<p>Daily Faceoff&#8217;s NHL insider, Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday night that the Calgary Flames are in the trade market <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/10/18/seravalli-flames-looking-to-add-a-middle-six-centre-that-fits-their-age-scheme/">for a young centre to help the team now and in the future</a>.</p>
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<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a centre to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six. Preferably someone that fits their age scheme. Preferably&#8230; a right shooting centre.&#8221;</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Frank Seravalli (<a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@frank_seravalli</a>) reporting that the Calgary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> are in the market for some help down the middle.</p>
<p>Sites that they are looking for a guy who fits the age range of the team and is preferably a right shot. <a href="https://t.co/lOc0ddS4xX">pic.twitter.com/lOc0ddS4xX</a></p>
<p>— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1847097737478918240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s something Conroy has talked about on multiple occasions since becoming GM of the Flames, so it should come as no surprise to Flames fans despite the fact they are in a rebuild.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Craig Conroy mentions that he is open to making trades to bring in players in the 18-23 year old range.</p>
<p>Mentions Montreal as an example of a team that&#8217;s done that. The Canadiens made trades for Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach over the last couple seasons. <a href="https://t.co/F5x7pwtEkt">pic.twitter.com/F5x7pwtEkt</a></p>
<p>— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1781416615378391455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Finding young, middle six, right shooting centres is nearly impossible this day and age without giving up a ton of assets to do so. NHL teams don&#8217;t give up on those types of players very often. That&#8217;s going to make it incredibly difficult to pull off a move like this, especially this early in the season.</p>
<p>But it does makes sense why the Flames would be in the market for a young centre. Maybe not this season, but in the offseason for sure. Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri are in their mid/late thirties. Kevin Rooney is hurt and a pending UFA. They lost Cole Schwindt on waivers. There is a need to add center depth in their organization. But is now the right time to be making this type of move?</p>
<p>Plus, where is that player going to fit in the Flames lineup? Kadri, Backlund and Martin Pospisil have all had a great start to the season. Logically it would make sense to move Pospisil to the wing or fourth line, but he has been a driving force behind the great start for Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha. Do you really want to break that up if you&#8217;re Ryan Huska?</p>
<p>And don&#8217;t you want to find out if Pospisil and Connor Zary are long term fits at centre or the wing? If Pospisil and Zary do work down the middle, then you won&#8217;t need to trade assets to bring in a young, middle six centre.</p>
<p>Anyway, enough of all that. Let&#8217;s have some fun and dive into some potential names that may or may not be on the trade market that fit Seravalli&#8217;s description above.</p>
<h2>Barrett Hayton &#8211; Utah Hockey Club &#8211; Left Shot &#8211; 24 Years Old &#8211; $2,650,000 AAV, RFA in 2026</h2>
<p>There are a lot of good young forwards in the Utah organization. Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Matias Maccelli, Tij Iginla, Josh Doan, Daniil But, to name a few. With all that talent already there, you wonder if someone like Hayton could be the odd man out moving forrward.</p>
<p>Utah could also use some help on defence. And what do the Flames have? A lot of defencemen in their organization.</p>
<p>Hayton has shown he can be a productive player putting up 43 points in 82 games in the 2022-23 season. And he&#8217;s off to a great start this season with six points in five games.</p>
<h2>Martin Necas &#8211; Carolina Hurricanes &#8211; Right Shot &#8211; 25 Years Old &#8211; $6,500,000 AAV, UFA in 2026</h2>
<p>Necas ticks all the boxes the Flames would be look for. He&#8217;s young(ish). He&#8217;s big. He&#8217;s fast. And he&#8217;s got some skill to his game. He put up 71 and 53 points in his last two seasons respectively.</p>
<p>But it is going to cost the Flames a ton to acquire this player. Plus, will he want to sign in Calgary long term? You&#8217;re not giving up what you need to give up for Necas only to have him walk as a UFA in 2026. This would be a difficult deal to pull off if you&#8217;re the Flames with a lot of risk involved. And plus, why would Carolina want to move him? They are in the middle of their contention window. It doesn&#8217;t make sense for them to move out someone like Necas.</p>
<h2>Trevor Zegras &#8211; Anaheim Ducks &#8211; Left Shot &#8211; 23 Years Old &#8211; $5,750,000 AAV, RFA in 2026</h2>
<p>Zegras is the one guy who we know is available on the trade market and fits the criteria the Flames are looking for. However, there are a lot of risks associated with acquiring Zegras.</p>
<p>On the ice, Zegras is extraordinarily talented. But he is a one-dimensional player. Off the ice, Zegras has a big personality. Is he going to fit in the Flames locker room? And will he want to sign a long-term deal when he becomes a RFA in 2026? There are lots of question marks when it comes to a guy like Zegras.</p>
<h2>Jesperi Kotkaniemi &#8211; Carolina Hurricanes &#8211; Left Shot &#8211; 24 Years Old &#8211; $6,500,000 AAV, UFA in 2026</h2>
<p>Kotkaniemi&#8217;s name has been thrown around in trade rumours for the last couple years. He&#8217;s struggled to find consistency to his game since signing an eight-year contract in 2022. Because of that, it would be an incredibly risky trade to make if you&#8217;re Conroy.</p>
<p>But you can understand why NHL GM&#8217;s are interested in a player like Kotkaniemi. He&#8217;s big, versatile, and was a 3rd overall draft pick. I&#8217;m sure there are teams out there that think that can turn him around. Maybe Calgary is that team? Who knows 🤷</p>
<h2>Honorable mentions</h2>
<p><strong>Marco Rossi:</strong> The Wild need centers and Rossi is playing in their top six. Why would they move him at this point?</p>
<p><strong>Kirby Dach:</strong> He was hurt last season. The Canadiens are going to see what they have in this player before making a long-term decision on him.</p>
<p><strong>Peyton Krebs:</strong> Things haven&#8217;t worked out great for Krebs in Buffalo. Maybe a new change of scenery will help him live up to his potential.</p>
<p><strong>Joe Veleno:</strong> There isn&#8217;t much of a ceiling for Veleno. He put up 28 points in 80 games last season. I don&#8217;t think he moves the needle for the Flames.</p>
<p>One thing we need to keep in mind is that it is in the job description for an NHL general manager to constantly communicate with their peers about certain players availability and acquisition costs. Conroy may look around the market and realize that the prices are too high, which could cause him not to pull the trigger on something. Just because it&#8217;s being reported that he is looking, doesn&#8217;t mean something is going to happen.</p>


