Flashback Friday: Looking back at the Noah Hanifin trade

It seems like sooner rather than later, the Calgary Flames will trade Rasmus Andersson.

The last time they were sellers ahead of a trade deadline was back in 2023-24. They traded two defencemen at the deadline, Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights and Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars. The latter turned out to be a light return, while the former is what we’ll look at in this edition of Flashback Friday.

Andersson is in a similar situation to Hanifin. Ahead of the 2024 deadline, Hanifin was in the final season of his contract, but in the age range where any trade probably includes a long-term extension. On Mar. 6, the Flames found a trade for the Boston native, sending him to the Golden Knights for their 2026 first-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and Daniil Miromanov.

There were some additional conditions to the trade. The first was originally the 2025 first rounder, but the Golden Knights traded that pick for Tomáš Hertl around the same time, pushing the pick the Flames got to 2026. Hanifin also had 75% of his contract retained, 50% by the Flames and 25% by the Philadelphia Flyers. The left-shot defenceman also signed an eight-year, $7.35 million extension later that season.

Prior to the trade, Hanifin had scored 11 goals and 35 points in 11 games, with a plus/minus of +13. Funnily enough, Andersson has similar numbers, scoring 10 goals and 29 points in just 47 games with the Flames this year. Anyway, after the trade, Hanifin added two goals and 12 points in 19 games. In the seven-game first round series against the Tanev and the Stars, Hanfiin scored twice and had five points.

Last season, he scored 10 goals and 39 points in 80 games, then added a goal and five points in 11 post-season games. Through 36 games this season, Hanifin has two goals and 19 points. It’s been a pretty solid get for the Golden Knights, as they continue to contend for first in the Pacific Division.

Okay, but what about what the Flames received? Well, the first will be settled in June, with the pick likely being in the 24-32 range. Miromanov is still with the Flames’ organization, playing 32 games with their American Hockey League team where he has five goals and 15 points in 32 games. Once Andersson is traded, a logical replacement would be Miromanov.

Additionally, the third round pick in 2024 was used to select Russian netminder Kirill Zarubin. This season with Mikhailov Academy, a team in Russia’s junior league, the 20-year-old has a .929 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average.

It’s also worth noting that the Hanifin trade is part of the larger and ongoing Curtis Glencross trade tree. After trading him for a 2015 second-rounder, the Flames use that pick to acquire Dougie Hamiton, who was traded with Adam Fox and Michael Ferland to the Carolina Hurricanes for Hanifin and Elias Lindholm.

Like Hanifin, Lindholm was traded ahead of the 2024 trade deadline for Hunter Bruzstewicz, Joni Jurmo, Andrei Kuzmenko, a 2024 first (Matvei Gridin), and a fourth-rounder. That fourth-rounder was traded for a fifth and sixth, with the Flames selecting Luke Misa and Eric Jamieson respectively.

On Jan. 31, 2025, the Flames sent Kuzmenko to the Flyers for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. That means there are eight players currently in the Flames system involved in the Glencross trade tree, not including the 2026 first or Joni Jurmo.

The upcoming Andersson trade is part of an entirely different tree stemming from trading Sven Baertschi, but the Hanifin trade is a potential comparison for the what the Flames could get for Andersson.