Flames' Under-the-Radar Trade Candidates & Intermission Changes
Plus, a look back at Brad Treliving's tenure as general manager.
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Welcome to the THW Calgary Flames Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Flames writers.
In today’s edition, we cover 3 players who are under-the-radar trade candidates, why the Flames need to move on from Chris Tanev, and how changes during the intermission led to a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Plus, what changes were necessitated by the Nikita Zadorov trade?
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Now, on to the good stuff…
3 Calgary Flames That Are Darkhorse Trade Candidates
December 12, 2023 by Derek Olsen
For the Calgary Flames, the 2023-24 NHL season has been a bit of a rollercoaster thus far. The team has been hovering around the .500 mark, starting the season with a six-game losing streak, and has since won two games in a row on three separate occasions. An influx of new blood has injected a bit of life into the Flames, as prospects Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil, Ilya Solovyov and Dustin Wolf have recently joined the team and immediately contributed to its success. This seemingly temporarily shifted the focus away from the Flames’ big-name unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and their ultimate re-signings or trades. Star forward Elias Lindholm and top four defensemen Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin have had rumours circling them since the end of last season.
Rookie general manager Craig Conroy recently shipped off one former Flame UFA in Nikita Zadorov. The big Russian blueliner was a rare trade between the Flames and rival Vancouver Canucks, something that had happened just five times prior. Now that the first domino has fallen, many fans and media members are clamouring to try and determine which UFA goes next. However, what if the next Flame traded isn’t one of the aforementioned names? With that idea in mind, here are three dark horse trade candidates from the Flames.
Flames Need to Move On From Chris Tanev
December 9, 2023 by Rupert McDonald
Despite it now being roughly two months into the 2023-24 season, the management team of the Calgary Flames still seems to be quite unsure about which route they want to take. It appeared that by trading Nikita Zadorov last week, they had finally decided they were going to sell their pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) in exchange for help down the road. However, that may not be the case.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Flames are circling back on the idea of extending defenceman Chris Tanev. The two sides were believed to have discussed an extension early into the season, but were unable to find common ground. Whether they can this time remains to be seen, but if they do, it would be a big mistake by the Flames.
Flames’ Intermission Changes Lead to Win Over Hurricanes
December 9, 2023 by Abigail Hubbard
The Calgary Flames managed to come back from the brink of defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 7. After going down 2-0 just nine minutes into the first period, the Flames put up three goals in the third period to rise above the Hurricanes. The win might have come as a shock to anyone who only watched the first period, as the Flames were not at their best. They came out after the first intermission, however, with a different offensive strategy that led them to the win.
Understandably, the Flames are going through a learning period this season. A lot of changes have been made over the past few seasons. Star players Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau left the organization at the end of the 2021-22 season and the Flames’ less-than-stellar performance during the 2022-23 season led to the firing of head coach Darryl Sutter. They’ve slowly been finding their feet again and the improvements they made against the Hurricanes show that.
Brad Treliving’s 5 Best & Worst Trades as Flames GM
December 8, 2023 by Rob Couch
Brad Treliving was just over a week short of hitting the nine-year mark as the Calgary Flames general manager (GM). He was hired in April 2014 after the team had missed the playoffs for five consecutive years. During his tenure as GM, the Flames made the postseason five times and finished with the second and third most points in franchise history. All that, and they won two playoff series.
It’s true that Treliving could only be accountable for so much, but he was responsible for how the team looked on the ice year in and year out. We will look at all his best and worst trades as GM over the nine years and how they all turned out for the Flames.
Flames’ Defensive Changes Following the Zadorov Trade
December 6, 2023 by Abigail Hubbard
The Calgary Flames are facing some potential changes in their defensive lineups. Nikita Zadorov’s recent trade to the Vancouver Canucks has already seen Dennis Gilbert and Jordan Oesterle getting increases in ice time. With Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin becoming free agents in July 2024 and Oliver Kylington back on the ice again, the Flames’ defense may go through more shake-ups in the coming months.