2025/2026 Season Trade Rumours and Speculation Thread

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

on TSN Lebrun said he is hearing the major contenders want to wait to make their major moves until after the Olympics because a) in case the player they trade for gets injured at the olympics and b) in case their own player(s) get injured at the Olympics and they need to switch focus on trade targets

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

I can see this. It would be pretty brutal if a team unloaded the cupboards for Andersson and he got injured pretty badly during the Olympics. But really, it just takes one team to want a player enough to create a pre-Olympics bidding war.

That probably relates to Colorado, Dallas and maybe Carolina.

For the rest of the West and the Eastern conference I'm not sure they have the ability to wait due to the tight standings posiition.

And I'd rather be targeting the other teams if I'm Craig Conroy anyways - I want the better 1st round pick.

If a team like Boston has their pick on the table I'm not waiting because Colorado wants to wait...because the difference in pick positioning is worth so much value itself.

[My2Cents]

I get that teams want to wait, but sellers do not want to wait for the same reasons. If the bidding heats up I am sure the top teams will be forced to "put up or shut up".

Just because they want to wait doesn't mean they can.

[Rhett44]

Originally Posted by My2Cents

I get that teams want to wait, but sellers do not want to wait for the same reasons. If the bidding heats up I am sure the top teams will be forced to "put up or shut up".

Just because they want to wait doesn't mean they can.

Yep, exactly. If a team doesn't trade their guy by the Olympics, and he gets hurt, they are going to look really stupid.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Yep, exactly. If a team doesn't trade their guy by the Olympics, and he gets hurt, they are going to look really stupid.

Dumb comment: for a seller to sell, there has to be a buyer to buy. If they don’t want to buy now, you have to wait. No real choice.

That could “require” the player not to go to the Olys. Good luck with that.

[Matty81]

I think it's a bit of an oversimplification too to say there's risk for guys who go getting injured in the 4-6 games they play and that's the sole consideration.

A player could go and absolutely shine and drive the acquisition price up significantly as well, or create a bidding war that wasn't there beforehand. Or if a competing team loses a RHD to major injury over there maybe they are now in on Rasmus when they weren't before again driving the price up. Sellers are motivated to make moves before then and might just take the best offer before the olympics and you miss out on the player you needed to make your run if you are too rigid.

It's always a poker game and buyers claiming they won't move off their current offers for a couple months because of one single factor doesn't surprise me but I'd bet it's brinkmanship and if the market starts moving they won't want to be left behind.

Everybody wants to get guys in to their group as soon as possible and in the case of guys like Coleman or Kadri you get almost a full month in the organization practicing and learning the system, even taking the break into account, if you move prior to the olympics.

[GioforPM]

Is there a rule against a trade of an Olympian during the break? Other than trying to be decent to the guy and not have him distracted and trying to organize a move at that time?

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Is there a rule against a trade of an Olympian during the break? Other than trying to be decent to the guy and not have him distracted and trying to organize a move at that time?

believe there is a roster freeze during the Olympics

[Badgers Nose]

Coleman and Kadri are not going to the Olympics.

Neither is the 1st round pick of the team we trade with.

Problem solved.

Can't help them with their fear of their own players getting hurt though. Tough #### I guess.

[Rhett44]

Well Seravalli said there is so much interest in Andersson, he would be shocked if he isn't dealt in the next few weeks anyways. So it won't be a problem, I am just saying it would be dumb to risk an injury if you have multiple great offers already.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Rhett44

Well Seravalli said there is so much interest in Andersson, he would be shocked if he isn't dealt in the next few weeks anyways. So it won't be a problem, I am just saying it would be dumb to risk an injury if you have multiple great offers already.

If any of the offers were what Conroy wants then I think Ras would be gone.

[dammage79]

Need this Andersson trade saga to end. Sounds like it is before the Olympics so that will be nice to end two years of trade debate. Then we can move onto the ongoing trade Kadri and Coleman that's been rolling for a year now.

[Muta]

If you wait until after the Olympics to try and get Andersson, you may be late the party by that point. All it takes is the right offer from one team for Conroy to say yes to - why play chicken with other teams at that point?

[NewFan]

Based on this discussion, my understanding is that Andersson will be traded, and Kadri and Coleman are potential trade candidates, contingent upon receiving a good offer and the players' acceptance.

Are there any other players the team is considering trading? Specifically, players like Weegar, Frost, Farabee, Hanley, or Pachal.

While Weegar is a valued team player, if a contending team is interested, wouldn't it be nice for him to have a chance to play for the Stanley Cup, even the return is just okay? Similarly, should the team accept an offer for Huberdeau, for example, a third-round pick from Montreal with some salary retention?

Just wondering, is the team committed to keeping all remaining players unless a sufficiently high or fair price is offered.

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by Muta

If you wait until after the Olympics to try and get Andersson, you may be late the party by that point. All it takes is the right offer from one team for Conroy to say yes to - why play chicken with other teams at that point?

Exactly. Any team is free to say they won't trade before the break. Great, settle for the next best dman. The cost of being risk averse i guess. The delta between what Flames would get before or after the deadline if the market is a little meatier isn't nearly as big as the delta between Ras and the next best dman available.