Daily Faceoff's NHL insider, Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday night that the Calgary Flames are in the trade market <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/10/18/seravalli-flames-looking-to-add-a-middle-six-centre-that-fits-their-age-scheme/">for a young centre to help the team now and in the future</a>.
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"I'm told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a centre to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six. Preferably someone that fits their age scheme. Preferably... a right shooting centre."
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Frank Seravalli (<a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@frank_seravalli</a>) reporting that the Calgary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> are in the market for some help down the middle.</p>
Sites that they are looking for a guy who fits the age range of the team and is preferably a right shot. <a href="https://t.co/lOc0ddS4xX">pic.twitter.com/lOc0ddS4xX</a>

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1847097737478918240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
It's something Conroy has talked about on multiple occasions since becoming GM of the Flames, so it should come as no surprise to Flames fans despite the fact they are in a rebuild.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Craig Conroy mentions that he is open to making trades to bring in players in the 18-23 year old range.</p>
Mentions Montreal as an example of a team that's done that. The Canadiens made trades for Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach over the last couple seasons. <a href="https://t.co/F5x7pwtEkt">pic.twitter.com/F5x7pwtEkt</a>

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1781416615378391455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
Finding young, middle six, right shooting centres is nearly impossible this day and age without giving up a ton of assets to do so. NHL teams don't give up on those types of players very often. That's going to make it incredibly difficult to pull off a move like this, especially this early in the season.

But it does makes sense why the Flames would be in the market for a young centre. Maybe not this season, but in the offseason for sure. Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri are in their mid/late thirties. Kevin Rooney is hurt and a pending UFA. They lost Cole Schwindt on waivers. There is a need to add center depth in their organization. But is now the right time to be making this type of move?

