Could the Calgary Flames Move Some of their Players in the Summer?
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Toronto and was asked about the situation with the Calgary Flames and if he could see Nazem Kadri and some of their other pieces being traded.
NHLRumors.com Transcription
Matthew Cauz: “Last question for you, Dave. I’ve seen you talking about this, and obviously here in Toronto, we hear the name (Nazem) Kadri, we get excited. Fraser Minten looked good in third-line center minutes last night (Monday Night) against the Blackhawks. You don’t have to answer this as a Toronto thing, but more Kadri. Do you expect him to still be with Calgary by the end of this season?”
Dave Pagnotta: “I think by the end of the season, yes. I think we’ll see kind of in terms of big impact, moves from the Flames. He was available in the summer, no secret. He was out there. He has a full no-move, so that he would have had some say. But he was out there in the summer, around the draft and into July.
So were a bunch of other guys, including Kadri, that didn’t get moved, and things have gone well for them, for the Flames, so I don’t think they’re going to go on a bit of a teardown, retool on the fly kind of thing this season. They may wait for the summer.
Now, Kadri, he’s got a lot of term on his contract. Got a $7 million cap hit. He’s going to be a difficult piece to potentially move to a place where he would accept to go to. I think he would accept the return here (Toronto). I think Colorado would be an environment he’d love to return to, staying or moving back closer to East if it’s not here.
But the contract makes it a difficult piece to part with. From Calgary’s side, I think they’re going to dip a little bit because Edmonton is going to make a run, and Vancouver is there, and whatnot. I think how big of a dip they make will dictate the type of moves they make because they have pieces they can move outside of that.
They’ve got Rasmus Andersson that’s generated a ton of interest, but he’s got one more year on his contract. (Andrei) Kuzmenko is a solid mid-six guy. He’s on an expiring deal, but (Dan) Vladar is not an expiring deal. So if they fall out of it, I can see them making those types of moves and saving, you know, a Kadri type of situation for the summer.
NHLRumors.com Note: Right now, the Calgary Flames are still in the mix in the Pacific Division. As Craig Conroy told RG, he is looking for an age-appropriate right-shot center, but he knows it will not be easy.
In addition, Conroy would like to extend Andersson, who has been a staple on the Flames’ back end, along with Kevin Bahl. Andersson wants to be there, and Conroy would like to extend his stay in Calgary for a long time. But it is up to Andersson.
As Pagnotta notes, it will be tough for a contending team, especially the Maple Leafs, to take on his deal, considering who they need to sign in the offseason.
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