The better Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson plays, the better it is for his trade value
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukaukas on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Kaprizov to Crosby: The Big Questions at the US Media Tour episode, on the Calgary Flames and defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Bukauskas: “Okay, Rasmus Andersson. So first off, there was what Mikael Backlund said over in Europe a few weeks ago, who came flat out and said, ‘Yeah, like, it’s no secret he’s going to be traded here. We know the business side of things. Something’s going to come to a head here at some point over the next year, with Anderson in the Flames.’ He did come out and say that the whole notion that he was only agreeing to go to one team was…”
Friedman: “I think we talked about that, that that was not true.”
Bukaukas: “Yes, yeah. He wanted to make that thing very clear. Said he would, did not want to handcuff Craig Conroy and the organization in that sense. But do you have any update on where things stand there?”
Friedman: “Yeah, I just think it’s going to come down to, do the Flames get what they want for him. And, you know, the thing here is, it looks like it’s, it sounds like it’s everybody here is doing their best to bend over backwards and be professional, right?
Anderson showed up. He’s ready. He’s going to play. The Flames, obviously, keep putting him in good positions where he gets a lot of minutes and he gets opportunity. So and it, because he’s a good player, it benefits them to do that.
So I just, I just believe that at some point this year, Craig Conroy is going to get what he wants to get to move him. And I think that’s simply what’s, what’s going to happen.
You know, the other thing too is, you know, with the thing that might really help the Flames here a lot, is that, you know, Rasmus Andersson, there’s the changes this year for the CBA, right, about the playoff, the playoff cap and the double retention and things like that. You know, Rasmus Anderson contract is not one that’s really gonna make life difficult on people. His cap hit is $4.55 (million). Like it’s not like he’s a defenseman making $8 million or $10 million or something like that.
He is a number that’s manageable. You don’t have to worry. Like, you can do that very comfortably on single retention. Like, if you can say I’ve got a player of Rasmus Anderson quality on, like, on my roster, for just under $2.3 million if it’s 50% retention, people are going to be jumping at that.
So this is a player who’s going to be available this year that the new salary cap rules, they’re not going to be as onerous towards and I don’t think that’s a small thing. I just think at some point in time this year, they’ll everybody will get what they want.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.