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Should the Flames trade for Simon Edvinsson or Alexander Nikishin?
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 16, 2026, 10:41 EDT
Defence wins championships.
Early into the Calgary Flames’ rebuild, their need for the prospect pool is game-changing centres. Cole Reschny, Jack Hextall, and Cullen Potter look solid, but none of those three profiles as a superstar centre who’ll contend for Art Ross Trophies. That may take some time, which isn’t always a bad thing in a long rebuild (example: Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks).
Early in their rebuild, the Flames’ biggest area of strength is their future blue line. Zayne Parekh (20), Šimon Nemec (22), and Carson Carels (18) are all high-potential defencemen. Drafted ninth, second, and sixth respectively, all three have the future of top-pairing defencemen.
Other prospects, like Eric Jamieson, Hunter Brzustewicz, Henry Mews, Axel Hurtig, Mace’o Phillips, and Abram Wiebe are also on an encouraging path, though they don’t have the ceiling like the three aforementioned defence prospects. And who knows, maybe the Flames land the first overall pick and draft Landon DuPoint, ironically Jamieson’s former partner with the Everett Silvertips.
Finding skilled right-shot defencemen is a big need for many teams, and both Parekh and Nemec solve that need for the Flames. That said, aside from Carels, the Flames are lacking in high-ceiling left-shot defencemen.
What if they acquired one through a trade?
Two high-potential left-shot defencemen are available
There’s precedence there, of course. This past off-season, the Flames traded a pair of first rounders, a second-round pick, and Étienne Morin to the New Jersey Devils for Nemec. He was the odd-man out in need of a fresh start, and the Flames have provided him that opportunity.
The good news for the Flames is there is another opportunity to land another highly touted defencemen. In recent times, Carolina Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin and Detroit Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson requested trades. Both players are restricted free agents and have yet to play a game this season.
Edvinsson is a 23-year-old left-shot defenceman who was selected sixth overall in 2021. Last season, he scored a career-high nine goals with 25 points in 72 games, and the year before that, he scored seven goals and 31 points in his rookie campaign.
Nikishin, due in part to being Russian and his draft year being in the pandemic-impacted 2020 NHL Draft, was selected 69th. His ceiling is still high as evident by his rookie campaign in 2025-26 where he scored 11 goals and 33 points in 81 games.
The Flames can pretty easily pull the trigger of a trade for either player if their current teams decide to move them. Heading into the 2026-27 season, the Flames prospect pool ranked top five by most publications. Both the Hurricanes and Red Wings may be looking for help now, which the Flames can meet the need of as they have a whole bunch of wingers.
It would cost a pretty penny, but the Flames have the ability to pull off a trade for either Edvinsson or Nikishin. They also have the cap space to sign either restricted free agent, as PuckPedia notes they have over $15.6 million in current cap space.
Looking at potential defence pairings
Below is a hypothetical blue line with both Edvinsson and Nikishin in the lineup, courtesy of PuckPedia’s PuckGM. Contract predictions are based on AFPAnalytic’s contract predictions this past off-season.
PuckPedia - PuckGM
PuckPedia - PuckGMBy trading for either player, the Flames are getting better in not just the short-term, but the long-term. With Carels on the way as well, the Flames have the potential to build one of the strongest blue lines in hockey within the next few seasons.
And just for fun, here’s what a dream blue line would look like for the Flames in the coming years. It’s hard to argue against the fact this would, on paper, be the best defence core in the league.
PuckPedia - PuckGMThere’s almost no chance the Flames’ blue line is composed like this. If they land the first overall pick and draft DuPont, that’ll allow them to trade a defenceman for an impact forward. Edvinsson and Bahl both can be categorized as defence-first, but that right-side doesn’t have a shutdown defenceman.
A historic example
If you want a historic example of a defence-first team, the early 2010s Nashville Predators are a fantastic example.
The 2011-12 Predators have a soft spot in my heart, because as a fan of [REDACTED], I had “playoff teams” when I was younger. In 2010-11, before their run to the Stanley Cup, the Vancouver Canucks were my team. The Predators were my playoff team the next season, and oddly enough, the Florida Panthers were my playoff team in 2015-16.
Here’s a list of some defencemen on the 2011-12 Predators: Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Kevin Klein, Roman Josi, Francis Bouillon, and Ryan Ellis. Weber is a Hall of Famer, Suter could join him soon, Josi went on to be a Norris-calibre defenceman, and Ellis was a strong top four defenceman when healthy.
Suter departed for a massive payday with his home-state Minnesota Wild, but the Predators later had Mattias Ekholm and Seth Jones join their roster. In fact, Weber, Ellis, Jones, Josi, Ekholm were staples of the Predators’ blue line in 2013-14.
Unfortunately for the Predators in the first half of 2010 (and for Cynthia in 2011-12), the Predators never really did anything of note. They made the semifinals in 2011-12, losing in five to the Phoenix Coyotes, then they missed the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, before a first round exit in 2015. The closest they came to making a run was in 2016, when they took the San Jose Sharks to seven in the semifinals.
That was until 2017. The machine that was the Predators’ defence has changed. Weber was traded for PK Subban, while Ekholm and Josi were bonafide top pair defencemen. Ellis remained steady.
What changed in their run to the Stanley Cup Finals that year was a much better offence. Jones was flipped for Ryan Johansen, Flip Forsberg broke out as a star, and Viktor Arvidsson scored 31 goals. They still had depth pieces like Mike Fisher, James Neal, and Calle Järnkrok, but the offence improved drastically.
For context, the leading point-getter on the 2011-12 Predators was Martin Erat with 58, with David Legward and Fisher hot on his trail with 53 and 51 respectively.
Is acquiring Edvinsson or Nikishin worth it?
Using the early 2010s Predators as an example, a team can be defence first, but there has to be an impact forward or two. Erat, who is famously known for being traded for Forsberg, that impact forward the Predators needed, can’t lead the offence.
Acquiring either Edvinsson or Nikishin is worth it, both in the short and long term. Right now, Parekh doesn’t have a defence partner of his calibre, playing alongside Jake Middleton on the second pairing. Pairing him with either Nikishin or Edvinsson helps the right-shot defenceman get better while the Flames ice a more competitive, albeit still bad, team. This helps in the short-term.
In the long-term the Flames get an, at worst, top four pairing defenceman with the potential to be even better. Basically, it would set their defence and allow them to focus building their prospect pool to find and develop impact forwards.
Of course, things get complicated if the Flames land the first overall pick and select the consensus top pick in DuPont. But we’re dealing with ifs at that point.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.
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Calgary FlamesTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$89,682,143
$69,841,666
Projected Cap Space
$14,317,857
$43,658,334
Current Cap Space
$15,604,855
$43,658,334
Active Players
23/23
16/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
2
1