom out and try your luck with the lottery. You can certainly go a generation without it happening.

Or if you really wanted to bottom out, start by trading Wolf and hope to win the McKenna and/or Dupont lotteries then hope beyond hope that the goaltending situation resolves it's self in 5 years or so. I know this is going to be unpopular and I am prepared to take my lumps for this suggestion, but I would actually consider this route. I feel that this team should be bottoming out and rolling the dice as a lottery team in 2026 and 2027. I feel that as nice as it is to have a gem like Wolf, it's bad timing given where the team is right now. For me, goalies are the cap stone, but not where you build your foundation.

Just for ####s and giggles, say you could trade Wolf to Chicago or San Jose for their 1st this year and draft Misa, then win the lottery draft McKenna in 2026 and/or Dupont in 2027... would you take that? I know that there is no guarantee that we'd win the lottery, but just as a thought experiment, would you take that if that was the result? I would and I think the odds of bottoming out and winning the lottery are greater than staying in the mushy middle and hoping established stars come to Calgary via trade or later round drafting. I think elite and generational forwards are the biggest keys to long term success. Edmonton is going to their 2nd finals in a row with Stuart Skinner in net and Florida is going to the 3rd in a row with a goalie they had to overpay for from the free agent heap. The three Vezina candidates this year were all sent packing, plus other elite goalies like Oettinger, Binnington, and Thompson. Based on regular season save%, the #4 and #20 goalies left in the finals. I think long gone are the days when a team could be talent deficient and ride goalies while focusing on defense. With out elite top line centers, you just aren't going to get there no matter who you have in net.

I too have considered this scenario. Wolf to SJ for 2nd overall, allows us to grab a C like Misa this year and Wolf wouldn't prop us up next year. With likely trading Andersson this summer and no Wolf in net, we'd 100% be in the running for a top pick next year. Even if we didn't draft Mckenna, we would likely still be drafting a high calibre player.

Not sure that's the way to go, but part of me thinks a legit #1C is more important than a legit #1 goalie

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Flames_F.T.W

I too have considered this scenario. Wolf to SJ for 2nd overall, allows us to grab a C like Misa this year and Wolf wouldn't prop us up next year. With likely trading Andersson this summer and no Wolf in net, we'd 100% be in the running for a top pick next year. Even if we didn't draft Mckenna, we would likely still be drafting a high calibre player.

Not sure that's the way to go, but part of me thinks a legit #1C is more important than a legit #1 goalie

Value aside, why'd San Jose trade for Wolf when they just got Askarov? I also don't think anyone trades a top three pick for Wolf.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Your response is equally speculative.

Sure we see what we want to see, that's fandom. We don't have all the back room facts.

Sutter's approach here is exactly the same as he plied elsewhere. Treliving too. Is Murray Edwards to blame for their failures (or successes) elsewhere?

Edwards might see this ownership as community involvement and participation in a sport he loves. But it's nearly impossible to imagine him being involved in the day to day activities of the team the way some fans accuse him of. Maybe really big franchise decisions, or ones where management are on thin ice. I'd be willing to bet he hates having to step in.

It's equally simplistic to blame him for everything. I'm not one for defending billionaires, but that's the position I find myself in reading this board sometimes. That anti Edwards sentiment is what I was responding to, and as I said it's my take without all the facts - just like yours.

I'm not married to it, but until I see facts to refute it I am keeping it.

Sutter has been the GM of one team and Treliving has one year under his belt in Toronto. So I think your conclusions are a little under cooked.

As for the ‘facts’ you’re speaking to, how would we know what level of engagement ownership has? We’ve heard rumours that some deals have fallen apart due to input from over Treliving getting involved. Ben Bishop, specifically. There were also rumours of Treliving’s wanting more autonomy before he extended after his first deal. Again, there were rumours that after Gaudreau walked Edwards had a conversation with Gaudreau where he tore a strip off him. If Treliving was to blame for that contract negotiation, solely, why wasn’t he fired and why did Edwards/ownership want to keep him as GM then and even a full year later after the Flames missed the playoffs in what has to be one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory?

For the record, and I’ll reiterate what I said earlier, Treliving deserves criticism. That said, I think he’s only one part of where blame should be directed. I’m interested to see where the Flames and Conroy are at two years from now.

[gvitaly]

^ I would just go with Askarov in net if I were SJ. Maybe try to sign Allen or Vladar as a UFA.

[Ped]

Treliving has one year under his belt in Toronto

Not trying to negate your point, but today is actually Treliving's 2-year anniversary of getting hired with the Leafs.

[Tbull8]

If that last ball had just been a 9, we’d be debating who to take between O’Brien Desnoyers, or Frondell

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Value aside, why'd San Jose trade for Wolf when they just got Askarov? I also don't think anyone trades a top three pick for Wolf.

I think Chicago would. They have a lot of intriguing young players at all positions except for goal. Having another top 3 1st rounder probably isn't something they need as much at this point to take the next step and with rumours that even Bedard is getting impatient and being advised not to sign a long term extension at this point, I could see them getting antsy.

I know they just acquired Spencer Knight last year, but he hasn't exactly shown that he can be the guy. I think the bigger part of that deal was unloading Jones and getting a 2026 1st rounder back. Knight was probably just a flyer and a hope.

[traptor]

I could see Rossi being traded for Petrersson.

Wild get a 1C. They have cap opening up. With Kaprizof, they don't need Petrersson to be the primary offensive driver up front.

Canucks get out from Pettersson and it's not a complete loss. They get a young somewhat proven center with some solid upside, albeit a little vertically challenged.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by traptor

I could see Rossi being traded for Petrersson.

Wild get a 1C. They have cap opening up. With Kaprizof, they don't need Petrersson to be the primary offensive driver up front.

Canucks get out from Pettersson and it's not a complete loss. They get a young somewhat proven center with some solid upside, albeit a little vertically challenged.

I am not sure the Wild would want to take that contract on. Rumors are they are going to give Nelson a pretty big deal this summer.

I think Winnipeg should consider trading for Pettersson. They are in tough to get players to sign there and have been looking for a top 6 center forever going to the rental market 3 times trading a 1st for a C that walked after the playoffs.

I could definitely see the Canucks going after Rossi though.

[Royle9]

Wild don’t have the money nor want to pay Rossi.

They’re definitely not taking on the Petey contract.
Rumour has Kaprizov coming in over 14m/year

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Wild don’t have the money nor want to pay Rossi.

They’re definitely not taking on the Petey contract.
Rumour has Kaprizov coming in over 14m/year

Gotta think Marner is gonna be about the same as Kaprizov

[edslunch]

I’m hoping Wolf suffers the sophomore jinx to let us draft high next year. Just one year.

[Ba'alzamon]

Originally Posted by edslunch

I’m hoping Wolf suffers the sophomore jinx to let us draft high next year. Just one year.

Meh. I'd rather just hope that Vegas falls on their faces.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

Meh. I'd rather just hope that Vegas falls on their faces.

Why not both !

[traptor]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Wild don’t have the money nor want to pay Rossi.

They’re definitely not taking on the Petey contract.
Rumour has Kaprizov coming in over 14m/year

They have tons of space. The only big sgining this year is Rossi.

Year after is Kaprizof and 38 year old Zucc. Kaprizof going from 9 to 14 is negligible with cap increase.

Now wether they wpuld want to take that Petterssom contract is a different question. But they can definitely afford it.