Who’s more likely to be traded this summer Coleman or whitecloud
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FlamesNation Mailbag: Talking trades, picks and the future a month out from the draft
Photo credit: Mike Gould
Gang, in just over one month, it’s time for the 2026 NHL Draft. Every draft is important, but the 2026 edition could be super-duper important for the local hockey heroes, as they have many, many draft picks.
Many.
As we move into the meat of the off-season, let’s check in with our great readers in the mailbag!
I wouldn’t rule either guy out entirely, but I think Blake Coleman is more likely to be traded than Zach Whitecloud. Whitecloud has term left and so the Flames aren’t on the clock with him like they are with Coleman, who’s entering the final year of his deal. Add in that the Flames have arguably more NHL-ready winger depth than defensive depth right now, and moving Coleman sooner opens up a spot while Whitecloud doesn’t have anyone knocking on the door behind him quite yet. Maybe in a year, that changes.
What are the odds Zary is in the flames opening night roster?
Connor Zary is young and versatile, but arguably lacks a clear role or niche within the Flames’ lineup. I think there’s a 70% chance that he sticks with the Flames until opening night, though; the Flames aren’t in any hurry to give anybody away, and Zary is a player they still like quite a bit.
Do we believe Malholtra is better than Bjork?
I love this debate. I am not sure.
Calebl Malhotra is bigger, has the benefit of playing on the smaller North American ice, and his dad (Manny) has played and coached for decades. Viggo Bjorck has really impressed this year, and he’s done so in a slew of high-profile events, but his performances in the SHL have been in more of a secondary, sheltered role, and we’ll need to see how he adjusts to the different style of game. Oh, and he’s just shy of 5’10”, so there’s always the “size concern” of whether he can translate his skill to the smaller ice.
I'm of the belief that, with the Vegas pick & all their second rounders, it is better to draft the Ruck brothers & they not work out than to miss out on some bottom 9 forwards/bottom 4 defensemen because it is not worth missing out on them if they do hit. What say you to that?
I think the Flames have done an awesome job building up prospect depth. I think this could be the year, with the amount of depth they have and the amount of depth they have, to take some big swings at the draft. Trying to use their draft capital to grab both Ruck twins would be a big swing.
Parekh... Would you include him and 6 for 2. SJ wants a ready RD, #flames know how great he is but offensive D are more plentiful than top 2 talent. I ask this as a big Parekh supporter. 2nd overall would hurt for the cost. Might be all that moves the needle for SJ.
Will the flames trade for a higher pick?
I think Flames will try to move up from sixth overall to draft earlier. I don’t think they have any appetite to move Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin or Matt Coronato, as reported by Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco recently.
Is a guy like Alex Tuch on Calgary’s radar? If not, who are the Flames free agent targets?
I don’t think the Flames are in the market to add players of Alex Tuch’s age group. They’re still trying to grow their young core group in a younger cohort, and I don’t anticipate them being big free agent spenders.
Hi Ryan! With the changes to NCAA this year and more CHL players moving over, how do you think this impacts players using the NCAA rules to wait out their draft rights and become UFAs (like the Adam Fox scenario)?
Honestly, teams and players are still trying to figure out the lay of the land, and the looming potential installation of new NCAA age eligibility requirements could add another wrinkle. It might take a few years for everyone to fully understand the implications.
Do you think the PWHL’s Gold Plan would work for the NHL? It’s got to be better than a ping pong ball!
Unpopular opinion: I like the current system, but I think it needs to reward the worst teams more consistently to achieve what it sets out to do. The point of the worst teams getting the best picks is to promote competitive balance. I’m not sure if the Gold Plan would achieve that as well as the current system potentially can.
Sponsers come and go. What are we going to call the new arena? Something with a western theme I hope. We had the Corral and Saddle Dome. What is the word on the street?
Fun fact: Calgarians originally didn’t like The Stampede Corral as a name, as the city in the 1950s was starting to bristle at its western image a bit. But it ended up being so popular that the “Saddledome” name for the new coliseum in the 1980s was a no-brainer. I’m curious what fans will come up with. I would offer up The Cauldron or The Fireplace.
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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