Insider Shuts Down Flames Trade Rumors

Despite a perfect 4-0-0 start to the season, plenty of people are waiting for the Calgary Flames to hit a skid and open a fire sale on their players. With such a low expectation of success in 2024-25, there has been plenty of talk about the Flames looking to trade away multiple veteran players.

According to Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading, the Flames aren’t looking to open a yard sale on their roster. Flame general manager Craig Conroy says his veteran players want to be in Calgary when things improve.

“The reality is, all those core veterans that people think might get moved, they’re under contract past this year,” LeBrun said. “Guys like [Nazem] Kadri, MacKenzie Weeger, and Blake Coleman.”

There might be plenty of talent to send off from Calgary, but there is an expectation that they want to see things through.

“The fact is Craig Conroy sees those veterans as wanting to be part of this roster transition,” LeBrun said. “He wants them to be part of this roster transition. He doesn’t want to tear it down to the studs.”

Conroy believes the veteran players on the Flames have what it takes to build a winning culture with the Flames. Sure, there may be a focus on getting young stars into the organization soon, but it won’t come at the cost of the veterans.

LeBrun also stated that the Flames already did their big sale and are looking forward to the future. Names like Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Jacob Markstrom, and Andrew Mangiapane have all been traded away from the Flames in the last 12 months.

“I think Crag Conroy is confused why people are expecting that,” LeBrun said. “He’s done his fire sale that he’s going to do here.”

The Flames might still struggle in the 2024-25 season, but the veterans want to see things through and are excited to be in Calgary. There is still a good group of players there, it’s only a matter of time before they really take off as a top team in the Western Conference.