Who doesn’t love a good trade tree?
On Wednesday, the Calgary Flames signed Aydar Suniev, their 2023 third-round pick who has spent the past two seasons with the UMass Minutemen.
With the 20-year-old signing with the Flames, let’s take a look at the trade tree that brought the Flames their newest player.
The roots of the tree
The roots of the trade tree come from an unlikely source. On Apr. 12, 2021, the Flames traded Sam Bennett and their 2022 sixth-round pick to the Florida Panthers for Emil Heineman and a 2022 second-round pick. The second was eventually traded to the Seattle Kraken in the Calle Jarnkrok trade. It is one of two trades the Flames have made with the Kraken.
Funnily enough, the other trade with the Kraken also set up the trade to get Suniev. On July 22, 2021, the Flames traded their 2022 fourth-round pick to the Seattle Kraken for Tyler Pitlick.
Heineman, a prospect, never played for the Flames while Pitlick played 25 games with the Flames where he had two assists. Both were involved in the same trade.
Flames acquire Tyler Toffoli from the Canadiens
On Feb. 14, 2022, the Flames sat second in the Pacific Division thanks to a 26-13-6 record with 58 points. That day, they traded Heineman and Pitlick, along with their 2022 first-round pick and 2023 fifth-round pick, to the Montréal Canadiens for Tyler Toffoli.
Immediately after the trade, Toffoli scored 11 goals and 23 points in 37 games, helping the Flames clinch first place in the Pacific Division. In the post-season, Toffoli scored two goals and five points in 12 games.
To this day, Toffoli’s 2022-23 season remains a career-best, as he scored 34 goals and 73 points in 82 games. However, the Flames just barely missed the post-season and that summer, Toffoli was traded.
Flames trade Toffoli to the Devils
On June 27, 2023, the Flames traded Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round selection.
Sharangovich had a terrific debut season with the Flames, scoring 31 goals and 59 points in 82 games, but coming in at a -29. On Jul. 1, 2024, the Flames signed Sharangovich to a five-year, $28.75 million deal with a cap hit of $5.75 million. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found the same success so far in 2024-25, scoring just 13 goals and 25 points in 65 games.
With the 80th overall pick, the Flames selected Russian forward Aydar Suniev from the British Columbia Hockey League’s Penticton Vees. Let’s take a look at Suniev’s career so far.
Flames select Aydar Suniev – his career so far
Born in Kazan, Russia, Suniev’s first taste of hockey in North America came in 2019-20, playing with the Yale Jr. Bulldogs as well as The Hill Academy. His 2020-21 was spent in Russia, before playing for St. Andrew’s College, the Thorold Blackhawks of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Penticton Vees in 2022-23. Finishing his season with the Vees, he scored nine goals and 20 points in 17 games as they won the league’s championship.
In 2022-23, his draft year, Suniev scored 45 goals and 90 points in 50 games, with nine goals and 23 points in 15 games as the Vees went back-to-back. This success led the Flames to select the winger with their third-round pick.
Suniev found success instantly with UMass, scoring 12 goals and 25 points in 36 games as a freshman. He upped his numbers in his sophomore season with the school, scoring 20 goals and 38 points in 35 games, the 11th-most points for sophomores and the fifth-most goals for second-year players.
Time will tell if he gets an opportunity with the Flames in 2024-25 as they look to hunt down a playoff spot. With that being said, Suniev looks like he could be a pretty darn good player for the Flames down the road.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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