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Flames Exploring Trade Market For Nazem Kadri

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The Flames are already in seller mode this offseason, dealing winger Andrew Mangiapane for a Capitals for a second-round pick last night. It doesn’t look like they’re done, either. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, they’re exploring the trade market for top-six center Nazem Kadri.

Pagnotta stresses that nothing is imminent regarding a potential deal, and Kadri would have complete control of whether he goes or stays with his no-move clause, which remains in effect for two more seasons. However, it indicates that general manager Craig Conroy is in teardown mode after Calgary missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

Things haven’t worked out for the Flames over the first two years of Kadri’s seven-year, $49MM deal signed in free agency in 2022. He was signed to help replenish Calgary’s top-end forward group after they lost Johnny Gaudreau to the Blue Jackets and dealt Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar.

But unlike Huberdeau, trading Kadri wouldn’t necessarily be admitting failure with his contract. He had a trying season in his first year in Alberta, limited to 56 points in 82 games after posting a career-high 89 in 71 while winning a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche the year before. But he rebounded nicely this season, leading the team in points by a wide margin and averaging 18:26 per game, second-most in his career, only behind his career year in Colorado.

His complete stat line of 29 goals and 46 assists with an even rating is appropriate for his $7MM cap hit, although Conroy may have a tough time convincing the 33-year-old can maintain that value for the five seasons remaining on his contract. He’s also played all 164 games in his Flames tenure, staying out of injury and suspension trouble. The latter has plagued him at inopportune times, including back-to-back playoff series with the Maple Leafs in 2018 and 2019.

As a 6’0″ center with some snarl in his game, he should have some suitors on the trade market, even considering his contract. His deal is similarly palatable to the one Elias Lindholm, the top center option on this year’s UFA market, will likely receive, and he’s coming off a highly superior platform season offensively.

Thanks to his aforementioned no-move clause, he does have complete control over his destiny, but with the Flames trending in the wrong direction, it’s feasible that he’d waive it to join a team closer to playoff contention. Even if he sticks around for now, Calgary can trade him later when his NMC downgrades to a 13-team no-trade list in the summer of 2026.

Capitals Acquire Andrew Mangiapane

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After adding Pierre-Luc Dubois to shore up their center depth, the Capitals have struck a deal to add an upgrade on the wing.  The team announced that they’ve acquired Andrew Mangiapane from the Flames in exchange for Colorado’s 2025 second-round pick (previously acquired).

The 28-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, scoring 35 goals after putting up 35 in the previous two seasons combined.  Hoping that this was a sign of things to come, Calgary inked Mangiapane to a three-year, $17.4MM contract, buying out his final RFA year plus two more years of club control.

However, Mangiapane hasn’t quite been able to replicate his output from that season.  In 2022-23, his output dipped to 17 goals and 26 assists while this season, it went down a bit more as he noted 14 goals and 26 helpers although it’s worth noting that he missed seven games due to injury.

With Calgary committing to a rebuild after being sellers during the season along with moving starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey earlier this month, it makes sense that they were looking to move Mangiapane.  They now have two first-round picks and two second-round selections in the 2025 draft while they now sit with just under $29MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  That positions them to be aggressive in free agency or on the trade front if they so desire as only four teams have more space to work with.

Meanwhile, Washington, who is picking up his full salary, was one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league this season and only had three players put up more points than Mangiapane did with the Flames, center Dylan Strome, winger Alex Ovechkin, and defenseman John Carlson.  Clearly, GM Brian MacLellan correctly identified that if the Capitals are going to take a step forward and try to push for a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division, improvements offensively are going to be needed.  An expected late second-round pick is a reasonably low enough cost to pay for a short-term upgrade.

