The Calgary Flames haven’t had nearly as many distractions as they did at this time a year ago.
Before the 2023-24 season even began, there was a ton of chatter over the many pending UFAs they had. Eventually, all aside from Mikael Backlund wound up being traded, but only after months of speculation surrounding them and the Flames as a whole.
This season, general manager Craig Conroy vowed to not have that noise surround his team, and to this point, he’s done a great job with that. It’s been highly beneficial, as the Flames sit second in the Pacific Division with a 12-7-4 record. However, trade speculation is slowly beginning to arise.
Despite being well within a playoff spot at this time, the Flames are still very much a rebuilding team. They have a few pending UFAs who could garner interest at or ahead of the trade deadline, and one that is starting to be discussed is goaltender Dan Vladar.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli recently pointed out that the Colorado Avalanche have a team save percentage (SV%) of just .870 on the season. When asked who he believes they should target, he was quick to mention they don’t have a ton of cap space, making Vladar, who has a $2.2 million cap hit, an intriguing option.
“Why not go get Dan Vladar from the Calgary Flames?” Seravalli asked. “He’s been excellent so far. He’s on our trade targets board. The Flames would be just as happy to go with [Devin] Cooley as the backup to Dustin Wolf for the remainder of this year. Second-round pick, if you are [Avalanche general manager] Chris MacFarland. That’s what it’s going to cost to get Dan Vladar out of Calgary.”
These comments from Seravalli came on Tuesday, prior to Vladar’s start against the Detroit Red Wings last night, where he stopped 25 of 27 shots in the 2-1 overtime loss. He now owns an impressive 2.11 GAA along with a .915 SV% through six starts in November.
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