Did the Calgary Flames get enough in return ahead of the NHL trade deadline?

Will the Flames keep ‘selling’ for 2024-25?

In a season that has seen an eye-popping five trades occur, it’s fair to ask whether the Flames will continue to trade off their most productive (and expensive) players this coming offseason. They will have seven players slated to become UFAs following the 2024-25 season, plus three defensemen who will hit the free agent market this coming offseason. 

They also have players like Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, Blake Coleman, and MacKenzie Weegar inked to long-term deals, but they are all 30 and over, and there is no way they would be interested in playing for a rebuilding team. They are all on lucrative contracts, and while Kadri and Coleman have produced well enough to warrant interest elsewhere, Huberdeau has been a disappointment, and unfortunately, the latter has the largest cap hit of them all at $10.5 million. 

This is a situation where the Flames would ideally keep ‘selling’ when the 2024-25 season begins, much like they did in 2023-24, but it won’t be easy to find willing trade partners, especially a perennial contender, to take on such large, long-term contracts. The good news, however, is that the Flames will have ample cap space come the 2024-25 season, so perhaps they will keep this aging core intact and put together pieces to win now while building for the future.