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The Flames 2026 trade deadline sets them up nicely for the future
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Mar 12, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 12, 2026, 00:48 EDT
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The Calgary Flames rebuild is coming along nicely.
Last week was a busy one for the Flames. Earlier in January, they moved Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights for a first and a second, prospect Abram Wiebe, and Zach Whitecloud. Before the deadline, they sent MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth for three second-rounders in 2026, as well as prospect Jonathan Castagna and roster player Olli Määttä.
Just after the deadline ended, it was reported that the Flames sent Nazem Kadri back to the Colorado Avalanche, as well as their 2027 fourth-rounder for Victor Olofsson, prospect Max Curran, a 2028 first, and a 2027 second. That doesn’t even mention acquiring Ryan Strome from the Anaheim Ducks for a seventh, or swapping Jacob Battaglia for former top prospect Brennan Othmann.
One area of strength for the Flames since Craig Conroy took over is drafting, finding a handful of future NHLers like Ethan Wyttenbach, Cole Reschny, and Cullen Potter in 2025. Now, they have a ton of picks, a few more exciting prospects, and the potential for more of both.
Let’s take a look at how the 2026 trade deadline has set the Flames up nicely for their rebuild.

Prospects

Before the trade deadline, the Flames already had one of the best prospect pools in the league. Matvei Gridin and Zayne Parekh have both made an impact on the Flames this season, but Wyttenbach has blossomed since joining Quinnipiac, and could end up winning the Hobey Baker. Reschny has had a strong first season in college, and Potter was getting hot before his injury.
There are also a handful of other interesting late round picks, namely Trevor Hoskin, Eric Jamieson, Hunter Laing, Axel Hurtig, and Abram Wiebe, who the Flames got in the Andersson trade.
Wiebe is the only prospect picked in the latter rounds that the Flames traded for before the deadline. Curran and Castagna have both taken a jump this season. The former scored 14 goals and 41 points in 31 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings before season-ending shoulder surgery. Castagna, selected in the third-round of the 2023 draft, has 14 goals and 32 points in 29 games with Cornell University and has also improved by all accounts.
There’s no guarantee Wiebe, Curran, and Castagna become NHL regulars, but the more prospects that a team has, the higher chance that one of the late-rounders figure it out and become a productive NHLer. The Flames did a good job in that regard.

Picks

As noted earlier, the Flames’ drafting has been strong over the past three drafts or so. The good news is that they’ll have a bunch more picks in the coming drafts.
Thanks to the Noah Hanifin trade in 2024, the Flames already had the Vegas Golden Knights’ 2026 first. They also had the Vancouver Canucks’ 2026 third thanks to the Nikita Zadorov trade. With three second-round picks added in the Weegar deal, the Flames will more than likely have eight picks within the first 70 selections.
That doesn’t even account for them owning two first-round and second-round picks in the following two drafts either, with the potential for the 2028 second acquired in the Andersson trade to become a first if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season. They have none of their seventh-round picks in the next three drafts, though, quite the shame.
Let’s just put it this way, during the Edmonton Oilers’ eternal rebuild before luckily landing Connor McDavid, they only had two first-round picks in two drafts from 2010 onward. And even then, the second time they had two firsts they traded the 16th and 33rd overall pick for Griffin Reinhart at the 2015 draft.
With their picks, the Flames are in a terrific spot.

Flippable players

There’s also the potential for more picks in the coming drafts. Before the trade deadline, the Flames acquired three NHL players under contract for at least next season, Strome, Whitecloud, and Määttä.
Whitecloud has performed well since the trade and has the opportunity to prove he can be a top four defenceman. With two more seasons under contract after this year, the Flames have a chance to flip him before his contract ends, which would net them even more picks.
That same logic can be applied to both Strome and Määttä. Both players were in and out of their respective lineup, and both players have at least one more season on their deal. Strome has already started to see his play improve, as he has a goal and three points in the three games since the trade. Määttä will be a staple on the Flames’ defence core over the following two seasons, allowing him to showcase himself to contending teams in need of a bottom pair defender.
This doesn’t even mention Blake Coleman or free agents they could sign in the off-season, giving them the potential to have another big trade deadline in 2027.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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