The Calgary Flames have major decisions to make on five more players this year

Jun 12, 2024

The Calgary Flames have major decisions to make on five more players this year

Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Calgary Flames are coming off one of the most aggressive single-year teardowns in the recent history of the National Hockey League.

Over a nine-month span beginning last June, the Flames traded away five pending unrestricted free agents: Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin.

In return, they received a collection of future assets, but more importantly, the Flames weakened their roster to the point that they should be able to pick high in the draft for the next few years. They currently possess the No. 9 and 28 selections in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

But their work isn’t done. In fact, it might be just about time for a second teardown in Calgary. With another three forwards entering the final year of their contracts, plus a couple of other high-value trade chips, the Flames could be in for another hectic year of player movement.

Here’s a look at five more players who could be on the move out of Calgary before or during the 2024-25 season.

Jacob Markstrom

This one appears to be the furthest down the line. Ever since the Flames and New Jersey Devils came oh-so-close to closing a Jacob Markstrom deal at the trade deadline, rumors have swirled non-stop about what the Flames might end up doing with their star goaltender. Let’s face it: Markstrom is 34, has two years left on his deal, and almost certainly won’t be part of the solution in Calgary — after all, by the time the Flames are ready to turn things around, Markstrom might be done playing entirely. Also, from the sounds of it, Markstrom himself might not be too enamored with the prospect of spending two more years of his waning career on a Flames team that is embarking upon, at minimum, a heavy retool. Various reports have connected Markstrom with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and, of course, New Jersey, whose GM has also expressed a willingness to move the No. 10 selection in this year’s draft. That pick might be out of reach in a deal for Markstrom, who went 23-23-2 with a .905 save percentage last year, but the Devils badly need someone to stop pucks for them. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Markstrom situation resolved by the Draft.

Andrew Mangiapane

Two members of the Flames popped up on Frank Seravalli’s latest trade targets board here at Daily Faceoff: Markstrom (No. 10) and Andrew Mangiapane (No. 17), the latter of whom is entering the final year of his contract. It’s safe to say Mangiapane hasn’t lived up to the three-year, $5.8 million AAV deal he signed as a restricted free agent back in 2022. That was a summer in which the Flames were reeling from the losses of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk and badly needed to show they could keep guys around. Now, after managing just 14 goals and 40 points in 75 games last season, Mangiapane appears to be on the block and could probably stand to benefit from a change of scenery. His best years in Calgary came when he played on a line with two-way dynamo Mikael Backlund. At 5’10” and 184 pounds, Mangiapane won’t win many wrestling matches, but he’s surprisingly strong on the puck and can make plays in the right environment. The Flames will likely have to retain salary to move the 28-year-old winger, but, as Frank put it, “he’ll be walking next summer anyway.”

Andrei Kuzmenko

This is where things get interesting. The Flames struck gold in getting Andrei Kuzmenko (and four other assets) from the Vancouver Canucks as part of the Elias Lindholm trade back in January. At the time, Kuzmenko appeared to have fallen out of favor with Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and agreed to waive his no-trade clause to go to Calgary, becoming the first Russian forward to play for the Flames since Oleg Saprykin in 2004. After managing just 21 points in 43 games with the Canucks to start the season, the 28-year-old Kuzmenko collected 25 more (including 14 goals) in 29 games with the Flames down the stretch, winning himself a ton of fans in Calgary in the process. There’s a decent case to be made that Kuzmenko is the Flames’ most singularly talented player, what with his propensity to make jaw-dropping moves with the puck in the offensive zone. But he’s slightly older than Mangiapane and is also set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Are the Flames really the ones that should be paying Kuzmenko into his 30s? And would Kuzmenko even be interested in re-upping with a non-playoff team? It might be best for all parties for the Flames to play the heck out of Kuzmenko to start the year before looking to flip him at the trade deadline for the biggest possible return.

Yegor Sharangovich

The Flames have three top-nine forwards slated to become UFAs after the 2024-25 season. Yegor Sharangovich is the youngest of that group, was the most productive last season, and is the only one with experience playing center in the NHL. Sharangovich won’t turn 27 until June 6, 2025, less than a month before he can hit the open market. After giving up Toffoli to acquire him last summer, the Flames obviously don’t want that to happen. Sharangovich signed a two-year, $3.1 million AAV deal with the Flames a day after the trade and proceeded to score 31 times — exactly $100,000 per goal — in his first season with his new club. It’s safe to say Sharangovich and his agent, Dan Milstein, will be looking for him to receive a pretty significant raise on his next deal. Once again, most of this will come down to what the player is willing to do. It might not be a bad idea for the Flames to explore selling high on the Belarusian forward, but he’s also young enough that he should still have many good years ahead of him. Given his excellent 2023-24 season, Sharangovich should be able to fetch a haul in any trade, but the Flames will likely prioritize trying to sign him over Mangiapane and Kuzmenko.

Rasmus Andersson

Unlike the three forwards listed before him, Rasmus Andersson is not a pending UFA. Unlike with Markstrom, there haven’t been all that many trade rumors concerning Andersson since the Flames’ season ended. Regardless, GM Craig Conroy and company have to start thinking about what the future might hold for the 27-year-old defenseman, who isn’t a bona fide top-pairing guy but can take on that role with the right partner. Andersson has two years left on his deal at a bargain $4.55 million cap hit and will be looking for a lot more dough on his next contract, particularly with the salary cap finally going up again. The Flames are already locked into one long-term contract on defense with MacKenzie Weegar. Andersson is a popular teammate in Calgary and is viewed as a potential future Flames captain. But here’s the rub: Calgary would no doubt love to pick up another high first-round pick or two over the next few years, and Andersson might just be their best trade chip in that regard. We’re just over a year removed from Jakob Chychrun fetching the No. 12 pick in the 2023 draft, plus two seconds. If that kind of opportunity presents itself, how could the Flames not want to trade Andersson, who will be 30 years old in the first year of his next contract? In this case, the term on Andersson’s existing deal would be particularly attractive, especially if the Flames can be convinced to retain any of his salary. Teams would be lining up to get in on that action.

_____

Hey, hockey heads! Get ready for The Daily Faceoff Playoff Parlay Challenge! Each game day, answer four playoff prediction questions like who will win the first game, will points be over or under or what will be the highest-scoring period? Daily winners snag gift cards, while each round’s champs pocket cash! Play now at games.dailyfaceoff.com and prove your puck prowess! It’s fast, it’s fun, and it’s all about hockey! Let’s go!

_____

Recently by Mike Gould

POST SPONSORED BY bet365