Friends, welcome to the week of the 2026 National Hockey League trade deadline.

The league’s annual deadline for swaps between teams is 1 p.m. MT on Friday. (Trades made after that point are technically allowed, but players swapped after that point aren’t eligible to play in the NHL’s post-season.)

Anyway, there’s a lot of chatter out there regarding the Calgary Flames. To set the table for what could be a pretty eventful next few days, here’s how things are sitting as of late on Sunday evening.

The Flames are doing what they’ve been doing for the past while: looking for opportunities to get younger, add picks and prospects, and transition younger players onto their NHL roster.

They want to keep some veterans, as they feel having the right individuals to guide their youngsters is beneficial for their development. They are willing to make trades, but they’re looking for trades with good value rather than just shoving guys overboard to get younger or making trades just to make trades.

On Friday’s Flames Talk on Sportsnet 960 The Fan, our pal Pat Steinberg – who’s often right about many things – remarked that he’s expecting more than 1.5 trades but fewer than 2.5 trades. (So… two seems like a number to look at.)

Coleman has one season left after this one with a $4.9 million cap hit. He has a 10 team trade list on his deal, but all indications are that he’s willing to work with the Flames to find a mutually beneficial landing spot. Coleman’s cap hit isn’t overly prohibitive and he’s a player pretty much every contender would covet based on his playing style and Stanley Cup pedigree. He’s a strong player, and probably one the Flames can’t afford to hold onto right now.

Based on everything that’s out there, it seems really likely that Coleman is traded. He’s probably the most likely Flame to be wearing a different jersey after Mar. 6.

Sportsnet’s Eric Francis wrote a piece earlier this week where he interviewed Lomberg and laid out his situation. Lomberg’s beloved by fans and teammates and he would really like to stick around. But he’s also a veteran who could provide some nice depth for a contender, and moving him could open up another spot for a younger player down the stretch and get the Flames an asset back. Lomberg’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $2 million cap hit.

Pachal and Hanley are both depth defenders with another season remaining on their current deals; Pachal has a $1,187,500 cap hit and Hanley’s is $1.75 million. Moving one of them would allow the Flames to bring up Hunter Brzustewicz from the AHL and give him regular games. Neither of them would be huge needle-movers for another team so the price tag wouldn’t be high, but both are reliable players that could provide a contender with effective depth.

The Flames acquired Whitecloud in the Rasmus Andersson trade and he’s been quite good. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Whitecloud’s indicated to the Flames that he’d be open to sticking around – he was enthusiastic when chatting with the media about coming to a Western Canadian market, as he’s from Manitoba – and so we don’t think the Flames are in a hurry to move him. That said, other teams would probably be interested in him for similar reasons as the Flames were: he’s under contract for two more seasons at a very affordable $2.75 million cap hit, and he’s someone that can play in a team’s top two pairings and perform well.

Frost hasn’t come up often in media trade discourse, but he has a year left after this season at a $4.375 million cap hit. He has no trade protection this season, but he has an eight team no-trade list that kicks in on July 1. Frost’s a centre, and the Flames are lean on that in their pro system, but it’s not abundantly clear where he fits into the Flames’ long-term plans. If another team thinks they can unlock Frost’s potential, perhaps the Flames consider it.

Francis termed this trade “all but inevitable” in a recent column, and it certainly seems that way. Kadri’s really good and plays a premium position at centre, and at age 35 his window to win another Stanley Cup probably is closed in Calgary. However, he has three years left after this season at a $7 million cap hit, and because of his age and cap hit, there’s some pretty hefty risk for a potential team acquiring him. Because of the complexities involved, this feels more like a trade that happens in the summer – perhaps after July 1, when the salary retention slots currently used on Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Markstrom open up.

Is Weegar having a good year? No, not really. But Weegar’s a big part of the Flames’ current leadership group, a group that’s already lost Andersson and seems primed to lose Kadri and Coleman in the near future. From a continuity standpoint, the Flames probably want to keep Weegar. Heck, Weegar’s probably in line to become captain after Mikael Backlund retires. We wouldn’t say Weegar won’t be traded – anyone can be traded if a price is met – but we’re just saying that the Flames value Weegar highly and probably wouldn’t be in a hurry to move on from him.

And even if they were looking to move Weegar, we’re not sure if trading Weegar in the middle of a rough year would match their mindset of trying to maximize asset value.

The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th, from 9 AM-1:30 PM MT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and don’t miss a second of deadline day chaos.