The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie speculates as to the future of Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin, who is (probably) on the trading block. The 26-year-old defenseman posted a career-high 48 points in 2021-2022.
This season marks the last year of his 6-year, $4.95 million cap-hit contract, which includes a modified no-trade clause…
But his future in Calgary is far less than certain, yielding a significant amount of speculation as to potential trade partners for the 6’3,” 216-pound defenseman:
As the Flames continue to stand pat with their pending unrestricted free agents with around a month to go before training camp, the team is inching closer and closer to a reality it wanted to avoid: A roster with a handful of players who may still be feeling unsettled as they enter the season, the possibility of the team overachieving and being forced to be stuck with players as it makes a run to the postseason, apotential asset is injured and missing out on any chance of getting any significant return.
The Flames don’t want to put themselves in a position where they get hamstrung with a bad offer. It explains why Conroy has remained as patient as he has and why he will remain so as long as he needs to. But the longer he stands pat, the longer the team dances with those risky scenarios. But the summer, where things remain quiet, is where the Flames can make a move or two to get themselves out of it.
While the team may be willing to wait on players like Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund, there might not be a better time than now to re-engage teams on a Hanifin trade.
On the surface, Hanifin is an enticing player. No, he is not Karlsson or on his level. But he’s a 26-year-old, puck-moving defenceman entering the final year of a contract with a cap hit of $4.95 million. He’s an affordable, top-four defenceman whose best years are ahead and could still be had at a reasonable rate (compared to Karlsson) with a new extension.
As such, McKenzie believes that Nashville and Buffalo might be the ideal landing spots for Hanifin given their salary cap situations, but he also believes that the Red Wings are a solid fit from a salary cap standpoint:
What about teams that we didn’t think of? The Detroit Red Wings come to mind. They have over $7 million in cap space even after acquiring and signing DeBrincat to a new contract this offseason. Detroit has a handful of defencemen including newest signing Shayne Gostisbehere, but landing Hanifin would be a definitive upgrade for them at the position. Also, similarly to Buffalo and Nashville, Detroit is also a playoff aspirant.
McKenzie continues (paywall) and discusses potential returns for Hanifin. He’d cost a top-six forward, a top-four defenseman and/or a 1st round pick and prospect.
That’s a stiff price to pay for a left-shot defenseman, but I could see the Red Wings taking a shot on the left-shot defender, presuming that the team were able to hammer out a deal that would be beneficial to both the Wings and Flames.
