Major Flames Trade Could Happen In Next Two Weeks

The Calgary Flames have cooled off and sit 30th in the league and two games under .500. Even with how the Western Conference isn't as strong around the wildcard spots for the playoffs, they will still have to have a strong second half to stay in the race and make the postseason.

Their position and certain contracts should be weighing on them and there is one in particular that may be getting moved in the short term. Frank Seravalli spoke with Bob Stauffer and the question of who could be traded in the next two weeks came up. Seravalli responded, "Rasmus Andersson. They wanna get...that file off their plate well before the Olympics if possible."

Andersson has been linked to multiple teams in trade chatter and since he's a UFA after the season, there's an urgency to figure out if he is willing to re-sign and do it before the trade deadline, or end up being traded because the Flames can't lose a talent like that for nothing in free agency at the end of the season.

Andersson is having a great season and has bounced back from 2024-25. He plays the most minutes per game on the team and is logging 24:12 per game. He is also on the top power-play unit, playing over 2:30 per game, and on the penalty kill where he logs more than two minutes per game. To go along with that, he's having a strong offensive season with nine goals and 27 points in 42 games and is on the top pairing.

There is the opportunity for teams who aren't trying to trade for Andersson to grab him as a rental and possibly try to extend him, or acquire him with a new contract. The latter would provide the Flames with a much higher return and what they would more like to do if the team is to trade Andersson. His contract is very movable as he's a top-2 defenseman and has a cap hit of $4.55 million AAV.

With Zayne Perekh back from the World Juniors and Hunter Brzustewicz in the NHL, there is a need for space, especially on the right side where Andersson plays, and good replacements to lead the Flames into the future if Andersson is moved soon. The Flames are not afraid to get their young players up to the NHL and at least test them out, but at this point, some room has to be made to really give them the opportunity.