The trade deadline is rapidly approaching for the Calgary Flames, and the rest of the National Hockey League. Our Daily Faceoff colleague Frank Seravalli joined our pal Pat Steinberg on Sportsnet 960 The Fan’s Flames Talk on Tuesday afternoon for an update on how things are shaping up.
In short: the Flames are in wait-and-see mode.
Here’s Frank:
“I think they’re still in this wait and see mode and to be honest, I think so much of what they may be active in is dependent on price. They’re monitoring everything. They’re trying to understand where they were at. And they’re moving forward based on what they think they might be able to add in a reasonable way to try and give this team a boost. I don’t get any sense, Pat, that they’re looking to take a big swing because of how topsy turvy this season has been. But that’s where they’re at right now.”
(Bonus points to Frank for using the term “topsy turvy,” which may be the perfect way to describe the 2022-23 Flames season thus far.)
Pat asked an astute question: could the Flames simply sit the deadline out (and not make any big moves)?
“I think that there’s a real possibility that that happens, or that the move they make doesn’t move the needle in a real significant way. That they try and go for a more curated fit, to find someone that might be a lower case edition without breaking the bank.”
Seravalli theorized that given the sheer amount of forwards available – more forwards than there are viable landing spots for them – perhaps the Flames could sit back and wait to see who’s left on the market and attempt to get some value in that sense.
What do you think the Flames will do prior to the trade deadline? What should they do?
More must-reads: