NHL Trade Rumor: Elliotte Friedman sheds light on $27,300,000 D-man's future with Calgary Flames amid 'conflicting reports'

Nobody thought the Calgary Flames would make the playoffs coming into the season. Having been major sellers at the 2024 trade deadline and throughout the NHL offseason, we were expecting to see more of the same this year.

However, the team's strong play may change general manager Craig Conroy's plans ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline. Calgary currently sits in the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference with a 21-16-7 record (49 points).

Rasmus Andersson's name has come up in recent trade rumors and there's been conflicting reports on what Calgary's plans are for the 28-year-old defenseman due to where they are in the standings.

Elliotte Friedman cleared things up on his Friday edition of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast". Here's what he had to say:

"Yeah, so Flames, everybody wants to know about Rasmus Andersson, and there's been a lot of conflicting reports about what's going on. What I really believe is going on there is that the Flames do not want to trade him this season, and they will not trade him this year, as long as they're still in the race.

"It's my personal opinion, what the Flames would like to do is Rasmus Andersson can sign an extension on July 1. I think they want to get through this year, hopefully stay in the race, keep this going as long as they can, and then make him a contract offer and see where everything stands. I think they want a chance to offer him an extension and see how close they are, and then make a decision," Friedman said. (1:23:50)

Friedman went into further detail, explaining that he believes they have discussed the situation with Andersson:

'But I believe what Calgary wants to do is keep Andersson through this year and make him an offer in the summer, and then see where everything goes. And I think, as it stands today, I think Andersson is amenable to that plan. I believe they talked to him this week when all the rumors were going on, I think the Flames told him that that's what they would hope to do," Friedman added.

Andersson is in the fifth season of a six-year, $27,300,000 contract he signed back in 2020 with Calgary. He will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2026 offseason if he doesn't sign an extension.

The Calgary Flames have been a pleasant surprise this season

The Calgary Flames had minimal expectations heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Having sold off several key veteran players in the past year including Jacob Markstrom, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm, and Tyler Toffoli, it felt like a rebuild was in full flight. This makes their 21-16-7 record through 44 games that much more impressive.

The Flames have seen an influx of youth jolt their lineup and have turned what was thought to be a rebuild into a quick retool. Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has been spectacular with a 15-7-2 record, a 2.57 goals-against average, and a .914 save percentage.

Young forwards Matt Coronato and Connor Zary each have 10 goals respectively, and defenseman Kevin Bahl has stepped in playing big minutes.

It's been a fun ride to begin the season for Calgary and its fans. They're back in action on Saturday night for an all-Canadian matchup on Hockey Night in Canada against the Winnipeg Jets. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Canada Life Centre.