With taking on additional salary in the Dubois trade and now adding nearly $6MM with Mangiapane, the Capitals are now technically over next season’s salary cap with just over $90MM in commitments, per CapFriendly.  However, with Nicklas Backstrom and his $9.2MM AAV expected to remain on LTIR next season, Washington still has some flexibility to work with although some of that will be needed to re-sign RFA forwards Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn at a minimum.  T.J. Oshie’s availability for next season is also in some question and if it’s determined that he won’t be able to play, Washington would be able to add another $5.75MM to its LTIR pool.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Daniel Vladar (Hip Surgery) Will Be Ready For Training Camp

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  • Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar is expected to be ready for training camp after undergoing hip surgery back in March, relays team reporter Ryan Dittrick. The 26-year-old struggled this season, posting a 3.62 GAA with a save percentage of just .882 in 20 appearances.  However, he’s now the veteran netminder on Calgary’s roster as it’s expected that he’ll team up with top prospect Dustin Wolf as their tandem for next season following the trade that saw Jacob Markstrom go to New Jersey today.

Calgary Flames, Oliver Kylington Still Working Towards Extension

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  • Speaking to the media today after sending goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, the General Manager of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy, spoke briefly about the ongoing extension negotiations with defenseman Oliver Kylington. Danny Austin of the Calgary Sun quoted Conroy saying, “We’ve been in contact and going back-and-forth. There’s been a lot of stuff going on but I actually talked to Oliver the other day. Things are progressing. I know everyone wants things quicker, but sometimes it just takes a little time“. After acquiring defenseman Kevin Bahl in the deal for Markstrom, the Flames may not have enough room for Kylington even if there is mutual interest in an extension unless another move is made.

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Devils Acquire Jacob Markström

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The Devils have their goalie. New Jersey announced the acquisition of Jacob Markström from the Flames for defenseman Kevin Bahl and their 2025 first-round pick, which is top-10 protected. Calgary is retaining 31.25% of Markström’s $6MM cap hit in the trade, bringing it down to $4.125MM for the Devils.

Speculation about New Jersey picking up a high-end starter had run rampant as far back as midseason. The Devils looked like a team on a meteoric rise after last season’s 112-point showing, but below-average performances from all three goalies they started the season with (Nico Daws, Akira Schmid, Vítek Vaněček) were one of the many factors that brought them back below the .500 mark this year.

After shipping out Vaněček to the Sharks at the trade deadline and getting some stopgap solutions in Jake Allen and Kaapo Kähkönen, they now have their bonafide starter. It took the 2008 second-rounder quite a while to break out, but he took over the crease for the Canucks in the 2017-18 season and hasn’t looked back. The 6’6″ netminder has finished top 10 in Vezina balloting in three of the past six seasons, including a second-place finish in 2022. That was a statement year for him and the rest of the Flames, as he tossed up a .922 SV% and a league-leading nine shutouts in 63 starts as Calgary won the Pacific Division title, just its second since 2006.

Things turned south as he regressed to a .892 SV% in 2022-23, but he put together a nice rebound campaign this season despite battling through a handful of injuries. His 23-23-2 record isn’t impressive at first glance, but he returned to being a top-10 goalie in the league in terms of goals saved above expected with 13.7, per MoneyPuck. He had a .905 SV%, 2.78 GAA and two shutouts behind a Flames team that had its worst season defensively in quite some time under first-year head coach Ryan Huska.

Even still, Markström’s results last year were brought down by a poor stretch of post-trade deadline play – an understandable slump given the trade rumors connecting him to New Jersey at the time and the fact he was playing with a lower-body injury. From March 4 onward, he went 2-8-0 with a .869 SV% without putting up an SV% over .900 in any single game. To put it succinctly, Markström had a better year than a quick look at his results would indicate.

Since signing his six-year, $36MM deal with the Flames in free agency in 2020, Markström has a .907 SV% over 212 starts and one relief appearance. That’s good for seven goals saved above average, indicative of the peaks and valleys he’s shown during his time in Alberta. He’s one of four goalies to start more than 200 games over that timeframe, joining perennial Vezina challengers Connor Hellebuyck, Juuse Saros and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Landing Markström at $4.125MM against the cap for the next two seasons is a considerable discount for Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, as it’s much less than he would cost on the open market. He’ll form a formidable veteran one-two punch in net with Allen, who remains under contract with New Jersey next season at a reduced $1.925MM cap hit thanks to the Canadiens retaining salary when trading him at the deadline. The Devils, after dealing with younger, more inconsistent unknowns in Schmid and Vaněček for most of last season, now have an above-average backup and starter for a total of $6.05MM against the cap.

