The Calgary Flames are officially in a rebuild despite the fact that they continually talk about a re-tool. Actions speak louder than words.

In the last 14 months the Flames have traded away Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Jacob Markstrom. In return they acquired a ton of draft picks, prospects, and younger players to fill out their NHL lineup with.

What we haven’t seen are any “win now” moves. They didn’t trade any of their assets for veteran players. They didn’t sign any free agents to long term contracts. And they didn’t bring in a veteran starting goalie.

Their actions show that they are rebuilding.

With that in mind, are there any other players on the roster that they should look to move in the spirit of rebuilding? There is one name that comes to mind. It’s Rasmus Andersson.

I’ve written about trading Andersson before and at the 2024 trade deadline. I’m writing about it again because there are a couple things that have happened between now and last season’s deadline that have made it clear that they need to trade Andersson between now and the 2025 trade deadline.

Andersson has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.55 million. He is going to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026 when he is 29 (he turns 30 on Oct. 27, 2026). Andersson will be looking for a 7 or 8-year contract likely in the $7-8 million AAV range.

Does it make sense for the Flames to sign a 30-year-old to an eight-year contract extension that pays him until his late 30’s? They are already going to be paying MacKenzie Weegar until he is 37.

What type of player is Rasmus Andersson going to be by the time the Flames are actually good again? Does it make sense to dedicate $8 million (or more) of cap space to an aging defenceman when you have a ton of up-and-coming talent that is also going to need to be signed to lucrative contract extensions while Andersson is a Flame?

Speaking of up-and-coming talent, how about the fact that both Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz are right shooting defencemen. Do you want both MacKenzie Weegar and Andersson signed long term when you need to make room for guys like Parekh and Brzustewicz? I know Weegar can play the left side, but the Flames prefer him on the right.

Andersson’s trade value will also never be higher. There are a lot of playoff teams who would be interested in acquiring the top four defenceman. There is a lot to like about Andersson’s game. He is 27 years old, a right shot, can play top four minutes, he is affordable on the salary cap AND the acquiring team could get him for multiple playoff runs. Andersson only has a six team no trade list which is not much of an impediment for a trade.

The Flames could potentially get a haul that includes draft picks and prospects in return for Andersson.

When you think about it, the next 2-3 years are all about building for the future. Every move Craig Conroy makes should be with the long-term future of the organization in mind. You don’t need a Rasmus Andersson to help you win now because you don’t really want to win right now. You want to win in the future when you’ve built a sustainable long-term competitor. The Flames are a long way from being that team.

Andersson is a very good player, and this article is not meant to be a shot at the player whatsoever.

Andersson has been a great member of the Calgary Flames for a long time. Moving on from him has little to do with his impact on the ice, but rather where the Flames are as an organization. They are in a full on rebuild. They are in asset accumulation mode. And they have a lot of prospects on defence who will eventually need to get a spot in the lineup and money on a long-term contract.

It just doesn’t make sense to keep Andersson beyond the 2025 trade deadline.