2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by traptor

I agree.
Genuinely curious why you think that is the case

A complete lack of understanding of why players play the game and why coaches coach the game is a big part of it. A complete and utter conflating of how these fans play EA sports hockey and how hockey actually is managed by the NHL GM’s also contributes to this affliction. It is many factors.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by browntrout

So that's why you are seeing such built up frustration, for the younger competitive fan, it's very difficult to get behind this mushy middle again, and frankly I don't blame them

Especially in a season when we’re seeing breakout seasons from four young superstars who were drafted 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 1st overall, and three of the four teams that drafted them deliberately tanked for years to get those picks (the fourth won a lottery they had a 3.5 per cent chance to win).

Agreed that the crux of the issue is the different goals of ownership vs a lot of the fans. Edwards wants to ensure he has a healthy market of corporate ticket-buyers who can take clients to a game on a Wednesday night in February with a pretty good chance of seeing a win. A lot of fans want the team do whatever it takes to maximize the odds of drafting a new core of young superstars, even if that includes several seasons of bottom-five finishes.

I expect what a 30 year old hockey fan who listens to the Fan960 wants doesn’t matter nearly as much to ownership as the corporate seasons-ticket base.

[Fan69]

Im not sure how anyone in management has hope for this iteration of the team.

At its most base level over the years a team that has never picked top three has won two playoff series in 20 years? Coincidence? I think not.

[BrownDrake]

I think the most disappointing thing is the lack of awareness from management or maybe more specifically Maloney. You go on a run now that still won’t likely have you in the playoffs but you essentially are in a bad position, they will talk themselves into not screwing with the room and may risk injuries or resigning someone because they are in the race. Hopefully I’m wrong and the plan, if there is one, isn’t derailed. This team can’t beat the top 10-12 teams in a 7 game series and each year its top performers will be older and losing a step. We need a few young game breakers, put some asses in the seats for some other reasons instead of “getting in”.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

A complete lack of understanding of why players play the game and why coaches coach the game is a big part of it. A complete and utter conflating of how these fans play EA sports hockey and how hockey actually is managed by the NHL GM’s also contributes to this affliction. It is many factors.

Again, nobody is mad at the players or coaches for trying to win.

They are frustrated with ownership/management for reasons already listed.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Again, nobody is mad at the players or coaches for trying to win.

They are frustrated with ownership/management for reasons already listed.

Yea guys likes SuprMatt want the flames to fire sale guys like Kadri and Colman for nothing, don’t think Conroy is going to do that. But being frustrated because the trade has not happened by January 3rd seems kinda ridiculous when the trade deadline is in 2 months.

Being frustrated with ownership seems odd. Murray has signed off on this new regime of doing nothing to improve the team and have all moves be for draft picks, prospects and younger players. Unless the frustration is with the obvious “don’t win now” objective of the team, in which case I can kinda see it.

But I do think conflating how GMing works in EASports and how it works in the NHL covers some of the angst on management/ownership.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Yea guys likes SuprMatt want the flames to fire sale guys like Kadri and Colman for nothing, don’t think Conroy is going to do that. But being frustrated because the trade has not happened by January 3rd seems kinda ridiculous when the trade deadline is in 2 months.

Being frustrated with ownership seems odd. Murray has signed off on this new regime of doing nothing to improve the team and have all moves be for draft picks, prospects and younger players. Unless the frustration is with the obvious “don’t win now” objective of the team, in which case I can kinda see it.

But I do think conflating how GMing works in EASports and how it works in the NHL covers some of the angst on management/ownership.

Nothing I say is going to change your mind. You will defend them no matter what. Neither of us are going to convince each other that their view point is wrong.

And that is ok.

[Monahammer]

Lol. As if the players are some monoculture that thinks identically and are only motivated the same way instead of the reality where people have complex individual motivations.

Aaron Gavey= Maloney haha

I am certain there are players (especially younger ones) who would be happy for the team to properly rebuild itself into a contender, even if that means more hardship for them in the current season.

It does not require them to play any differently. It only requires management trading away more of the older veterans. The players who can not likely contribute to the flames winning a Stanley cup.

I would agree that every player in the NHL is most motivated by the chance to win a Stanley cup until they have done so. If they arent then they are proverbial losers and are unlikely to win one.

[browntrout]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Especially in a season when we’re seeing breakout seasons from four young superstars who were drafted 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 1st overall, and three of the four teams that drafted them deliberately tanked for years to get those picks (the fourth won a lottery they had a 3.5 per cent chance to win).

Agreed that the crux of the issue is the different goals of ownership vs a lot of the fans. Edwards wants to ensure he has a healthy market of corporate ticket-buyers who can take clients to a game on a Wednesday night in February with a pretty good chance of seeing a win. A lot of fans want the team do whatever it takes to maximize the odds of drafting a new core of young superstars, even if that includes several seasons of bottom-five finishes.