Calling Markström truly elite would likely earn you some pushback, given his year-to-year dips with Calgary, and that pushback would be fair. But he has the most established track record of any goalie the Devils have iced since Cory Schneider’s run of elite play in the mid-2010s. The deal has them much better positioned to make the playoffs next season and embark on a deeper run than in 2022 when they escaped the first round but were dispatched by the Hurricanes in five games in Round 2. The 23-year-old Daws and 24-year-old Schmid are also afforded some additional development time in the AHL after an inconsistent 2023-24 campaign for both.

Markström, 34, has two years left on his deal. He’ll become a UFA in 2026, and ideally, by that point, one of Daws or Schmid will have developed into dependable NHL options. While on the older side, he fits well with their immediate timeline. They’re now left with $16.05MM in projected cap space with eight open roster spots, per CapFriendly. Versatile forward Dawson Mercer is their only notable RFA in need of a new deal.

New Jersey pulling off this deal without surrendering a top prospect or their 10th overall selection in this year’s draft is a good piece of work by Fitzgerald, especially with the Flames retaining a considerable amount of salary.

Losing Bahl isn’t nothing, though. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in 2018 out of OHL Ottawa. He did well this season, his first true full-time NHL campaign, posting 11 points in 82 games while averaging 17:24 a night. His 6’6″, 230-lb frame obviously draws appeal for Calgary, and GM Craig Conroy said today he was a “priority player” throughout discussions with the Devils (via Sportsnet’s Eric Francis). However, his possession metrics last season were subpar, logging a 48.3 CF% and 48.7 xGF% at even strength that both fell south of New Jersey team averages.

Bahl is still young, however, and carries legitimate top-four shutdown upside. He’s under contract next season at a reasonable $1.05MM cap hit and will be an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer. In 148 career games with the Devils since making his debut in the 2020-21 season, Bahl has four goals, 21 assists, 25 points and a -1 rating while logging 16:14 per contest.

If the Devils’ 2025 first-rounder does land within the top 10, they’ll transfer their 2026 first-round pick to Calgary instead, regardless of its placement.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

TSN’s Travis Yost was first to report Markström was headed to New Jersey.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was first to report the trade return and salary retention.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first to report the 2025 first-round pick was top-10 protected.

West Notes: Markstrom, Jets, Oilers

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The Calgary Flames aren’t facing much pressure to move top goaltender Jacob Markstrom, with general manager Craig Conroy sharing with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that the player hasn’t formally requested a trade. Markstrom was wrapped up in trade rumors throughout the season, even continuing into this summer as one of the top options on the New Jersey Devils’ trade radar. Markstrom expressed frustrations with the rumors around the Trade Deadline, bluntly stating that he thought the situation could have been handled differently.

Markstrom’s value as a top goaltender is readily apparent, even through his highs and lows. He posted a stout 23 wins and .905 save percentage in 48 games this year, both improvements from his tallies last year despite playing in 11 fewer games. Last year’s .892 save percentage marked Markstrom’s first time recording a save percentage under .900 across his seven years as an NHL starter. He rebounded admirably this season, bringing his career totals up to 196 wins and a .909 save percentage across 483 games. Markstrom has two years remaining on a six-year, $36MM contract signed with the Flames in 2020 – pricing him in the middle of the goalie trade market, costlier than Linus Ullmark’s $5MM cap hit but cheaper than John Gibson’s $6.4MM cap hit.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have extended their ECHL affiliation with the Norfolk Admirals. The Admirals are coming off their first year partnered with the Jets, seeing historic success as they made the league’s postseason for the first time in their eight-year history. The Admirals were bounced in the second round but still enjoyed a year built around strong goaltending, featuring Carolina Hurricanes prospect Yaniv Perets, on loan, and Jets prospect Thomas Milic.
  • The Edmonton Oilers will, unsurprisingly, be sticking with the same lineup that dominated in Game 4, shares Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Edmonton came back from the brink of elimination with a resounding 8-1 win over the Florida Panthers. The team’s depth bolstered the performance, with Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Dylan Holloway, and Ryan McLeod each contributing to the record-rivaling win. The Oilers will hope they can catch lightning twice, and avoid gifting the Panthers a Stanley Cup on home ice.

