The Calgary Flames rebuild has seemingly officially begun under Craig Conroy, and with eight picks in the first 65 selections in the 2026 NHL Draft, they'll have the opportunity to add many more young pieces to the organization.
Already, Conroy has stated that the Flames won't be too active in free agency, but with so much draft capital, there are young, NHL ready players out there that could make sense as trade candidate for the Calgary Flames. While drafting is the preferred method to add talent, if there's a player out there under the age of 24 that has experience in the NHL, the Flames must be doing their due dilligence on them.
There are many names out there as potential candidates for the Flames, and recently, ESPN writer Rachel Kryshak has named several of them as players that could benefit from a change of scenery this summer.
Decided to do a deeper dive into some of the top young players that could be good bets for teams after they’ve failed to meet expectations with their first NHL teams or never been given a fair opportunity to begin with. https://t.co/Ud0nBaipRC
— Rachel Kryshak (@RachelKryshak) May 28, 2026
Today, we'll look into those and give our prediction on how likely it is they're moved, and whether or not the Flames should pursue them.
5. Kevin Korchinski
We recently named Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski as a player that could be the target of a Flames offer sheet, and recently, a potential trade of the 21-year-old has picked up more and more steam. Despite his talents, Korchinski has played in just 29 games for the Blackhawks in the past two seasons, and in that time, he's seemingly struggled to maximize his opportunities, with just 4 points in that time.
Obviously, it's hard to contribute when playing time is so inconsistent, and given that he's a left-shot defenseman, one thing that Calgary could give him is plenty of playing time alongside some other young blue liners in Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Yan Kuznestov. With all of the speculation out there, it appears Chicago are motivated to move Korchinski, and with the Flames having some underperforming young players of their own like Connor Zary, there's a deal to be made that could benefit both teams.
Verdict: Given the Flames need for LHD and the expendable Olli Maatta and Joel Hanley taking up spots, moving on from them and picking up Korchinski would be a low-risk, high-reward move for Calgary. What are the chances it happens? 6/10
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