LeBrun: Colorado offered the Flames a first-round pick and Ryan Johansen in Chris Tanev trade

Here’s LeBrun:

And again, MacFarland could not comment on this, but league sources confirm he had talked with Calgary about a similar package — a first-round pick and Johansen — for Chris Tanev. Calgary wasn’t interested in taking on the Johansen contract, and the Flames liked the Stars’ offer.

Now, disclaimer: LeBrun doesn’t say definitively that Colorado was the only team to offer up a first. There could have been others as well. But the Johansen offer is consistent with earlier, vaguer reports that indicated the Flames were offered a deal that involved a first and them taking on another team’s contract but opted for a deal not involving that sort of trade-off.

Johansen, 31, has a season left on a contract that carries an $8 million cap hit. He was ultimately traded by Colorado to Philadelphia, with 50% of his deal retained, as part of a trade that sent Sean Walker to Colorado. He’s a right shot centre who’s produced reasonably well offensively, but not quite at the $8 million per season level.

The Flames opted for a deal that sent Tanev to Dallas in exchange for a second-round pick, a conditional third-round pick, and blueline prospect Artem Grushnikov. The deal was part of a hefty year-long sell-off of expiring assets by first-year general manager Craig Conroy that netted the Flames a whole bushel of picks, prospects and roster players – including the likes of Yegor Sharangovich, Andrei Kuzmenko and Daniil Miromanov.

The Flames complete their three game eastern road trip on Sunday afternoon when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.