A salary cap rule may make it hard for Flames to trade both Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri
A salary cap rule may make it hard for Flames to trade both Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Calgary Flames are heavily involved in trade rumors as a seller, given their status well outside the playoff picture.
Advertisement
Two big forward names are out there: Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman. But a salary cap rule could make it tough for them to trade both.
The NHL only gives a finite amount of spots for teams to retain salary in a trade (meaning they pay a portion of the salary so the acquiring team has less on their books). The Flames only have one spot left.
If teams going after Kadri and Coleman all want salary retained as part of the trade, the Flames couldn’t do that for both guys.
“Complicating things: The Flames have only one slot to retain salary, after keeping a percentage in the Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Markstrom trades,” wrote ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski in a new article on Thursday. “If they use that for Kadri, they couldn’t use it on Coleman.”
Advertisement
MORE: Sidney Crosby breaks silence on injury, Olympics and rest of Penguins’ season
That then could raise the question for the Flames of, if they only have one guy they end up trading, which would they rather deal?
Both have a no-trade list, but not a full no-movement clause.
“Kadri is another ‘last piece’ guy as a second-line two-way center with snarl, which is what he provided the Colorado Avalanche in winning the Stanley Cup in 2022,” Wyshynski writes. “The 35-year-old makes $7 million against the cap annually through 2028-29. He has a 13-team no-trade list but didn’t exactly shoot down reports that he would be open to working with the Flames to facilitate a swap. Calgary loves what Kadri brings to the team, but the time might have come to maximize his return.”
Advertisement
Coleman has won two Stanley Cups in his career, both with the Lightning.
“The 34-year-old forward has two years left at $4.9 million annually, and a 10-team no-trade clause,” Wyshynski writes. “He has 13 goals in 44 games and can help kill penalties.”
Keep an eye on these Calgary negotiations, because they almost have to happen in tandem due to the salary retaining implications.