Flames insider predicts Rasmus Andersson to be on the move with Leafs link
During a recent episode of Flames Talk, Calgary Flames insider Eric Francis predicts that Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson will be on the move either this trade deadline or next year's which could hold a Leafs connection.
With the Flames organization struggling to keep players in their ranks, Andersson is the final player remaining from the Matthew Tkachuk - Johnny Gaudreau era. He currently holds two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.75 million per season.
So again, Andersson will be traded. The only question is, is it this trade deadline? I think it will be, because I think that the team will be clearly out of a playoff race at that point in time, and it will be time to cash in big time.
I'm not at all convinced that Rasmus Andersson would want to stay in Calgary long-term.
I'm not at all convinced that Rasmus Andersson would want to stay in Calgary long-term.
Francis feels that with the situation the Flames are in it's likely that Rasmus will reach out to General manager Craig Conroy to seek out a trade as it's painfully clear that the flames are going through a full rebuild phase.
»So many other veterans last year, many of them fellow Swedes, decided they didn't want to be part of this rebuild. If things go sideways, the first couple months that frustration might get pretty old pretty quick. And it's easy to look at your buddies in all these other cities: Lindholm's in Boston, I'm pretty sure they're going to have a pretty good year. His buddy Hanifin is in Vegas. Pretty sure they're gonna have a good year.
Start to look around at where all these guys are. They were seeking greener pastures and for the most part they got it. They've all kind of landed in spots where the team has got a better short-term future ahead of them including this year.
So after a couple of months, I wouldn't be surprised if Rasmus went to management and said, you know, I'm not sure that I can do this any longer. I know you're going to trade me next year, why don't you trade me this year.
That's the way I kind of see it happening.»
Start to look around at where all these guys are. They were seeking greener pastures and for the most part they got it. They've all kind of landed in spots where the team has got a better short-term future ahead of them including this year.
So after a couple of months, I wouldn't be surprised if Rasmus went to management and said, you know, I'm not sure that I can do this any longer. I know you're going to trade me next year, why don't you trade me this year.
That's the way I kind of see it happening.»
The Leafs hold connection to this player as general manager Brad Treliving was the man in charge at the time when Rasmus joined the team. It's also likely the Maple Leafs would be seeking out a veteran defenseman at the trade deadline to bolster their lineup and a player like Andersson would be a huge benefit, as he plays 24 minutes a game and could help alleviate minutes from a player like Timothy Liljegren who has struggled especially come playoff time.
There's a possibility that the Maple Leafs could send a package including Liljegren to Calgary in exchange for Andersson as he holds a cap hit of $3,000,000 per season.
Andersson could be the defenseman the Leafs are looking for to help put them over the top.
Source: HockeyDB
Rasmus Andersson Statistics
Rasmus Andersson Statistics
| POLL | ||
3 SEPTEMBRE | 45 ANSWERS Flames insider predicts Rasmus Andersson to be on the move with Leafs link Should the Maple Leafs acquire Rasmus Andersson from the Flames? | ||
| Yes | 33 | 73.3 % |
| No | 12 | 26.7 % |
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