Brian Elliott Expected To Retire, Joins Blues Front Office

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Veteran netminder Brian Elliott appears to be calling it a career after 16 seasons. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters today that the team has hired Elliott in a goalie development and scouting role, all but confirming that his playing days are over (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

Elliott last played in the NHL with the Lightning in 2022-23. He was not re-signed by the club and became an unrestricted free agent, not suiting up at all during the 2023-24 campaign.

After being selected by the Senators in the ninth round of the fabled 2003 draft, Elliott embarked on a star-studded stint at the University of Wisconsin. He backstopped the Badgers to the 2006 national championship while being a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA. He turned pro with Ottawa after his college career came to an end, later making his NHL debut in 2007-08.

That was the last we saw of “limited” NHL action for Elliott, who broke onto the Sens’ roster full-time in 2008-09 as part of a rotation with Alex Auld and Martin Gerber. He didn’t earn any Calder Trophy love that year, but he did put up solid numbers with a 16-8-3 record, .902 SV% and 2.77 GAA in 31 showings for Ottawa.

Elliott took over as the Sens’ starter in 2009-10 and continued to hold the role into the 2010-11 campaign, but his level of play dipped. While it didn’t matter much behind the Senators’ underpowered offense of the early 2010s, his .894 SV% that year was far below average for the time. Shortly before the 2011 trade deadline, Ottawa sent him packing to the Avalanche in a one-for-one swap for Craig Anderson, one that would pay off handsomely for the Sens.

Unfortunately for Colorado, Elliott’s stay in Denver was brief. He won just two of his 12 games down the stretch while posting a .891 SV%, leading the club to let him walk as a free agent that offseason.

Armstrong, then in his early days at the helm of the Blues, quickly turned him into one of the best value signings in club history. After signing a one-year, two-way deal, Elliott cracked the Blues’ roster as the backup to Jaroslav Halák. He didn’t stay the backup for long, though. He forced his way into true tandem action with Halák that year thanks to his league-best .940 SV% and 1.56 GAA in 38 appearances, helping the duo take home the Jennings Trophy. Individually, Elliott also finished fifth in Vezina voting, one of two times he’d earn consideration for the award.

Elliott spent the next four years in St. Louis, making 164 starts and 17 relief appearances. He compiled a sparkling 104-46-16 record behind one of the league’s better teams in the mid-2010s, boasting a .925 SV%, 2.01 GAA and 25 shutouts in a Blues uniform. The team made the playoffs each season he was there, including a run to the Western Conference Final in 2016, in which Elliott had a .921 SV% and 2.44 GAA in 18 postseason games.

The Blues had the younger Jake Allen waiting in the wings, though, and deemed Elliott expendable after a solid run. They dealt him to the Flames for a pair of draft picks – one of which became Jordan Kyrou – putting a bow on his time in St. Louis.

Elliott’s lone season in Calgary was the beginning of his decline. He wasn’t bad, but his .910 SV% was only around league-average for the time and was far south of his level of play with the Blues. The Flames let him walk to free agency the following summer, where he signed a three-year deal with the Flyers that yielded similarly mediocre results. In fact, in his seven years of service with Calgary, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay after the Blues traded him away, Elliott only had one above-average season. That came in limited action as a backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy with the Bolts in 2021-22, putting up a .912 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 19 appearances.

After struggling with a .891 SV% in his second and final season in Tampa, though, it wasn’t a surprise to many to see the now 39-year-old Elliott out of the league this season. Now 39, he likely wraps up his career with a 279-167-54 record, 45 shutouts, a 2.57 GAA, and .909 SV% in 543 regular-season games. He also had a 17-26 record and .904 SV% in 48 playoff games.

PHR congratulates Elliott on a lengthy stint at hockey’s top level and wishes him the best as he takes his next steps in the sport.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Flames Have Not Made Formal Offer To Kylington

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  • In the same article from Pagnotta, defenseman Oliver Kylington and his camp are still waiting on a contract offer from the Calgary Flames. It was only a few weeks ago that Pagnotta originally confirmed that the Flames organization was preparing an offer for the Masterton Trophy finalist. After missing nearly two years, Kylington’s arrival back in Calgary was well received, especially after the team made significant changes to its blue line. If he does extend, Kylington should be able to fetch nearly identical value to his recent two-year, $5MM contract with the Flames.
  • Staying in Calgary, Pagnotta indicates that the Flames and New Jersey Devils are working hard towards a Jacob Markstrom trade. The two sides were nearly in agreement on a trade that would send Markstrom to New Jersey at the trade deadline, but the deal collapsed in the final stages. Although Markstrom remains the ideal candidate for the Devils, there will be other options available this summer if Calgary’s asking price exceeds expectations.