Plus, where is that player going to fit in the Flames lineup? Kadri, Backlund and Martin Pospisil have all had a great start to the season. Logically it would make sense to move Pospisil to the wing or fourth line, but he has been a driving force behind the great start for Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha. Do you really want to break that up if you're Ryan Huska?

And don't you want to find out if Pospisil and Connor Zary are long term fits at centre or the wing? If Pospisil and Zary do work down the middle, then you won't need to trade assets to bring in a young, middle six centre.

Anyway, enough of all that. Let's have some fun and dive into some potential names that may or may not be on the trade market that fit Seravalli's description above.
<h2>Barrett Hayton - Utah Hockey Club - Left Shot - 24 Years Old - $2,650,000 AAV, RFA in 2026</h2>
There are a lot of good young forwards in the Utah organization. Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Matias Maccelli, Tij Iginla, Josh Doan, Daniil But, to name a few. With all that talent already there, you wonder if someone like Hayton could be the odd man out moving forrward.

Utah could also use some help on defence. And what do the Flames have? A lot of defencemen in their organization.

Hayton has shown he can be a productive player putting up 43 points in 82 games in the 2022-23 season. And he's off to a great start this season with six points in five games.
<h2>Martin Necas - Carolina Hurricanes - Right Shot - 25 Years Old - $6,500,000 AAV, UFA in 2026</h2>
Necas ticks all the boxes the Flames would be look for. He's young(ish). He's big. He's fast. And he's got some skill to his game. He put up 71 and 53 points in his last two seasons respectively.

But it is going to cost the Flames a ton to acquire this player. Plus, will he want to sign in Calgary long term? You're not giving up what you need to give up for Necas only to have him walk as a UFA in 2026. This would be a difficult deal to pull off if you're the Flames with a lot of risk involved. And plus, why would Carolina want to move him? They are in the middle of their contention window. It doesn't make sense for them to move out someone like Necas.
<h2>Trevor Zegras - Anaheim Ducks - Left Shot - 23 Years Old - $5,750,000 AAV, RFA in 2026</h2>
Zegras is the one guy who we know is available on the trade market and fits the criteria the Flames are looking for. However, there are a lot of risks associated with acquiring Zegras.

On the ice, Zegras is extraordinarily talented. But he is a one-dimensional player. Off the ice, Zegras has a big personality. Is he going to fit in the Flames locker room? And will he want to sign a long-term deal when he becomes a RFA in 2026? There are lots of question marks when it comes to a guy like Zegras.
<h2>Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Carolina Hurricanes - Left Shot - 24 Years Old - $6,500,000 AAV, UFA in 2026</h2>
Kotkaniemi's name has been thrown around in trade rumours for the last couple years. He's struggled to find consistency to his game since signing an eight-year contract in 2022. Because of that, it would be an incredibly risky trade to make if you're Conroy.

But you can understand why NHL GM's are interested in a player like Kotkaniemi. He's big, versatile, and was a 3rd overall draft pick. I'm sure there are teams out there that think that can turn him around. Maybe Calgary is that team? Who knows 🤷
<h2>Honorable mentions</h2>
<strong>Marco Rossi:</strong> The Wild need centers and Rossi is playing in their top six. Why would they move him at this point?

<strong>Kirby Dach:</strong> He was hurt last season. The Canadiens are going to see what they have in this player before making a long-term decision on him.

<strong>Peyton Krebs:</strong> Things haven't worked out great for Krebs in Buffalo. Maybe a new change of scenery will help him live up to his potential.

<strong>Joe Veleno:</strong> There isn't much of a ceiling for Veleno. He put up 28 points in 80 games last season. I don't think he moves the needle for the Flames.

One thing we need to keep in mind is that it is in the job description for an NHL general manager to constantly communicate with their peers about certain players availability and acquisition costs. Conroy may look around the market and realize that the prices are too high, which could cause him not to pull the trigger on something. Just because it's being reported that he is looking, doesn't mean something is going to happen.

4 young centres the Flames could target via trade

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