After months of rumours and speculation about where the Calgary Flames may trade Rasmus Andersson, the defenceman landed in the spot that seemed most likely all along.
The Flames dealt Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, acquiring Zach Whitecloud, NCAA defenceman Abram Wiebe, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 conditional second-round pick.
"Obviously, we've been talking to teams for quite a while now. There's not many secrets out in the hockey world, it seems like any more," Flames general manager Craig Conroy said while discussing the move Sunday on Flames Talk. "You know if you were online that it was definitely heating up... I think it came to a point where we were looking to make the deal, and looking for the best deal we could at the right time."
While Vegas had long been considered Andersson's desired destination in any trade, other teams around the NHL were rumoured to be in the mix, including the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.
On Saturday night, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Calgary gave the Bruins permission to speak with Andersson — a pending unrestricted free agent — about an extension to help facilitate a trade.
However, Andersson threw a wrench into those plans on Sunday morning, telling the Flames that he was unwilling to sign an extension with any interested teams at this time.
"His agent came to us, and said — which is his right — that 'Hey, we've decided we're not going to sign with any team,'" Conroy said. "So that definitely changes how you're working with teams and what you're trying to get and what teams are going to be involved.
"So, it would've been nice if they were open to signing with a team, but they weren't, and you're trying to make the best deal and help the Calgary Flames."
According to Friedman, the Bruins were one team that was not interested in trading for Andersson without an extension, helping Vegas become the top suitor.
Conroy later added that it's a trade the Flames have been working on for some time and that there were potential deals for the 29-year-old last summer that "didn't go through."
Calgary upped its trade attempts after offering Andersson an extension last summer, which the Swedish D-man turned down.
"Obviously, he had expectations on a contract, but it just wasn't going to work out," Conroy said.
Andersson, who has been with the Flames since being drafted in the second round in 2015, had been Calgary's most relied-upon defenceman this season, averaging 24:14 of ice time over 48 games — a factor that motivated Conroy to get a deal done.
"There's always a chance of injury," the Flames GM explained. "So, we felt the sooner we could get a deal done that we felt comfortable and happy with, we would do it."
Over 10 seasons with the Flames, Andersson ranks among Calgary's all-time leaders in games played (584), goals (57) and points (261) by a defenceman.
As for the return, Conroy said the two draft picks give the Flames "more ammunition" to a growing war chest of picks and young talent.
In recent seasons, Calgary has torn down its roster, trading away the likes of Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Jacob Markstrom, among others, for future assets.
"Everybody likes first-round picks, (but) first-round picks are hard to come by," Conroy said. "You'll see that this year... Last year it felt like a market (where) picks were going like crazy, but you haven't seen that this year."
On the player side of the Flames' acquisitions, Conroy said they liked Whitecloud's "winning pedigree" and see Wiebe filling a hole in their prospect pool for a soon-to-be-ready left-handed defenceman.
With Andersson now dealt, Calgary has a number of assets that could be on the move if its struggles this season continue — it enters Sunday night five points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri figure to be two of the team's most-sought-after trade chips ahead of the trade deadline.
