The Flames are in a tough spot with one of their top defenceman. Rasmus Andersson has grown and developed into a very solid top-four defenceman for the team and is regularly relied upon in every situation for the Flames. The problem though, is Andersson will be entering the last year of his current contract next season, and the Flames are in a retool/rebuild. Andersson will be 30 years old once his new contract kicks in, and he will likely command at least an $8M by eight-year deal. With the current players that the Flames have on the books and the current direction of the franchise, what should the Flames do with Rasmus Andersson? We asked, you answered.
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What should the Flames do with Andersson?
We presented the below poll to our readers.
What should the #Flames do with Rasmus Andersson?
— The Win Column (@wincolumnCGY) January 4, 2025
Trade Andersson
If we are following the rules of asset management, it would make sense to trade him while his value is at its highest. That time would be right now, as teams would be salivating to acquire a defenceman of his calibre for more than one year at just $4.55M. A slight majority of our readers agree with this approach.
Andersson would fetch the Flames a solid return which would help them restock their cupboards during their retool/rebuild. The Flames would still have a star defenceman in MacKenzie Weegar on the team, and they would also have Kevin Bahl and Brayden Pachal who have both been very serviceable defenceman for the team.
Sure, neither is as good as Rasmus Andersson, but they are still players who will be able to provide value on the ice for the Flames. Keeping Andersson may keep the Flames in the mushy middle, and waiting until next year would result in the Flames not getting as strong of a return.
Sign Andersson long-term
Andersson has been a vital player for the Flames for a long time, there is no denying that. He has grown into a valuable leader on and off the ice and has always been a reliable defenceman on the ice. Is it worth trading someone of that value away? Many fans seem to think these are traits that should be kept on the roster.
On paper, some may look at the Flames defensive group as a little shallow. There are two extremely solid players in Weegar and Andersson, two players who are surpassing their expectations in Bahl and Pachal, and then Bean and Hanley. No disrespect to the other players, but Weegar and Andersson are a tier (or two) above the rest. Righthanded defencemen of Andersson’s stature don’t come around too often, which might be why a lot of fans don’t want to see him go.
Wait until next year
Do we truly know who the Flames are yet? Do we know what direction they actually will be going? The Flames were looked at as a bottom-five team coming into this season, and they are currently one point out of a playoff spot.
We may not know whether this team is even going to bottom out or if they will be playoff contenders until next year. Some may believe that is the time when Andersson should be traded—when the Flames truly know whether they have something worth building on or if they need a deeper roster reset.
Flames will need to decide
At some point, the team will need to know whether Andersson is staying or going, and we know that Conroy won’t ket him get to free agency. The question is whether Conroy is comfortable picking a choice this season, or he will push it to next year.
