Conroy also managed to work in a bit of a failsafe for the 2026 first-rounder he previously got from Vegas in the Noah Hanifin trade, stipulating that the 2028 second-round pick the Flames also received for Andersson will convert into a first-rounder if the Knights win this year\u2019s Stanley Cup (and thereby give the Flames the lowest possible first-rounder this June). But that\u2019s not looking so likely, with Andersson and the Knights struggling to win much of anything since the trade. If anything, Whitecloud has outperformed Andersson in virtually every facet of the game.<\/p>\n
Grade: A.\u00a0Conroy established a very fair market price for rental defencemen with his first move of the 2025-26 season. Beyond adding two high picks and arguably Vegas\u2019s top defence prospect, Conroy managed to swap out one valuable right-handed defender for another, potentially setting the stage for a highly lucrative Whitecloud trade in the future.<\/p>\n
Feb. 2, 2026: Jeremie Poirier to Dallas<\/p>\n
Flames receive:\u00a0D Gavin White
Stars receive: D Jeremie Poirier<\/p>\n
After bursting onto the scene with the Wranglers back in 2022-23, Poirier\u2019s game fell off a little bit in each subsequent season, and so did his odds of ever cracking the Flames\u2019 lineup. But it still came as a bit of a surprise when the 2020 third-round pick mustered up just one goal and six points in his first 35 games of the season with the Wranglers in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
That, plus the Wranglers\u2019 logjam on the left side, all but spelled the end of Poirier\u2019s tenure with the Flames, either through a trade or the team simply not offering him a new contract<\/a>. And on Groundhog Day, the first possibility came to fruition, with the Flames sending Poirier to Dallas for fellow 23-year-old rearguard Gavin White, who shoots right and is also on an expiring contract.<\/p>\n Grade: C-plus. Poirier clearly wasn\u2019t long for Calgary, and it\u2019s entirely possible he would\u2019ve left for nothing as a non-tendered RFA in the summer, but White hasn\u2019t exactly moved the needle for the Wranglers. Not a big deal, though.<\/p>\n Olli Maatta\u2019s ice time has nearly doubled since the Flames acquired him from Utah in the MacKenzie Weegar trade. Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Mar. 4, 2026: MacKenzie Weegar to Utah<\/p>\n Flames receive:\u00a0D Olli Maatta, C Jonathan Castagna, UTA 2026 2nd, NYR 2026 2nd, OTT 2026 2nd Not many people expected the Flames to move Weegar so soon after they traded Andersson, but that\u2019s exactly what happened with just two days to go until the trade deadline. One of multiple trades reported before the players involved had decided whether to waive their no-trade clauses, the Weegar deal ultimately went through after he consented to go to Utah \u2014 and, in turn, once Maatta agreed to come to Calgary.<\/p>\n Utah\u2019s prospect cupboards are pretty stocked, which led Flames fans to fantasize about getting Dmitry Simashev, Daniil But, or even Tij Iginla as part of the trade return. In the end, they didn\u2019t even get a first-round pick. But they did get three seconds, as well as top Cornell centre Jonathan Castagna, and they didn\u2019t have to retain any salary on the final five years of Weegar\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n The real wild card is Maatta, who fell out of favour in Utah but has been a very good pro throughout his long NHL career. After watching Weegar struggle to stay afloat and lose morale in real time in Calgary this season, it\u2019s been a nice change of pace to see Maatta fly around out there with seemingly boundless energy. The 6\u20192\u2033 Finn has three assists in his first four games with the Flames while averaging 23:20 of ice time, a full 11 minutes more than he played with the Mammoth.<\/p>\n Grade: B-plus. It\u2019s easy to say the Flames could\u2019ve pushed to get a first-rounder, but you have to respect the EA NHL GM Mode energy of Conroy clearing out all of Utah\u2019s 2026 seconds, especially considering how valuable that Rangers pick will be.<\/p>\n Deadline day: Ryan Strome to Calgary<\/p>\n Flames receive:\u00a0C Ryan Strome It looked like it was going to be a quiet trade deadline day for the Flames until shortly after 1:00 p.m. MT, when the first reports started to trickle out to indicate that they had something cooking. And while news of the Nazem Kadri trade would come later \u2014 much later \u2014 the Strome trade certainly seemed to indicate that the Flames might\u2019ve already succeeded in moving a centre.<\/p>\n Strome, like Maatta, had found himself without a regular spot in the Ducks\u2019 lineup for much of the 2025-26 season. But he\u2019s a very capable NHL centre who can play in a variety of roles on basically any team.