Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson publicly expressed his thoughts on the Edmonton Oilers when asked about trade rumours leading up to the NHL trade deadline, and the quote is fantastic.
During a one-on-one interview with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, Andersson spoke about his uncertain future with the Flames as he has been mired in trade rumours despite having a year remaining on his current contract. While he understands that it is a business and that he doesn’t have a lot of say in the matter, he does know where he doesn’t want to play.
“I love playing here and I’ve always loved playing here and that’s never going to change,” Andersson said. “I hate the Oilers, I hate the Canucks, and that’s just the way I am. Of course, I would love to stay here, but I’ve heard from everyone else who has been in my situation that it’s a business. So we’ll see what happens.”
This isn’t the first time a player from one of the Oilers’ divisional rivals spoke openly about their dislike for the team. During the 2024 playoffs, then Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov said that ‘there’s pretty much nothing else to do in that city except watch hockey.’ Multiple NHL stars also named the Oilers their biggest rivals going into the 2024-25 season, including Quinton Byfield, who said he wants to ‘beat them.’
Someone on the Flames saying they dislike the Oilers is not exactly a shocking revelation, but I am sure the players can rest easy knowing that they live rent-free inside Andersson’s head.
Although Calgary is amid a playoff chance and currently sits a point behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second Wild Card spot in the West, the noise surrounding Andersson’s future has not subsided. He has a modified no-trade clause that bares him from being dealt to six teams, which means he could be traded to one of the 26 other teams in the NHL.
“I’ve got no say in it – I have a six-team no-trade list, so it’s out of my hands,” Andersson said. “July 1 is when I can re-sign, and we’re in January. It’s all in [Craig Conroy] and [Don Maloney’s] hands what happens to me until my contract is up unless we find a deal. It’s not like I’m sitting on a full no-move.”
Should he become available, Andersson will be among the most highly sought-after players on the trade market because of his two-way play, being a right-shot defenceman, and in the prime of his career at 28. He may be off to a slow start to the season by his standards, with 18 points (six goals and 12 assists) in 40 games, but he is being relied upon a lot as he currently leads all Flames players in time-on-ice per game with 24:28.
Andersson could find himself playing somewhere else in the league by the time the trade deadline passes on March 7th, it just probably won’t be with the Oilers or Canucks. Then again, stranger things have happened in the NHL, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
