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FlamesNation Mailbag: Discussing trade further trade possibilities, Pospisil and more!
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Photo credit: Mike Gould
Ryan Pike
Jan 19, 2026, 12:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 19, 2026, 00:18 EST
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Friends, Rasmus Andersson is no longer a member of the Calgary Flames.
Andersson was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. But in his wake, the Flames still grapple with several interesting questions. And so do our wonderful readers, who answered the mailbag call with many questions that had very little to do with Andersson.
Let’s be honest, gang: Jonathan Huberdeau has taken a step back in 2025-26 after taking a big step forward in 2024-25. His two-way details are a bit looser than they were last season and he’s producing a lot less offensively, too.
The challenge with Huberdeau’s deal is its structure. Buyouts can only buy out salary, with signing bonuses being locked in. Carrying over some numbers from our pals at PuckPedia, in a summer 2026 buyout Huberdeau’s cap hit would reduce to $10.3 million for 2026-27 and 2027-28, then to $7.8 million in 2028-29, then back to $10.3 million in 2029-30, then down to $5.8 million for 2030-31, and then to $800,000 from 2031-32 to 2035-36.
So to put it bluntly: there is no damn point in buying him out until 2028 because his contract structure provides zero real benefit to a buyout aside from opening up a roster spot. It’s incumbent on the Flames, and Huberdeau, to work to salvage his game.
I would put the Flames’ veteran assets in tiers.
Tier One: Gone: Rasmus Andersson.
Tier Two: Perhaps: Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman. There’s likely a decent amount of interest, but it depends on if the Flames get wowed by an offer. They’re important players for the Flames and not expiring assets, but they could get strong trade returns.
Tier Three: Useful Depth: Joel Hanley and Ryan Lomberg. Are they guys you need to move? Not especially. But they’re the types of depth and role players that teams can use on long playoff runs.
I would suspect we see, at most, three of these five players on the move by Mar. 6. (Andersson’s already been moved.) I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Flames looked into a new home for Zach Whitecloud, too. He’s already won a Stanley Cup and could be a big add for a contender needing some experienced depth.
Honestly, it depends on whether the Flames wanted to retain or not. If they retained on Nazem Kadri, that would lock up their third retention slot this season so they couldn’t retain on another trade until July 1, when the Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Markstrom salary retentions expire.
Anyway, Kadri has a $7 million cap hit and is 35 years old. He’s a really good hockey player, but on a championship team he’s a second line centre. Granted, a really good centre line centre with superb offensive instincts. If you’re willing to retain some salary, I’m guessing that you could probably get a first-round pick and perhaps a bit more. But you’re also (a) carrying retained salary for the remaining three seasons of his deal and (b) creating a big hole in the top of your NHL roster at a time where there’s no obvious heir apparent to his NHL role in the system. Unless someone met my price, I’m not sure if I would do it.
I adore Keaton Verhoeff as a prospect, but the glut of rightie defenders would give me pause, too. The Flames have Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews. Sure, at the NHL level you can have MacKenzie Weegar play on the left side to open up a slot, but if you want to be able to draft and develop players, you need to have the capacity to develop them.
But man, Verhoeff’s great, and I suppose you can always make trades to make room for great players, right?
Honestly, I love the idea of Connor Zary, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato being tried out as a line. I wouldn’t rule it out.
The Flames tried a fourth line of Ryan Lomberg, Adam Klapka and Martin Pospisil during the pre-season and it was the best kind of chaos. I would imagine that Pospisil could bump Justin Kirkland out of the lineup whenever he returns. Nothing against Kirkland, but he just seems like the easiest guy to sit in favour of Pospisil.
MacKenzie Weegar is cost-controlled through 2031. He can play both the left and right side. He can play any game situation. You can argue that Andersson is a higher-end player – and Andersson’s definitely been the better player this season – but Andersson would command a much higher price tag than Weegar, and Weegar’s versatility and really palatable cap hit make him a really easy piece for the Flames to layer prospects around as they build towards being a playoff team (and maybe even a contender) in the future.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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