Meet the Sellers: Calgary Flames
5 months ago
It looks like the Calgary Flames might finally be ready to veer off of the path of perennial mediocrity and into a rebuild. Will they go all in and embrace a tank?
This is a new series called Meet the Sellers. As the Edmonton Oilers are in a “Stanley Cup or Bust” year, we’re going to look at the teams who have no other aspirations this season other than adding some prospects and picks and jockeying for a better position in the 2024 Draft Lottery.
Before diving into the Calgary Flames, let’s look at some of Edmonton’s needs.
- Competent backup goaltender: Stuart Skinner has worked his way up from an .853 save percentage in his first eight games to a .910 save percentage at the All-Star break. Still, the Oilers could give him a break by getting a legitimate 1B.
- Second-pairing right-shot defenceman: Cody Ceci isn’t a bad player by any means, but the Oilers could look to upgrade him by trading for a shutdown defenceman to play with Darnell Nurse.
- Second-line right-winger: The Oilers’ top six is fantastic, but could you imagine if the Oilers added a scoring winger to play alongside Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele?
- Third-line centre: This has become less and less of a need, but if the Oilers were to trade for a third-line centre, the Oilers’ versatility and depth could allow Ryan McLeod or Dylan Holloway to play on the second line.
Who could the Calgary Flames sell?
The Flames have already made a couple of big trades this season. They moved hulking defender Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks and then they linked up with their Pacific Division rival again during the All-Star break by sending Elias Lindholm out west.
Even after those two, Calgary has a handful of other quality players who could be moved to help teams who are gearing up for playoff pushes. Let’s look through the most interesting names on the Flames who may or may not find themselves on the move at some point in the coming months.
Chris Tanev is the player from the Flames who’d be the best fit for the Oilers. The 34-year-old is one of the best defensive defencemen in the league, playing 309.2 minutes against elite players, or 41.3% of his ice time. On top of that, Tanev’s team has 16 goals for and seven against while playing against elite competition. Tanev has a cap hit of $4.5 million and will be a free agent at season’s end.
Noah Hanifin is a left-shot defenceman, which the Oilers don’t really need with Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, and Brett Kulak locking down the three spots. This season, the 27-year-old has eight goals and 25 points in 49 games, and has a cap hit of $4.95 million.
Oliver Kylington broke out in 2021-22 with the Flames, scoring nine goals and 31 points in 73 games. Unfortunately, the left-shot defenceman missed the entire 2022-23 season and most of this season, playing just two games in 2023-24. Kylington has a cap hit of $4.5 million and will be a free agent at the end of the season. It’s doubtful he’ll be traded.
Andrei Kuzmenko was the player traded to the Flames in the recent Lindholm deal. It was to balance the salary as Kuzmenko has a cap hit of $5.5 million until the end of the 2024-25 season, but Kuzmenko also needed a change of scenery. Last season, the winger had 39 goals and 74 points in his first NHL season, but has just eight goals and 21 points in 43 games with the Canucks. He’d be a good scoring winger to add at 50% retention, but the Flames probably wouldn’t do that for Edmonton.
Andrew Mangiapane has nine goals and 27 points in 48 games this season. The year prior, he had 17 goals and 43 points, but had a career-high of 35 goals and 55 points when the Flames took the Pacific Division crown in 2021-22. Mangiapane has a cap hit of $5.8 million until the end of the 2024-25 campaign with a modified no-trade clause.
Yegor Sharangovich was acquired in the summer of 2023 from the New Jersey Devils for Tyler Toffoli. His Flames career started off awfully, but the 25-year-old is now up to 20 goals and 35 points in 49 games this season. Sharangovich has a cap hit of $3.1 million until the end of the 2024-25 season, and the winger would be a cheap addition to the top six.
Blake Coleman leads the Flames with 40 points and is tied for the lead with 20 goals. Coleman already has a career-high in points and is just three goals away from setting a career-high in that total as well. The 32-year-old forward has a cap hit of $4.9 million until the end of the 2026-27 season with a modified no-trade clause.
Jacob Markström is a huge reason why the Flames aren’t in the basement this year. This season, he has a .912 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average in 29 games played, along with a 14-13-2 record. Markström has a full no-move clause, with a $6 million cap hit until the end of the 2025-26 season. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Markström is moved, but it’d likely be in the off-season. Markström is also more of a 1A than a 1B, with the Oilers needing the latter.
Daniel Vladař is the backup netminder for the Flames and has an .888 save percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average in 16 games played. The 26-year-old has a cap hit of $2.2 million until the end of the 2024-25 season. The Flames have an incentive to move him, as they have a top goaltending prospect in Dustin Wolf percolating in the American Hockey League who deserves a look at the big league level.
Previously in this series…
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