I expect what a 30 year old hockey fan who listens to the Fan960 wants doesn’t matter nearly as much to ownership as the corporate seasons-ticket base.

Yeah I think you nailed it there

[browntrout]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Yea guys likes SuprMatt want the flames to fire sale guys like Kadri and Colman for nothing, don’t think Conroy is going to do that. But being frustrated because the trade has not happened by January 3rd seems kinda ridiculous when the trade deadline is in 2 months.

Being frustrated with ownership seems odd. Murray has signed off on this new regime of doing nothing to improve the team and have all moves be for draft picks, prospects and younger players. Unless the frustration is with the obvious “don’t win now” objective of the team, in which case I can kinda see it.

But I do think conflating how GMing works in EASports and how it works in the NHL covers some of the angst on management/ownership.

You can defend mediocrity all you want, the playoff results speak for themselves.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Especially in a season when we’re seeing breakout seasons from four young superstars who were drafted 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 1st overall, and three of the four teams that drafted them deliberately tanked for years to get those picks (the fourth won a lottery they had a 3.5 per cent chance to win).

Agreed that the crux of the issue is the different goals of ownership vs a lot of the fans. Edwards wants to ensure he has a healthy market of corporate ticket-buyers who can take clients to a game on a Wednesday night in February with a pretty good chance of seeing a win. A lot of fans want the team do whatever it takes to maximize the odds of drafting a new core of young superstars, even if that includes several seasons of bottom-five finishes.

I expect what a 30 year old hockey fan who listens to the Fan960 wants doesn’t matter nearly as much to ownership as the corporate seasons-ticket base.

Probably very true.
But, self defeating. The 30 year old fans are the future corporate ticket jockeys.
Also easier to attract corporate interest with a superstar.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Lol. As if the players are some monoculture that thinks identically and are only motivated the same way instead of the reality where people have complex individual motivations.

Aaron Gavey= Maloney haha

I am certain there are players (especially younger ones) who would be happy for the team to properly rebuild itself into a contender, even if that means more hardship for them in the current season.

It does not require them to play any differently. It only requires management trading away more of the older veterans. The players who can not likely contribute to the flames winning a Stanley cup.

I would agree that every player in the NHL is most motivated by the chance to win a Stanley cup until they have done so. If they arent then they are proverbial losers and are unlikely to win one.

I fully support your view as well to package a 2nd with Coleman for a 5th to create room for younger players. Everyone has their own point of view and the fire sale gang is quite vocal.

[traptor]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I fully support your view as well to package a 2nd with Coleman for a 5th to create room for younger players. Everyone has their own point of view and the fire sale gang is quite vocal.

I know your being ridiculous to prove your point but no one is saying to do that.




Atleast for me, theres a belief that there is a base floor price you could get for Coleman if you decided to trade him tomorrow.


This month theres been a few winger trades:

Chinakhov for 2nd + 3rd
Marchment for 2nd + 4th
Denault for a 2nd


Coleman is vastly outperforming a all of these guys.
I think its safe to say they could easily get a 2nd+ for him tomorrow.


Personally id take a 2nd + 3rd for him now over not trading him this season (worst case) or waiting and trading him for a late 1st at the deadline (ideal alternative)
The reason being is it most likely translates into moving up a few draft spots too, which is extremely valuable.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by traptor

I know your being ridiculous to prove your point but no one is saying to do that.




Atleast for me, theres a belief that there is a base floor price you could get for Coleman if you decided to trade him tomorrow.


This month theres been a few winger trades:

Chinakhov for 2nd + 3rd
Marchment for 2nd + 4th
Denault for a 2nd


Coleman is vastly outperforming a all of these guys.
I think its safe to say they could easily get a 2nd+ for him tomorrow.


Personally id take a 2nd + 3rd for him now over not trading him this season (worst case) or waiting and trading him for a late 1st at the deadline (ideal alternative)
The reason being is it most likely translates into moving up a few draft spots too, which is extremely valuable.

It is hard to know what you would get in an offer if the player isn't put on the market. Maybe you get a 1st today for him.

I know it has been said we are not shopping them, but we would consider a trade if it blew our socks off. But that is every team in the league for every player. That does not sound like willing to trade a player for fair market value.

[browntrout]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I fully support your view as well to package a 2nd with Coleman for a 5th to create room for younger players. Everyone has their own point of view and the fire sale gang is quite vocal.

Frankly at this point and where this team is I would make that that trade in a heartbeat if it meant a better chance at Gavin McKenna, that's a no brainer.

Blake Coleman was a UFA signing, get what you can for them, he is not worth as much as what some fans think.

