Flames Fire Sale, Reset & a Whole Ton of Draft Picks

When you look around the NHL these days, it feels like almost everyone is either sprinting toward the playoffs or stubbornly refusing to admit they’re out of the race. Not many teams are truly selling. Calgary, though, has been doing something a little different. The Flames have already started their teardown, and depending on how this offseason goes, they might not be done yet.

During the 2025-26 season, they moved a host of expensive veterans.

Earlier this year, they moved out some pretty big names—Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar all found new homes as Calgary started reshaping things on the fly. That’s a major reset in motion. And the interesting part is, the roster still isn’t finished changing.

Heading into the offseason, there are still plenty of names that could be in play. Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, and Blake Coleman. If the right offer comes along, nothing is guaranteed for these Flames veterans. Right now, in Calgary, almost everything feels at least available for discussion.

The Flames have a very small list of protected players.

As Anthony Di Marco noted, the Flames are reportedly open to moving just about anyone outside of a very short protected list: Dustin Wolf, Matvei Gridin, Matt Coronato, and Zayne Parekh. And that tells fans everything they need to know about where the organization stands.

Wolf is the obvious one. He looks like the foundation piece and the guy you don’t move unless something has gone completely off the rails. Parekh, Coronato, and Gridin are your young core, your hope for the next version of this team. Everyone else? That’s where things get interesting.

The Flames aren’t a contender right now. That’s just reality. But they are in that rare middle space where they actually have something valuable: tradeable assets. Veterans who can help playoff teams. These contracts can still bring back picks. Pieces that matter more to a contender than they do in a rebuild.

The Flames Are Embracing a Rebuild Big Time.

That’s where Calgary could really become a player. They already hold a strong draft position, including a forfeited Vegas second-round pick, which could put them in a position to have seven picks in the top 64. That’s the kind of draft capital that can reshape a franchise if it gets even a couple of strong hits.

The question isn’t really whether Calgary is rebuilding anymore. It’s how aggressive they want to be about it. Because if this offseason goes the way some around the league expect, the Flames might not just be tweaking their roster.

They might be clearing the table completely.