How do you honestly see the Andersson situation playing out, and what do you think the eventual return will be, realistically?
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FlamesNation Mailbag: Tackling reader questions after the draft and free agency
Photo credit: Mike Gould
It sure feels like a ton of things have happened all at once over the past week or so, eh? For the Calgary Flames, since last Friday, we’ve seen the club add eight players in the 2025 NHL Draft, add a pair of players in the form of Ivan Prosvetov and Nick Cicek via free agency, and welcome a bunch of prospects to town for development camp.
As we head into the summery part of the summer, let’s take a breath and delve into the mailbag!
Right now, it feels like the Flames have three blueliners for four top-four spots: MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Bahl and Rasmus Andersson. Zayne Parekh feels destined for one, eventually, but if Andersson is shipped out without a suitable replacement stepping in… yeah, there’ll be a gap.
I have the utmost respect for Joel Hanley as a fill-in top four option, but he’s not a long-term solution. In other words: unless there’s an indication that another player from within the system, aside from Parekh, can take on a bigger role, they could definitely use another blueliner back in a potential Andersson swap. In an ideal world, it would be another one in Kevin Bahl’s age cohort who doesn’t need to grow into the role.
My gut says that Rasmus Andersson remains with the Flames until mid-season, at which point some team gets off their proverbial wallet, meets the Flames price, and he’s traded. How Elias Lindholm’s year played out is sort of how I foresee this one unfolding.
In terms of return? I would look for a return along the lines of a first-round pick, a good prospect and a useful young roster player.
Any realistic chance that the Flames will get Bowen Byram?
Are the Flames in the mix for the Bowen Byram sweepstakes?
There have been multiple reports from various hockey insiders indicating the Flames have checked in on Bowen Byram. I think the Flames would definitely be in the mix, but I also think they have a sense of how much they value him – in terms of his expected cap hit and what they’d need to give up to get him in a trade – and wouldn’t want to overpay relative to his value.
Given all that, I don’t think they end up getting him.
Where does Poirier stand? He seems to be the forgotten D prospect but is putting up points in the A. Other than Prosvetov & Cooley, which goalie shows the most potential and why?
Man, Jeremie Poirier before his scary arm laceration was awesome. When Poirier has confidence with the puck and is willing to take chances, he’s great. Unfortunately, he’s been understandably a bit tentative since returning from that scary injury. If he can get that swagger back, I think there’s a chance for him. But the clock is against him, and the Flames system has oodles of young, talented blueliners that he’ll need to battle for an NHL opportunity.
In terms of goaltenders, I’m a big fan of Arsenii Sergeev. He’s shown flashes of brilliance since being drafted, and there were few better collegiate goaltenders from January 2025 onward than him. I’m fascinated to see how he can adjust to pro hockey this coming season.
Because the newly drafted players are off to college in the fall, does that mean Conroy can’t sign them to their ELC’s until they leave college?
That’s correct. If a player signs a professional contract, they void their remaining NCAA eligibility. That’s why we usually see a flurry of signings once the college season ends in March and April.
Do you think it’s better for Wolf (or any rookie goalie) to play behind a B defence where they get tested more and the mental game is stretched or an A defense where they have tons of front end support?
Really like this question. Honestly, it probably depends on the mental make-up of the goaltender. Some of them need to be challenged consistently to stay engaged. Some of them don’t. Dustin Wolf seems to be the type where he can stay sharp even if the play is at the other end of the ice for a lot of the game. And I would argue that on a team with an “A defence,” the goalie would get more run support than a goalie on a worse team.
Is construction limited during stampede ?
I haven’t heard anything definitive, so this is just based on my own observations, but it definitely seems like Scotia Place construction has been slowed down a bit during Stampede. It make sense, given the amount of people around and the amount of construction vehicle traffic involved with Scotia Place’s build.
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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