Management should absolutely firesale everyone, given the stagnation of this team the last 20 years, that type of drastic move is what is required to get think stink out

The 2026 entry draft should be priority number one

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by traptor

I know your being ridiculous to prove your point but no one is saying to do that.




Atleast for me, theres a belief that there is a base floor price you could get for Coleman if you decided to trade him tomorrow.


This month theres been a few winger trades:

Chinakhov for 2nd + 3rd
Marchment for 2nd + 4th
Denault for a 2nd


Coleman is vastly outperforming a all of these guys.
I think its safe to say they could easily get a 2nd+ for him tomorrow.


Personally id take a 2nd + 3rd for him now over not trading him this season (worst case) or waiting and trading him for a late 1st at the deadline (ideal alternative)
The reason being is it most likely translates into moving up a few draft spots too, which is extremely valuable.

That is a fair point of view, never seen someone actually put their fire sale price in a post before. 2nd and 3rd for Coleman would definitely be a fire sale and would also probably move the Flames down a number of notches in the draft order. I suspect at the end of the day that Conroy ends up getting a 1st and a 2nd for Coleman and the draft order is not all that different because of how bunched up the bottom of the standings are. For me the delta on the return for Coleman would be worth more than whatever downward movement there is in the draft, but I also think at the end of the day the difference between making the trade now and in another 15 games is maybe two or three spots in the draft.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by browntrout

Frankly at this point and where this team is I would make that that trade in a heartbeat if it meant a better chance at Gavin McKenna, that's a no brainer.

Blake Coleman was a UFA signing, get what you can for them, he is not worth as much as what some fans think.

Management should absolutely firesale everyone, given the stagnation of this team the last 20 years, that type of drastic move is what is required to get think stink out

The 2026 entry draft should be priority number one

Now we are getting somewhere, so you would package the Flames 2026 2nd with Coleman for a 2026 5th to move down in the standings. Fair point. Again, I don’t think the delta in movement in the standings is worth giving up a 2nd round pick just to get Coleman off the roster.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by browntrout

Frankly at this point and where this team is I would make that that trade in a heartbeat if it meant a better chance at Gavin McKenna, that's a no brainer.

Blake Coleman was a UFA signing, get what you can for them, he is not worth as much as what some fans think.

Management should absolutely firesale everyone, given the stagnation of this team the last 20 years, that type of drastic move is what is required to get think stink out

The 2026 entry draft should be priority number one

The best time for these trades was weeks and weeks ago, if possible. I fear we missed our chance.

Now that we are so close to the playoffs, how can you justify blowing it up? That is the problem lol now we have a legit chance at the playoffs. And teams way worse than us have been cratering down the standings already.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

The best time for these trades was weeks and weeks ago, if possible. I fear we missed our chance.

Now that we are so close to the playoffs, how can you justify blowing it up? That is the problem lol now we have a legit chance at the playoffs. And teams way worse than us have been cratering down the standings already.

I think in fairness to Browntrout, his deal of packaging a 2nd with Coleman to get a 5th round pick back was available weeks ago.

[Two Fivenagame]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This is honestly the most stale I've ever seen CP I think. Just the same arguments rehashed over and over and over in every thread about whether e are rebuilding or not. I mostly speed scroll now, it's crazy.

I recall CP being like this the last time the Flames faced a rebiggle. The discussion back then centered around why the Flames waited so long to trade Iginla. Most of CP saw the writing on the wall - Iginla and the rest of the roster were getting older, slower, and were playing some of the most boring unwatchable hockey. Yet the Flames seemed to drag their feet and made decisions that kept the roster in the mushy middle for a number of years.
The future was bolstered by mushy-middle draft picks like Tim Erickson, Greg Nemisz, Mark Jankowski, and Sven Baertschi.

There wasn't any real excitement for the future until the Flames bottomed out and started drafting near the top with Bennett, Monahan, and Tkachuk. That's when CP became really interesting and a fun place to be.

Unfortunately I see the Flames doing the same things again. They're afraid to make to make hard decisions that truly benefit the future and immediately inject some potential super Star talent on the roster. So once again the Flames trot out the old ways of thinking - we can't trade him, he has a NMC, we need to keep the culture in the room, we need an offer that really blows our socks off, we don't use the "R" word, there are other ways to build a roster that doesn't rely on bottoming out, yadda yadda yadda.
Meanwhile, here are Zary, Peltier, Honzek, Coronato, and Reschney instead of any legitimate chance at Bedard, Celibrini, Schaefer, and likely McKenna.

Worst of all imo, you don't need 5 GMs to do that work and certainly not the same crew keeping you in the mushy middle.

Fire Maloney and the rest, give CC complete control, trade everyone over 26 for *reasonable* returns instead of holding out for the best possible deals, and bottom the eff out right bloody now. Avoid this slow inevitable death nonsense and bottom out now.