Tensions Rising in Calgary With Star Rasmus Andersson as Trade Talks Progress

Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who has a year left on his contract, is reportedly making things difficult for general manager Craig Conroy to put together a satisfactory trade for him to leave town.

Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson has indicated he'd like to move on from the franchise, and he's been heavily involved in trade rumors at the onset of the start of the NHL's free agency period.

Andersson has a year left on his current contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $4.55 million, a reasonable deal for a number of teams looking to add some snarl and scoring punch to their defense.

But based on the latest report from analyst Pierre LeBrun, Andersson isn't making things easy on Flames general manager Craig Conroy, and he prefers to go to the Vegas Golden Knights.

It makes sense that the Flames believe they should get more in a trade if Andersson is signed to an extension as part of it (he's got one more year on his deal). However, Andersson appears to be a little picky about where he would sign, which is his right, as he would be forgoing a chance at unrestricted free agency 12 months from now.

Right now, it sounds like it's Vegas for him.

LeBrun then noted that while a handful of other teams are interested in Andersson, including the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets, he wasn't interested in signing an extension with them.

Andersson was even reported to have blocked a trade to the Ottawa Senators, who are on his no-trade list.