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Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Flames May Be Better Off to Extend Andersson Rather Than Trade Him

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 9:45 AM ET

For months now, it’s seemingly only been a matter of when the Calgary Flames trade Rasmus Andersson, not if. The 28-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the end of the 2025-26 season, and is seeking out a contract that didn’t seem wise for the Flames to give him, considering they are in a retooling stage.

To this point, however, a trade involving Andersson hasn’t taken place, and there has been far less chatter regarding any sort of speculation as of late. It seems likely at this time that Andersson will be on the Flames roster once the 2025-26 season begins, and you can’t help but figure there is only one reason as to why.

Flames Not Getting What They’d Hoped

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that had the Flames received the offer they were hoping to get for Andersson, they would have already traded him. There is no reason to hold onto him as they don’t need to try and be a competitive group in 2025-26. All they are doing at this point is waiting until they get an offer they deem fair. Once, or perhaps if, that happens, they’ll pull the trigger.

Part of the issue here is that Andersson struggled immensely in 2024-25. That likely has many teams holding off, and others who are willing to extend him perhaps offering less in terms of money than they would have a year prior.

What also doesn’t help the Flames is that Andersson holds more power in this than you would think. He is well within his rights to tell any interested team whether or not he would be willing to sign an extension with them. Should he tell a team he isn’t interested in doing so, or is unsure, that specific team won’t be willing to offer nearly as much.

That’s what makes this situation a scary one. It’s starting to feel eerily similar to what we saw with Noah Hanifin two seasons ago, where general manager (GM) Craig Conroy wound up being forced to deal him to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for an underwhelming return, which included Daniil Miromanov, a 2025 first-round pick, and a conditional 2025 third-round pick.

What the Flames have to be certain about is that they don’t get themselves into a position where they are moving Andersson for an underwhelming return. This is the best trade chip they’ve had in quite some time, and it’s important that if they move him, they are getting back multiple pieces that will help them in the coming years when they are looking to contend.

Flames May Need to Extend Andersson

Though fans in Calgary may not love it in the beginning, the best decision by the front office may wind up being to extend Andersson. Moving him just for the sake of moving him makes little to no sense, as top-four defencemen – which he still very much is – don’t grow on trees. The Flames have more than $15 million in cap space, meaning they’d have no issue making the money work. There is some concern over his age on a long-term extension, though with the cap expected to rise significantly in the years to come, the final few years of that contract won’t be nearly as worrisome as some think.

This isn’t to suggest fans calling for Andersson to be traded aren’t in the right. The best-case scenario for the Flames would be to trade him for future picks and/or prospects that will help the organization going forward. Again, however, if such an option were already available, they would have traded Andersson by now. Clearly, the offers aren’t what they had hoped for to this point, and if they continue to remain underwhelming over the next few months, it may be time to begin having serious extension talks with the 536-game veteran.