One thing is certain about the Calgary Flames: They have to pick a lane.
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Entering the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Flames have a 26-21-8 record with 60 points, three behind the Vancouver Canucks who hold the final wild card spot. At this point, the Flames have to decide whether they make trades to better their chances of making the postseason, or they trade players to help their rebuild. With a first-round pick heading to the Montréal Canadiens, the Flames can ill afford to finish outside of a postseason position and outside of the bottom 10 teams in the league.
The team we’ll look at, the Colorado Avalanche, presents an opportunity for both options.
<h2>Casey Mittelstadt</h2>
On Friday’s edition of Frankly Speaking, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravlli interviewed Flames general manager Craig Conroy. It’s clear the team won’t give up a haul for a rental <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-may-look-into-trade-deadline-additions-but-it-depends-on-age-and-price">but if there’s a rental for the right price, the Flames may pounce</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Does the Calder worthy play of Dustin Wolf potentially change the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> timeline?
GM Craig Conroy lays out his thoughts &#8211; and signals he is going to continue to be aggressive to add the right pieces.
Frankly Speaking: <a href="https://t.co/Sh11ViWvoi">https://t.co/Sh11ViWvoi</a>
Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/betwaycanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@betwaycanada</a>. <a href="https://t.co/TE0N3RwXKR">pic.twitter.com/TE0N3RwXKR</a>
&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1887972990689681580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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It seems like they’re looking for a hockey trade &#8211; acquiring players (like Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee) that fit their age scheme. One such player on the Avalanche who fits that bill is Casey Mittelstadt.
<a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/should-calgary-flames-be-interested-in-avalanche-forward-casey-mittelstadt">Seravalli believes the Flames are a good fit for the 26-year-old centre</a>. Acquired by the Avalanche before the 2024 trade deadline for Bowen Byram, Mittelstadt hasn’t quite worked out for the Avalanche as he has nine goals and 32 points in 57 games this season. The eighth-overall pick in the 2017 draft scored a career-high 18 goals and 57 points in 80 games last season.
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Where would be a good fit for Casey Mittelstadt?
Frank Seravalli is keeping an eye on Calgary.
Presented by: <a href="https://twitter.com/CharmDiamonds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CharmDiamonds</a>
Daily Faceoff Live | <a href="https://twitter.com/FlamesNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FlamesNation</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@frank_seravalli</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/tyleryaremchuk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tyleryaremchuk</a> <a href="https://t.co/zG0TiTY9Pm">pic.twitter.com/zG0TiTY9Pm</a>
&mdash; Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1887275013616902475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Of course, the Flames are also looking at Dylan Cozens of the Buffalo Sabres, who we looked at in this article here. Mittelstadt is older and shoots left, both a con of sorts as the Flames have a bunch of left-shot centres and need to look for younger players. Still, he could be the most attainable youngish centre on the market.
Unlike the Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Flames acquired Farabee and Frost from, the Avalanche are a contending team, so perhaps trading a veteran makes sense?
<h2>Which veterans make sense for the Avalanche</h2>
The Avalanche acquired Mittelstadt to give them a second-line centre. He hasn’t been particularly bad, but he hasn’t quite lived up to the player he’s replacing &#8211; Nazem Kadri.
Funnily enough, Kadri currently plays for the Flames and has 19 goals and 40 points in 55 games this season. He’s on pace for 28 goals and 59 points, down from his 28 goals and 75 points last season and far from his career-high of 28 goals and 87 points which came with the 2021-22 Avalanche.
Kadri makes sense for the Avalanche on a few levels, as he’d give them a 2C with the added bonus that there’s familiarity there, as in his last season with the Avalanche, he helped them win the Stanley Cup. 
Does it make sense for the Flames though? Well, on Feb. 1’s edition of Saturday Headlines, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Flames are keeping him, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar as they are in the race. But what if the Flames aren’t in the race come Mar. 7’s deadline, could their position change?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Elliotte Friedman reporting that Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar are not going to be traded this season.
No surprise there. Conroy and the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> want to make the playoffs this year. Trading those guys could take them out of the hunt. <a href="https://t.co/4i5aAyBX2b">pic.twitter.com/4i5aAyBX2b</a>
&mdash; Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1885871766154997918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Kadri carries a cap hit of $7 million with a full no-move clause the next two seasons. His contract ends after the 2028-29 season. With the Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen’s salary, they have $4.762 million in current cap space with a deadline cap space around the time. They’d have to send back salary but only because the Flames have to stay above the cap floor.
Another player who could be of interest to the Avalanche and many other teams if they decide to sell at this year’s deadline is Rasmus Andersson. I’m on the side of “don’t trade Andersson”, but I can see the merit in moving the right-shot defenceman as his contract that carries a cap hit of $4.55 million ends after the 2025-26 season. Interestingly, Friedman said on the same Saturday Headlines that the Flames are becoming increasingly confident that they’ll be able to re-sign him.
Whether or not he’s a fit for the Avalanche is a different story. Josh Manson, 33 years old, is currently their second-pairing right-shot defenceman and he has a goal and 13 points this season after scoring eight goals and 25 points last season. 
Andersson, on the other hand, has eight goals and 21 points in 55 games, reaching the 50-point mark three seasons ago and scoring 39 points in 2023-24. Andersson also faces elite competition more than anyone on the Flames and has a role in both the penalty kill and power play.
It’d be a luxury to add Andersson, although a second-pair right-shot defenceman isn’t a necessity at the deadline for the Avalanche.
The contending Avalanche made the rare decision to switch up their netminding tandem in-season and have gotten good results from Mackenzie Blackwood. However, the other goaltender they got, Scott Wedgewood is out day-to-day. If for some reason he isn’t back soon, Daniel Vladař is an expiring netminder on a $2.2 million cap hit they could look to acquire, but this also isn’t likely.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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One thing is certain about the Calgary Flames: They have to pick a lane.
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Entering the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Flames have a 26-21-8 record with 60 points, three behind the Vancouver Canucks who hold the final wild card spot. At this point, the Flames have to decide whether they make trades to better their chances of making the postseason, or they trade players to help their rebuild. With a first-round pick heading to the Montréal Canadiens, the Flames can ill afford to finish outside of a postseason position and outside of the bottom 10 teams in the league.