Conroy's in the driver's seat because all 3 premium assets are unique. These players are cup winning adds and no one else has one. So he sets the timing. Sounds like time is up.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by NewFan

Based on this discussion, my understanding is that Andersson will be traded, and Kadri and Coleman are potential trade candidates, contingent upon receiving a good offer and the players' acceptance.

Are there any other players the team is considering trading? Specifically, players like Weegar, Frost, Farabee, Hanley, or Pachal.

While Weegar is a valued team player, if a contending team is interested, wouldn't it be nice for him to have a chance to play for the Stanley Cup, even the return is just okay? Similarly, should the team accept an offer for Huberdeau, for example, a third-round pick from Montreal with some salary retention?

Just wondering, is the team committed to keeping all remaining players unless a sufficiently high or fair price is offered.

You’d have to be a very high level employee of the Flames front office to know that.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

If any of the offers were what Conroy wants then I think Ras would be gone.

Yup. We saw how he works that with the Lindholm trade. As soon as someone meets his asking price, he circles back once to the other interested parties to see if anyone will raise their offer, then closes.

If Conroy has, in fact, received an offer that he likes, the only reason Andersson is still here is that Conroy is in the circling-back stage. Which might actually be the case, considering that there is actual talk about particular teams being interested. If so, we could see action this week; if not, then closer to the Olympics.

From what I'm seeing, the timeline is working out about the way I predicted. Nothing before the holidays, Andersson before the Olympics, other vets (if the offers are good) between the Olympics and the trade deadline.

And the Flames are still third from the bottom, which means (supposing they stay there) their first-round pick is most likely in the top four. Either they win one of the lottery draws themselves, or at least one team ahead of them wins one, and they draft no lower than 4th. Only if two teams above them in the standings leapfrog their pick do they get pushed down to 5th.

This is not at all a bad position to be in for a rebuild. People can stop obsessing about what Darryl Sutter would have done in 2010, or Jay Feaster in 2013, or Brad Treliving in 2020. The history of the organization is pretty irrelevant at this point, because in all that time they have never had a GM who actually accumulated picks and prospects instead of running a deficit.

This is the first three-year span in the entire history of the franchise where they have six 1st-round picks, and Conroy has said publicly that he is looking to add another. That's proof that he's not following the same direction the franchise has had before.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

They will try and compete and I am sure will have some nice runs but teams typically win in that 8-10 year range after guys are drafted. LA traded guys they picked in the top 5 in Johnson and Schenn to land Richards and Carter who along with captain Dustin Brown were picked 9 years before that run. Kopitar won the second cup 9 years after his draft.

I just am not sure going with a 30 year old Dman on an 8 year deal makes sense for a team with 18-21 year olds they will be handing out huge money for very soon. If Rasmus was 26-27 it would make sense but he will be 30 at the start of the contract. He is a 2-3 Dman in his prime that doesn’t line up with the Sharks core. I agree they will be pushing for a playoff spot soon and adding to their roster soon but I think they will be going the route the Habs did with Dobson and go after a mid-20’s guy who can step in right away but be a factor for 8 years.

I personally think Andersson makes a lot more sense for a mature team that has been competing and looking to bolster their lineup rather than a young up and coming team who haven’t paid their young stars paying the price to trade for and then sign Andersson

Again, you’re describing what has happened with some teams and reframing it as a determining factor to winning. It isn’t. Teams that had their stars on ELCs have won. So have teams with stars under 25. So have teams with stars over 30.

LA also had Scuderi (33) and Mitchell (34) in their top 4, each making around 5-6% of the cap. Andersson’s contract might be 7-8% of the cap in 3 years. Might be less. Might be more. Who knows.

The faster San Jose fills the gaps, the faster they’ll become contenders. Whether their #3 defenceman is 30 years old or 33 years old when they’re at that point isn’t going to determine whether they win or not. And like it or not, they’re going to need quality veterans in the lineup, not just role players. They can’t draft or trade for prime aged players to fill their top six/top four, that’ll be even worse contract-wise.

Anyways, the point is that just because something has happened a certain way doesn’t mean it should or it has to. If San Jose is smart, they’ll start trying to win. Sitting back for 6 years makes absolutely no sense.

[Roko]

Wasn’t there a post stating that we are in Kadri/Colemans preferred window right now? Could see rasmus the next day or so and then shift of focus

[FlamesFanInEdmonton]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

on TSN Lebrun said he is hearing the major contenders want to wait to make their major moves until after the Olympics because a) in case the player they trade for gets injured at the olympics and b) in case their own player(s) get injured at the Olympics and they need to switch focus on trade targets

Although I'm sure they would prefer to wait, if a team really wants Ras and thinks he is the missing piece, I can't see them letting him slip through their fingers.

I suppose a verbal agreement on a trade could be made, pending Ras' healthy return from the Olympics?

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Yeah I worry when you have Francis on the radio again this morning going on about how you can't trade Coleman and Kadri because of the message it sends to the dressing room during a playoff push.

And how the organization goal not necessarily to win a Stanley cup, but to make the playoffs (his words not mine).

Now maybe he's out to lunch but I was cringing when I heard him on the radio this morning.

I always found Francis to be the first guy to say make a move and then criticize the move or vice versa, always looking to be negative.