When will the Calgary Flames start trading players?
On Monday on The Rod Pedersen Show, Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com, NHL Full Press and RG Media was asked when the Calgary Flames would start waving the white flag this season and start making trades like they did a few seasons ago.
Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Rod Pederson: “Two years ago, you were the first player Jacob Markstrom went to New Jersey, right? I remember tipping you off for that, and the Devils seemed to be doing pretty well. The Devils are the No. 1 team in the NHL today. When do the Flames start trading again. You know, when do they raise the white flag?”
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Jim Billinger: “I think I have to give it a 20-game mark. I’ll be honest. But I feel like, look, we talked about this with the Rangers last year. And to bring that comparison and analogy, there was a lot of off-the-field distractions in the New York Rangers locker room last year. I know, look, we’re going to go back to Connor McDavid. What he said about professionalism, if we’re not professional, if we can’t take that out of the guys in the room, what are we doing here? Like, why are we playing this game?”
It feels like there are too many distractions in the Flames locker room. I talked to a few people, and no one liked what Mikael Backlund said before the season started, about, hey, we know Rasmus Andersen is being traded. Not sure if you should say that before the season starts. I think we all know that. This is something you don’t talk about, right? This is a secret thing. We all know it, but we don’t say it out loud.
I think Nazeem Qadri’s name is still there as well, so they’re dealing with those distractions. How do we balance that? Last year we scored 96 points. We were approaching the playoffs. We want to stay competitive, but we’re having trouble offensively.
They finally scored five goals that night against the Rangers, who weren’t a playoff team. If anyone thinks Mike Sullivan is going to help them, no, but I think we have to get through 20 games and then we have to see where this team stands in the league.
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Look, I think the best is going to happen, even though I’d like to see them in the playoffs. I think they need a go-to guy in Calgary. Think they need a player like Gavin McKenna who can drive the offense. We’re seeing what happens in San Jose. All these up-and-coming teams have players like that. This is best for Calgary.
I think we’ll start to see them in 20 games and maybe wave the white flag. It all depends on the records. “
NHLRumors.com NOTE: According to Elliotte Friedman over the weekend, nothing will happen until Nazeem Kadri plays his 1,000th game. The team continues to call on Kadri, but the Flames are starting to show some life. He’s their best offensive player right now. General manager Craig Conroy believes in the team and wants them to be competitive, but before he adds or does anything, he wants to see the players find a way out of the situation.
Likewise, the team will continue to refer to Anderson, Kadri and other players as the Calgary Flames. It all depends on whether they decide to initiate these deals.
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