What Flames must do next after Rasmus Andersson trade

The Calgary Flames have a plan, and it does not include having a team that will be competing in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flames tried to do that last season and just missed out of making an appearance in the postseason as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

If the Flames had conceded that the playoffs were not in their plans a year ago, they would be much further along with their rebuilding/retooling process. The key for this team is to have a winning team that can make a statement and do notable damage by the start of the 2027-28 season.

That’s when the Flames will move into Scotia Place, a modern building with all the amenities that the NHL likes its new arenas to have in place.

The Flames made their first big move last weekend when they traded defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 conditional first-round pick, a 2028 conditional second-round pick and prospect Abram Wiebe.

The Boston Bruins were also in the mix for the explosive defenseman, and insiders report that the Flames liked the Bruins trade package more than the one they accepted from Vegas. However, the Bruins balked at making the deal when they learned that Andersson was not interested in signing a contract extension. Andersson is due to become a free agent and the Bruins did not want to pay an exorbitant price if they could lose the right-shot defenseman during the summer.

If the Flames had been willing to move Andersson last year, any team that had acquired him would have had a full season in addition to last year’s stretch drive. That would have gotten the Flames more in return than they received from the Golden Knights.

Nazem Kadri is next and could bring solid return

Nazem Kadri will be one of the top players available prior to the trade deadline, and he could be moved before the Olympic break next month. Kadri is under contract with the Flames through the 2028-29 season, and there may be some debate among the Flames’ management about letting him go since he would still be with the team when Scotia Place opens. He has a current cap hit of $7 million.

But Kadri is a hard-nosed competitor and the kind of player a contender will look at as someone who will bring the fight in the toughest games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was with the Colorado Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and the 35-year-old center has learned to play to the edge without going over — something that was a significant problem for him during the first 10 years of his career.

Kadri has scored 24 goals or more in each of his last 4 seasons. However, the numbers are not there during the 2025-26 season as he has 9 goals and 25 assists for 34 points in 49 games.

Any team that makes a move for Kadri will have to believe that he has not lost any of his ability and that he is still the same player who scored 35 goals last year. Playing for a contender should revive Kadri’s scoring touch.

The belief is that Kadri will encourage a trade to a significant contender because he knows the Flames are not on a win-now schedule. That does not fit in with his personal timetable and the Flames should be able to get an attractive return that includes draft picks and young prospects.

Flames could also move Blake Coleman

Since the Flames are building for the future and are clearly interested in finding the players that can help them win and contend for championships when they open their new building, they will also consider trading Blake Coleman.

The 34-year-old winger has a current cap hit of $4.9 million, and that’s significantly less than Kadri. He is a dynamic skater and will play a solid 200-foot game. His speed allows him to turn defense into offense and he can make big plays while killing penalties.

He was a two-time Stanley Cup winner when he was a role player for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and ’21. Any team that picks up Coleman will have him under contract through the 2026-27 season, so that means the Flames should get a solid return for his services.

Coleman scored 30 goals two years ago with the Flames, but that figure dropped to 15 last season. He should approach 22-25 goals this season as he has potted 13 goals in his first 44 games.

Coleman is quite durable, as he has played 81 or 82 games in 3 of the last 4 seasons.

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