January 2, 2024 | 5:00pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
FLAMES WORKING THE TRADE LINES
Noah Hanifin, defenceman
The Calgary Flames enter the New Year five points out of a playoff spot with a 15-16-5 record through 36 games and multiple roster decisions will need to be made over the next two months.
Flames GM Craig Conroy has been engaged in trade discussions with several teams involving a number of his players, including defencemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev and centre Elias Lindholm; all three of whom are eligible to become unrestricted free agents July 1.
Flames blueliners Dennis Gilbert, Jordan Oesterle and Nick DeSimone are also playing on expiring contracts and could be in play leading up to the March 8 trade deadline.
According to separate sources, TFP has learned trade talks involving Calgary’s blueliners picked up over the last week. One of the teams believed to have had recent discussions with Conroy are the New Jersey Devils, who have been linked to both Hanifin and Tanev.
The Flames must soon decide to try and once again re-sign some of their pending free agents or sell them off ahead of the deadline.
Hanifin reportedly came close to signing an eight-year contract extension worth around $60 million near the start of the season but opted to wait to see how the team would perform before committing long-term. Given the club’s performance to date, it may be unlikely that Hanifin chooses to sign a new deal with Calgary.
Lindholm, who ranks No.1 on the TFP Trade Watch List, was looking for a long-term contract worth at least $9 million per season in the off-season. So far, contract negotiations have not yet materialized, and he too could be on the move this season.
According to TFP’s David Pagnotta, Flames defenceman Mackenzie Weegar, who is in the first year of an eight-year, $50 million contract, was the subject of trade talks last season when Brad Treliving was Calgary’s GM and there is speculation he has attracted some interest this season. However, Weegar owns a full-no trade clause and would have to approve any move the Flames try to make.
The Devils, meanwhile, would like to enhance their blueline and could benefit from adding another mobile defenceman like Hanifin, who has an eight-team no-trade list and has a $4.95 million cap hit.