For months now, Calgary Flames fans have argued their point on whether or not Jacob Markstrom should be traded, and with one day left until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, the team will need to make up their mind on that very topic soon.
With GM Craig Conroy reportedly having a deal nixed with the New Jersey Devils, it's clear that he wants to move Markstrom for future pieces, but now, we have confirmation from yet another NHL Insider on why that deal didn't go down.
According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the reason why that deal was nixed is because the Flames ownership group believes this team can make a playoff run, despite moving Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, while also being seven points out of a Wild Card spot despite a 5-1-0 record in their past six games. Take a look;
.@DarrenDreger gives his thoughts on the Jacob Markstrom situation in Calgary.
— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) March 7, 2024
It's a fascinating look into what the Flames are thinking and what they might be missing out on.
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For the fans that have followed the Flames for any length of time, this should come as absolutely no surprise, but with prospects like Alexander Holtz, Seamus Casey, Simon Nemec or Dawson Mercer, as well as their 2024 first-round pick, this move from ownership is nothing short of short-sighted. Sure, the Flames weren't going to get all of those assets in a deal, but with a clear direction established from Craig Conroy, the ownership group are doing nothing but holding him back at this point.
Now, it appears that unless they can be convinced by a loss on Thursday night and a bigger offer from New Jersey, things will shift to the summer where the Flames may have more teams competing to land Markstrom, but they'll also see those teams having other options as well, so we will see how this plays out for the Flames going forward.