Quinn Hughes, then captain of the Vancouver Canucks, had been in trade rumours for a few weeks. Out of nowhere, the Minnesota Wild sent Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, and a 2026 first for the left-shot defenceman.

While the Wild have acquired arguably the best defenceman in the league, they now have a gaping hole at centre. Danila Yurov got a promotion to the second-line, which is a tough test given he’s played just 27 NHL games in his career.

One figures that the Wild won’t be done, and one player who they could target before Mar. 6’s trade deadline is Calgary Flames’ centre Nazem Kadri, according to Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco.

There are a lot of moving parts to any potential deal. Kadri has a cap hit of $7 million, and his contract doesn’t expire until after the 2028-29 season. Moreover, he has a 13-team no trade clause, which apparently includes the Wild, meaning he’d need to waive it for any type of trade to get through. Any hypothetical trade would have to get the green light from ownership, who have reportedly refused to do a full rebuild. It seems for the right package, the Flames would retain 50%.

Still, the Wild would need to clear cap space to get any type of deal to work. According to PuckPedia, the Wild currently have just under $1.322 million in cap space, and are projected to have about $3.777 million in cap space come the Mar. 6 trade deadline. Players who could be potentially moved are Vladimir Tarasenko ($4.75 million cap hit) and Ryan Hartman ($4 million cap hit).

Adding Kadri would be a big boost for the Wild, as he has seven goals and 29 points in 34 games this season, leading the Flames in the latter category. On the other hand, this would help the Flames bottom out, especially if they end up trading Rasmus Andersson ahead of the trade deadline in March.

As it stands, the Flames have a 13-17-4 record with 30 points. Those 30 points are tied for the second-fewest in the National Hockey League, only one ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. While they’re 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, the Flames are seven points out of a playoff spot, right in the mushy middle.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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