Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson has been a regular in the trade-rumour mill for a while now.<\/p>\n
A pending unrestricted free agent, it seems like a foregone conclusion that the 28-year-old Swedish defenceman will be playing for a new team before the end of the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n
So much so that Flames captain Mikael Backlund felt comfortable saying the quiet part out loud during the NHL\u2019s European player media tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, he\u2019s getting traded. It\u2019s obvious,\u201d Backlund said about his teammate, per Michael Russo of\u00a0The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants a big contract,\u201d Backlund said, adding that the \u201cteam wants value.\u201d<\/p>\n Backlund noted that Andersson doesn\u2019t want to be a distraction for his teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too bad it\u2019s come to this. I don\u2019t think that they\u2019re close to getting an agreement or anything, but you never know. Things could change. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Andersson\u2019s point totals dipped for the third year in a row last season. A 50-point defenceman in 2021-22, Andersson posted just 31 points last season. And his -38 plus-minus rating was third-worst in the NHL.<\/p>\n Still, right-shot defencemen with his resume get paid handsomely, and that should be no different for Andersson in free agency. So expect a big raise from his $4.55 million salary.<\/p>\n While the Flames have prospects in the pipeline, replacing Andersson won\u2019t be easy. An all-situations player, Andersson ranked second on the Flames in average ice time (23:59), including big minutes on the power play (2:02) and penalty kill (2:31).<\/p>\n Calgary is set to enter the season with a whopping seven pending unrestricted free agents, which include Andersson and Backlund. But while Andersson looks to be as good as gone, Backlund wants to stay.<\/p>\n The other pending UFAs are Ryan Lomberg, Justin Kirkland, Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov, and Devin Cooley.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, restricted free agent Connor Zary is still unsigned for next season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Calgary is the only NHL home Andersson has ever known since being drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut during the 2016-17 season and became a fixture on the Flames\u2019 blue line in 2018-19.<\/p>\n