What the Flames should do at the NHL Trade Deadline

The Calgary Flames, a team that most pundits and predictors thought would be near fithe bottom of the NHL standings, are holding on to a playoff spot on Jan. 23 and sitting fourth in the Pacific Division. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau is having a bounce back year, and Dustin Wolf is having a rookie season to remember, posting a 16-7-2 record with a .917 save percentage.

Now that we’re past the midway point of the season, the question becomes: should the Flames stand pat, start to unload some assets, or add to their group at the trade deadline?

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Daily Faceoff managing editor Matt Larkin steps in for Frank Seravalli to take on co-hosting duties with Tyler Yaremchuk. During their #AskDFO segment, someone writes in asking if the Flames should try to add pieces at the trade deadline if they’re still in the playoff hunt.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Unless it’s a Dylan Cozens and it’s a long-term add, then maybe, but there’s no way the Flames are going out shopping for rentals to snag the eighth seed, right?

Matt Larkin: I agree. As Jeff Marek was writing on Daily Faceoff earlier this week, even just the idea of the Flames standing pat is a win for the fan base. I don’t think you want to mess with the future, you don’t want to trade any assets or picks, you’re still relatively early in the rebuild. If this team is ahead of schedule, then that’s fun, that’s great, you’re playing with house money.

I do think they’re getting propped up a little bit by Dustin Wolf, who’s been so good as a rookie. I don’t think if you’re Craig Conroy, you want to be taking any major risks. But like you said, if it’s someone like Dylan Cozens and it’s going to be an investment for the future, as well as helping you in the present, that’s totally different. Then again, that’s the type of trade you see in an offseason.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…