The most common question among hockey fans in Calgary these days is “What are the Flames going to do at the trade deadline?” Well, the short answer is: that depends. With an unclear forward market and up to five Western Conference contenders looking to load up, a lot could happen before the deadline.
Which forwards will be available?
The big names in the trade market right now are a trio of pending unrestricted free agents: Columbus’ Artemi Panarin and Ottawa’s Matt Duchene and Mark Stone. The Flames’ preference is to obtain (a) a winger that (b) is willing to sign long-term.