Flames reportedly make former Stanley Cup champion available for trade
June 22nd was a day to forget for fans of the Calgary Flames. The day started with a trio of tweets from insider Frank Seravalli stating that Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund won't be re-signing with the team when they become unrestricted free agents in July 2024.
Just hours later, another development has arisen, this time with former Stanley Cup champion Tyler Toffoli. According to Frank Seravalli, Toffoli also does not plan on re-signing with the Calgary Flames next summer.
I'm told Tyler Toffoli also plans on not re-signing in Calgary." Seravalli said.
Just a few minutes later, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman added even more fuel to the fire, saying that the Calgary Flames have made Tyler Toffoli available for trade.
The 31-year-old is coming off the best season of his career where he set new highs in goals, assists and points. In 82 games, the Scarborough native had 73 points (34 goals, 39 assists), 28 penalty minutes and was a plus-16.
This news must be incredibly frustrating for the Flames and their fans. While it was probably inevitable that at least one of these four players were going to walk and become a UFA next summer, no one could've imaged that all four wouldn't want to re-sign.
The franchise's direction is now unclear. Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar are set to begin their eight-year extensions next season, while Nazem Kadri is under contract for another six years. It seems unlikely that newly-appointed general manager Craig Conroy will want to rebuild, but it's possible that, if they do indeed lose these four key pieces, they may have to go through a bit of a retool.
| POLL | ||
Who do you think will get traded by the Flames first? | ||
| Tyler Toffoli | 285 | 47 % |
| Noah Hanifin | 176 | 29 % |
| Elias Lindholm | 109 | 18 % |
| Mikael Backlund | 37 | 6.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
