The Calgary Flames would make a huge mistake by not trading their veterans this season

The Calgary Flames continue to hold the title of being the worst team in the NHL. While they came off a win against the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday, the team still has a measly 3-9-2 record. It’s become pretty clear that the Flames should just embrace the tank, which means selling aging pieces for future assets.

Despite the Flames being in this position, they still have a handful of veterans on this team. Among those players are Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, and Blake Coleman. Despite what the organization may believe, it’ll likely be another season where the Flames miss the playoffs, meaning that the future must be prioritized. Therefore, there’s no doubt that these veterans should be on the trade block, and if the Flames don’t take advantage of their situation, it’ll be a huge mistake.

It’s time for the Flames to think about the future

Let’s be blunt here: it’s unlikely the Flames will make the playoffs this year. For them to do that, they have to play at a points percentage of around .600 or more, and only six teams did that last season—the six best teams in the league, to be exact. For reference, the Flames currently stand at a .231 points percentage.

Even with that being said, playoffs shouldn’t even be the goal for this team right now. They don’t have nearly enough talent for a deep postseason run, and the only reason they came close to making it last season was Dustin Wolf.

It’s time the Flames look towards building for the future. Enough of the obsession with short-term success. This team isn’t going anywhere by just sneaking into the playoffs every season. With the Flames having this bad a start, the picture should be way clearer for them. It starts by selling off veteran players.

The team could be sitting on a goldmine

If I’m Craig Conroy and company, I’m immediately firing up the phones to let other teams know that the team could soon be open for business. We already know that Andersson will be traded eventually, but for the other two—Coleman and Kadri—it’s less clear.

The trade rumours surrounding Kadri have been loud. It’s been reported that the centre market this season is likely to be very weak, and Kadri would instantly be the biggest name if he were to become available. After all, it makes all the sense in the world for a Kadri trade to happen, as his value is likely to be high given his play and the rising cap. It’s been reported that if Kadri were to be traded, it would happen after he plays his 1000th game with the Flames.