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Calgary Flames Hire Brad Larsen As Assistant Coach

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After a one-year gap away from the game, Brad Larsen will return behind the bench for the 2024-25 NHL season. After a lengthy 13-year run in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, the Calgary Flames have hired Larsen to serve as an assistant coach on Ryan Huska’s staff.

Not only does Larsen have experience behind the bench in the NHL, he has also spent 10 years as a player having suited up for the Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers. Larsen won a Stanley Cup Championship with the Avalanche during the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs and back-to-back gold medals with Team Canada during the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1996 and 1997.

Larsen was named an assistant coach on John Tortorella’s staff in Columbus ahead of the 2014-15 NHL season and held that role until Tortorella’s exit after the 2020-21 season. Next in line for the Blue Jackets, Larsen was named the eighth head coach in franchise history on June 10, 2021. Over 162 games spent as head coach, Columbus compiled a 62-86-16 record under Larsen leading to his firing after the 2022-23 NHL season.

Now headed to Alberta, Larsen brings some experience to Huska’s staff in Calgary as the latter begins his second season as head coach of the franchise. In the press release from the Flames organization about the hiring, Larsen said, “I’m super excited to be joining the Flames organization and appreciative of the opportunity to work alongside Ryan Huska and his staff. I’ve had so much respect for this organization for a long time, its history and solid reputation around the league. As well, I have a great affinity for the city and its beautiful setting near the Rocky Mountains. I can’t wait to get started“.

Latest On Jacob Markstrom

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The Calgary Flames are trying to move former Vezina Trophy runner-up Jacob Markstrom as discretely as possible, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman adds that the team was aware of the theatrics brought on by Markstrom’s trade rumors earlier this season. Markstrom publicly expressed his frustration with the team over his pre-Deadline speculation, amidst rumors of a pending move to the New Jersey Devils being reversed after Calgary went 9-3-0 throughout February. Markstrom posted a .928 save percentage while appearing in 10 games during the hot streak. He’d go on to post a measly .869 save percentage in 10 games following the strong stretch, floundering on a Flames lineup that went on to miss the postseason by 17 points.

The second half of season felt like an encapsulation of Markstrom’s play over the last few years – with dramatically up-and-down stretches culminating in a modest stat line. He posted 23 wins and a .905 save percentage in 48 games this year – finding the same number of wins and a stronger save percentage than he did last season, despite playing in 11 fewer games.

Markstrom has been a no-doubt starter for much of the last eight seasons, after joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2014 in the trade that sent Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers. Markstrom would make his first stand as a full-fledged starter in the 2017-18 season, posting 23 wins and a .912 save percentage in 60 appearances with Vancouver. He’s played in 40 or more games in every season since, totaling a .910 save percentage in 376 games. And while last season’s sub-.900 save percentage – and a tally this year that came close –  have caused some to pause, it’s hard to think Markstrom isn’t bound for the lion’s share of games with whoever he may suit up for next season.

That could be the New Jersey Devils, who have Markstrom as one of their top trade targets this summer, but Friedman notes they’re not the only teams involved. Friedman specifically named the Toronto Maple Leafs as a strong candidate for trade, largely thanks to Toronto now being manned by Brad Treliving, the general manager who signed Markstrom to the six-year, $36MM contract he’s currently on with the Flames. The price of a Markstrom trade could quickly test Toronto’s budget – especially as they approach a summer with just $18.83MM in cap space and 12 pending free agents. The Leafs are also woefully juxtaposed by a Devils team willing to move the 10th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for lineup improvements. That offer could be tantalizing for a Calgary team looking for a breadth of young talent. At the very least, it’s an exciting bar in a goalie market that, per Friedman, has plenty of invested teams.

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