Flames Acquire Jacob Middleton From Wild

The Calgary Flames will continue to revamp their blue line. The team is set to acquire defenseman Jacob Middleton from the Minnesota Wild per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Calgary will also receive three draft picks, the highest being a second-round pick, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Minnesota will receive forward Blake Coleman and defender Olli Maatta in return per Michael Russo of The Athletic.

The full deal will send Middleton, a 2029 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fourth-round pick to Calgary in exchange for Coleman – with 50 percent of his $4.9MM cap hit retained – and Maatta per PuckPedia. Minnesota will receive $1.6MM in cap space following the move.

Calgary will land a roster player from their search to move Coleman. Middleton will solidify the left-side of Calgary’s blue line alongside Kevin Bahl and Yan Kuznetsov. He will also be the only 30 year old on Calgary’s defense, a standing that could lead to an important, leadership role for the eight-year pro. Middleton has spent the last five seasons with the Wild, where he planted his feet as a physical, two-way defender. He broke into the Wild lineup after a 2022 trade that sent goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen and a fifth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks.

Middleton quickly proved his physical upside in Minnesota. He led the Wild blue line with 115 hits, and ranked second with 155 shot blocks, through 79 games of his first season with the team. That stat line was complemented by a then career-high 15 points. Middleton continued to lead Minnesota with hits through 2023-24, while also rising to the shot block lead with 161 and recording a new career-high 25 points. He continued to lead the blue line in both hits and blocks through 2024-25, then ceded the block lead to Brock Faber while hanging onto the most hits in 2025-26.

Calgary will hope Middleton can bring an imposing physical presence behind multiple puck-moving defensemen. He will backstop the drive of top prospect Zayne Parekh and recent acquisition Simon Nemec as the pair look to establish themselves as the next era of Calgary defensemen. Middleton is set to enter the second year of a four-year, $17.4MM deal signed with Minnesota in 2024. His $4.35MM cap hit will be a cheap price against what many bottom-pair defensemen earned on the open market.

Minnesota’s return will also center around a physical addition. Coleman has continued to serve as an energetic, two-way motor through his mid-30s. He recorded triple-digit hits in each of his five seasons in Calgary and finished second on the team in hits in each of the last three seasons (128, 176, 152 hits respectively). Coleman has coupled his forechecking presence with strong scoring. He orbited 35 points in four of his seasons in Calgary, split by a career-high 30 goals and 54 points in the 2023-24 season. Even as he enters his age-35 season, Coleman should represent a reliable, energy piece for the Wild lineup. He could help fill the large hole left by Mats Zuccarello‘s move to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Wild will backfill Middleton’s third-pair role with the addition of Maatta. The 31 year old defenseman split last season between the Utah Mammoth and Flames. He struggled significantly with the Mammoth, recording just one assist and a minus-five, but found his footing in Calgary’s lineup en route to 14 points and a minus-one in 21 games. Maatta will be entering his 14th season, and seventh team, in the NHL next season. He has averaged 21 points, 84 hits, and 126 shot blocks per 82 games played across 804 career appearances in the NHL. While not a likely option to pop after three consecutive seasons below 20 points, Maatta should offer a two-way presence that Minnesota can rely on for 19 minutes a night.