The Calgary Flames might not be the most aggressive team at this year’s trade deadline, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them tinker with the group they have.
One of the National Hockey League’s youngest teams, the Flames remain just one point out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference despite ranking near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category. Only a handful of players on the roster are producing in line with pre-season expectations.
The Flames already made a significant shake-up trade earlier this season, acquiring forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Jakob Pelletier, Andrei Kuzmenko, and a pair of draft picks. That will likely go down as the biggest deal the Flames make in 2024-25. But it’d be unwise to rule out the possibility of GM Craig Conroy pulling another rabbit out of his hat between now and the March 7 trade deadline.
If the Flames do go shopping once again, expect to see them bring in another player who fits into the same age category as the likes of Frost, Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich, Kevin Bahl, and Brayden Pachal. The Flames aren’t in any position to be giving up assets for declining players or rentals; their target demographic remains the 21-26 range.
With a week to go until the trade deadline, here are two players whose names have begun to circulate in rumours and discussions around the hockey world.
Matias Maccelli
Two years removed from being named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team and finishing fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy, Maccelli is one of a large collection of Utah HC players who have struggled since the move from Arizona. Despite still playing for coach Andre Tourigny in Salt Lake City, Maccelli’s average ice time is way down and his production has decreased substantially in his first (and perhaps only) year as a member of the Hockey Club.
A fourth-round pick of the Coyotes in 2019, Maccelli dominated both the Finnish Liiga and the AHL immediately after being drafted and wasted little time in establishing himself as one of Arizona’s top playmakers in the team’s final two seasons of existence, collecting 106 points in 146 games over that span while developing strong chemistry on a line with power forward Lawson Crouse. But while Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther have both taken steps forward, Utah’s entire supporting cast has dramatically regressed, with Maccelli the poster boy for a disappointing group that also includes Crouse, Nick Bjugstad, Alex Kerfoot, and Michael Carcone.
In Thursday’s edition of his regular 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman singled out Maccelli as a player who could greatly benefit from a change of scenery.
14. Another scratch for Matias Maccelli on Thursday night, has not played since Feb. 8. He hasn’t been up to his standard, for one, and the Utahns have one of the league’s smallest forward cores, which doesn’t help him, either. But he’s very talented, and could thrive with a move.
Maccelli, 24, is averaging a career-low 13:55 per game with Utah this season, but he’s an outstanding passer who thrives in small pockets of space in the offensive zone — an attribute the Flames sorely lack. He’d add an interesting new element to a Flames forward group rife with underperformers of their own.
During his time in Arizona, Maccelli played an instrumental role in Crouse rebounding from a career-worst four-goal year to score 20 goals in three consecutive seasons. Who’s to say he couldn’t do the same with players like Farabee and Sharangovich, two strong shooters who are both in the midst of poor offensive years? Maccelli is signed through 2026 at a $3.425 million cap hit and shouldn’t cost a ton to acquire, especially with just 18 points to his name through 52 games in 2024-25.
JJ Peterka
Here’s one that’s way out of left field. Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli surprised everyone on Friday by including Peterka on his new Trade Targets board, listing him at No. 15 overall:
Scoop: Peterka hits the Trade Targets like a wrecking ball, a 23-year-old first line winger with tons of untapped potential still. Sources say any team calling Buffalo has been met with resistance on Peterka, but the volume of calls has increased, and the amount of chatter around the league is growing louder. So why is he on the board? The Sabres haven’t done anything to shake up their team yet. He has significant value. He’s a pending RFA who will need a new contract, and oh by the way, he will potentially be an offer sheet target this summer.
That’s a bombshell. Peterka is one of Buffalo’s best players and a rare Sabres blue-chipper who has actually developed into a difference-maker at the NHL level. Buffalo is littered with guys like Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, and Jack Quinn who have struggled at times to live up to their draft billing; why would they even consider parting ways with a 23-year-old winger in Peterka who is currently scoring at a 65-point pace?
Well, it’s simple: Buffalo is Buffalo, and Peterka’s entry-level contract is set to expire this summer. There’s no guarantee that his camp will be in alignment with Buffalo’s on a new deal, or if he’ll have any interest whatsoever in re-signing with a Sabres team that isn’t even close to a playoff berth.
As Frank indicated, the Sabres haven’t made any big changes to their roster this season, and it might be better for them to explore moving Peterka for top dollar now rather than risk him signing an offer sheet for comparatively minimal compensation. Still … players like Peterka are the ones a team like Buffalo should be trying to build around, aren’t they?
Perhaps the Sabres’ loss could be Calgary’s gain. Like Maccelli, Peterka is a finesse forward who isn’t particularly big, but he’s been very productive this year (44 points in 55 games) and is also coming off a 28-goal season. The 2020 second-round pick has historically been more of a shooter but is playing a more rounded offensive game this season while averaging career-high 18 minutes of ice time per game.
Peterka would almost certainly command a huge haul in any deal, but it would probably be worthwhile for the Flames to pay the price to get him. He has all the makings of a future first-line forward who could eventually become a star.
We’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold over the next seven days.
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