February 2, 2025 | 11:58am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
FLAMES STILL IN HUNT FOR RIGHT-SHOT CENTRE
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Flames GM Craig Conroy
The Calgary Flames made a bold move on Thursday, acquiring forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers, and GM Craig Conroy continues to explore the market for at least one more addition.
During an intermission interview on Hockey Night in Canada, Conroy admitted that he wants to add a “right-shot centre” and is looking to make a deal “that makes sense long-term.”
The Flames have just one regular forward in their lineup with a right shot and adding one up the middle in the same mid-20s age bracket as Farabee and Frost is still high on Conroy’s to-do list.
“I’ve talked about it since the Draft last year – still a priority, just haven’t been able to find one,” he divulged.
During HNIC’s “Saturday Headlines” segment, Elliotte Friedman reported centre Nazem Kadri and defencemen Mackenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson are not in play with the March 7 trade deadline less than five weeks away.
While teams have inquired about all three players, dating back to the off-season when the Flames explored the market on each of them, they aren’t up for grabs right now with the team in the thick of the wildcard race in the Western Conference.
“The Flames have told teams that Andersson, Kadri and Weegar are not available,” Friedman said. “Weegar has a contract. Kadri has a contract, but a number of teams have asked about him. Andersson, as you know, is heading into the final year of his deal, and the Flames are getting more and more confident they’re going to be able to keep him.”
Conroy later said that “Rasmus is a huge part of the team. He wants to be a Flame, he wants to be competitive.”
Andersson has one more year remaining on his contract after this season and is not eligible to sign an extension until July 1.
As TFP reported last off-season, Andersson wants to play in a competitive environment and is not interested in a rebuild, but with the Flames back in the playoff picture, he told Sportsnet earlier this month that he wants to remain in Calgary, and Conroy hopes that is the case.
“We can’t do anything until July 1st, but I see Rasmus as a Flame, I do,” Conroy said.