Flames Player Says Teammate Rasmus Andersson Trade is ‘Obvious’

Rasmus Andersson in his final days as a Calgary Flame?

The rumors have been flying about the future of Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson for some time now. In every corner of the media, pundits have talked about when and where the pending UFA blueliner will be dealt.

And it appears that this inevitability hasn't escaped his teammates, either.

Flames captain Mikael Backlund told Michael Russo of The Athletic this week that he knows he won't be sharing a locker room with his teammate of the past nine years for much longer:

Yeah, he’s getting traded. It’s obvious. But the team wants value. He wants a big contract. So he wants to play well. The team needs him to play well. So, just go out and play. I talked to him, too, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction. So it’s all good.
It’s too bad it’s come to this.

Andersson is entering the final year of his six-year, $4.55 million AAV contract, and it doesn't sound like the Flames are interested in re-signing the soon-to-be 29-year-old top-pairing d-man to an extension that will need to feature a big raise.

The blueliner came out earlier this month dismissing reports that he wants a trade, and he only wants to go to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I have still been very appreciated in Calgary for a long time. Then some insider comes with wrong information and then the fans believe it, because they are right about a lot of other things they do and I understand that that is their job. But I have not given Calgary a team, that I only want to sympathize with a team. That is not true. I have one year left on my contract. I’ll address that issue in a year, not today.”

And so, the drama continues to drag on, and the Flames can only hope that it doesn't become a major distraction once camp gets underway a few weeks from now.

As for Backlund, he's still holding out a sliver of hope.

"I don’t think that they’re close to getting an agreement or anything, but you never know. Things could change. We’ll see.”