The team we’ll look at, the Colorado Avalanche, presents an opportunity for both options.
<h2>Casey Mittelstadt</h2>
On Friday’s edition of Frankly Speaking, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravlli interviewed Flames general manager Craig Conroy. It’s clear the team won’t give up a haul for a rental <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-may-look-into-trade-deadline-additions-but-it-depends-on-age-and-price">but if there’s a rental for the right price, the Flames may pounce</a>.

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1887972990689681580

It seems like they’re looking for a hockey trade - acquiring players (like Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee) that fit their age scheme. One such player on the Avalanche who fits that bill is Casey Mittelstadt.

<a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/should-calgary-flames-be-interested-in-avalanche-forward-casey-mittelstadt">Seravalli believes the Flames are a good fit for the 26-year-old centre</a>. Acquired by the Avalanche before the 2024 trade deadline for Bowen Byram, Mittelstadt hasn’t quite worked out for the Avalanche as he has nine goals and 32 points in 57 games this season. The eighth-overall pick in the 2017 draft scored a career-high 18 goals and 57 points in 80 games last season.

https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1887275013616902475

Of course, the Flames are also looking at Dylan Cozens of the Buffalo Sabres, who we looked at in this article here. Mittelstadt is older and shoots left, both a con of sorts as the Flames have a bunch of left-shot centres and need to look for younger players. Still, he could be the most attainable youngish centre on the market.

Unlike the Philadelphia Flyers, whom the Flames acquired Farabee and Frost from, the Avalanche are a contending team, so perhaps trading a veteran makes sense?
<h2>Which veterans make sense for the Avalanche</h2>
The Avalanche acquired Mittelstadt to give them a second-line centre. He hasn’t been particularly bad, but he hasn’t quite lived up to the player he’s replacing - Nazem Kadri.

Funnily enough, Kadri currently plays for the Flames and has 19 goals and 40 points in 55 games this season. He’s on pace for 28 goals and 59 points, down from his 28 goals and 75 points last season and far from his career-high of 28 goals and 87 points which came with the 2021-22 Avalanche.

Kadri makes sense for the Avalanche on a few levels, as he’d give them a 2C with the added bonus that there’s familiarity there, as in his last season with the Avalanche, he helped them win the Stanley Cup. 

Does it make sense for the Flames though? Well, on Feb. 1’s edition of Saturday Headlines, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Flames are keeping him, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar as they are in the race. But what if the Flames aren’t in the race come Mar. 7’s deadline, could their position change?

https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1885871766154997918

Kadri carries a cap hit of $7 million with a full no-move clause the next two seasons. His contract ends after the 2028-29 season. With the Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen’s salary, they have $4.762 million in current cap space with a deadline cap space around the time. They’d have to send back salary but only because the Flames have to stay above the cap floor.

Another player who could be of interest to the Avalanche and many other teams if they decide to sell at this year’s deadline is Rasmus Andersson. I’m on the side of “don’t trade Andersson”, but I can see the merit in moving the right-shot defenceman as his contract that carries a cap hit of $4.55 million ends after the 2025-26 season. Interestingly, Friedman said on the same Saturday Headlines that the Flames are becoming increasingly confident that they’ll be able to re-sign him.

Whether or not he’s a fit for the Avalanche is a different story. Josh Manson, 33 years old, is currently their second-pairing right-shot defenceman and he has a goal and 13 points this season after scoring eight goals and 25 points last season. 

Andersson, on the other hand, has eight goals and 21 points in 55 games, reaching the 50-point mark three seasons ago and scoring 39 points in 2023-24. Andersson also faces elite competition more than anyone on the Flames and has a role in both the penalty kill and power play.

It’d be a luxury to add Andersson, although a second-pair right-shot defenceman isn’t a necessity at the deadline for the Avalanche.

The contending Avalanche made the rare decision to switch up their netminding tandem in-season and have gotten good results from Mackenzie Blackwood. However, the other goaltender they got, Scott Wedgewood is out day-to-day. If for some reason he isn’t back soon, Daniel Vladař is an expiring netminder on a $2.2 million cap hit they could look to acquire, but this also isn’t likely.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Sponsored by bet365:
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