Flames Linked To Blues' Defenseman Ahead Of Trade Deadline

The Calgary Flames have officially kicked off their retool as they traded Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. As the Flames have been stuck in the middle of the pack since the start of last season and because the team has multiple big contracts, it would be tough to go into a full rebuild. They still think they can salvage it, but it would have to take some more trades to bring in players after moving others out.

The Flames got Andrei Kuzmenko back from the Canucks in the Lindholm blockbuster, so they did get a talented NHL player back. But according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Flames have also been linked to Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues ahead of the deadline.

The Blues currently hold the second wildcard spot, but with the team they have right now, they aren't finishing at the bottom of the standings and they also aren't making any noise if they do sneak into a playoff spot. The problem with the Blue is that they have four defenseman under contract with no-trade clauses until 2026. This team doesn't look like they are going to win with all four as their top-four defenseman, and eventually, the Blues need to really figure out who is willing to waive their no-trade clauses and go elsewhere to win.

Parayko is under contract the longest among Justin Faulk, Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, and himself, and is also the youngest. Any team acquiring him would be in it to win with him in the next few years and deal with the back-end of the contract after that. This seems exactly like what the Flames may be already set to do with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, so it makes perfect sense that they would want to replace Chris Tanev/Nikita Zadorov and possibly Noah Hanifin with someone locked in for a while, even if it hurts them down the road. I envision the Flames having a tough rebuild in about 4-5 years, so any trade they are willing to make would help them make an impact right now.