\u00a0FlamesNation\u00a0editor emeritus Kent Wilson observed on a recent After Burner\u00a0show that Strome could follow in the footsteps of Matt Stajan in Calgary as a versatile and respected veteran who assists in the development of a new, younger core. He\u2019s certainly made a good first impression since the trade, with a goal and four points in four games with the Flames.<\/p>\n With one year left on his contract at a $5 million cap hit, Strome could prove to be a nice little trade asset for the Flames at next year\u2019s deadline. At this rate, they\u2019d likely get more than they gave up for him. But it might also make sense to look into extending Strome for another year or two to help insulate the likes of Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter as they break into the Flames\u2019 pro ranks.<\/p>\n Grade: A-minus. Talk about a shrewd bet. Strome is a seven-time 40-point scorer with 900 games of NHL experience. At a deadline where veteran centres were going for high picks left and right, the Flames managed to buy one as a distressed asset for the lowest possible cost. If they retain, they should get way more than they paid for Strome next year.<\/p>\n Deadline day: Brennan Othmann to Calgary<\/p>\n Flames receive:\u00a0LW Brennan Othmann While we waited to hear whether the Flames had, in fact, moved Nazem Kadri, it came out that they\u2019d made a relatively minor prospect-for-prospect deal with the Rangers. It\u2019s not the first time that\u2019s happened \u2014 remember the Roman Horak\/Tim Erixon deal? \u2014 but it came as a bit of a surprise, in part because of how infrequently the Flames and Rangers have historically dealt with one another.<\/p>\n Heading to New York? Jacob Battaglia, a second-round pick of the Flames in 2024 who followed up an excellent 2024-25 OHL season with a disappointing step back this year. Coming to Calgary? Brennan Othmann, who is three years older and already has 42 NHL games under his belt. He\u2019s also a former first-rounder who has much of the same goal-scoring ability and aggressiveness as the player he was traded for. Othmann has already played in two games with the Wranglers, picking up an assist, and will likely make his Flames debut relatively soon.<\/p>\n Grade: B.\u00a0As difficult as it must\u2019ve been to trade Battaglia less than a year after signing him to his ELC, the Flames did well in swapping a prospect in the midst of a down year for a similar (but more proven) young player. The only real risk? If Othmann can\u2019t hack it in the next year or so, he\u2019ll probably be gone just as Battaglia is turning pro.<\/p>\n Deadline day: Nazem Kadri to Colorado<\/p>\n Flames receive:\u00a0LW Victor Olofsson, C Max Curran, COL 2028 1st, COL or MIN 2027 2nd Finally, just about an hour after the deadline passed, Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman tweeted out those immortal words<\/a>: \u201cNazem Kadri back to the Colorado Avalanche.\u201d Once that happened, all the pieces really started clicking into place. Kadri out, Strome in. Kadri out, retention spots filled. Kadri out, more picks in?<\/p>\n In the end, the Flames got more for the 35-year-old centre than virtually anyone in Calgary anticipated. They managed to recoup the first-round pick they gave up to clear space to sign Kadri in the first place, and on top of that, they got another second-rounder, the rights to prospect Max Curran, and pending UFA winger Victor Olofsson.<\/p>\n The Flames had to retain 20 percent of Kadri\u2019s salary to move him, as was generally expected, but they shouldn\u2019t have any trouble fitting that dead cap hit into their payroll for the next three seasons after this one. If anything, it\u2019s a little surprising they didn\u2019t have to retain more. In the end, the Flames traded one of their oldest players to the team he desperately wanted to return to in exchange for an impressive windfall.<\/p>\n Grade: A-plus. Even beyond the magnitude of the return, the trade sent a crystal-clear message that this rebuild is for real. It\u2019s exactly what Flames fans have been dying to hear. Perfectly done, no notes, long live the rebiggle.<\/p>\n PRESENTED BY VIVID SEATS![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773531008_984_image.jpeg\"\/)
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Mammoth receive:\u00a0D MacKenzie Weegar<\/p>\n
Ducks receive:\u00a0CGY 2027 7th<\/p>\n
Rangers receive: RW Jacob Battaglia<\/p>\n
Avalanche receive:\u00a0C Nazem Kadri (20% retained), CGY 2027 4th<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773531008_377_image.webp\"\/)
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