Flames waiting on answer from Hanifin before making a trade: report
The sale has begun for the Calgary Flames, though a decision on whether or not to move Noah Hanifin has yet to be made.
This past week, general manager Craig Conroy moved one of his big three pending UFAs, trading Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks for Andrei Kuzmenko and several other pieces. Rumours are ramping up on Chris Tanev as well, indicating that he could be moved any day. If that happens, it will be just Hanifin remaining.
“They want an answer from Hanifin,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Friday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. “I would suspect that they’ve asked for it in the near future, and [have] just said, ‘Hey, are you staying or are you going?’ If he’s leaving, they have to go out and start putting him out there. I think that is something they’ve asked Hanifin to decide over the break, or in the very near future.”
While the majority of the Flames fanbase has been on board all season long with the idea of trading Lindholm and Tanev, Hanifin has been a little more divisive. The reasoning is that he just recently turned 27, meaning that even with a long-term extension, he should continue to provide plenty of value for plenty of time moving forward. In 49 games this season, he has eight goals and 25 points while averaging a massive 23:30 minutes of ice time.
The Flames do still have a bit of time here, though the clock is ticking. The trade deadline is March 8, leaving just over a month to search for a deal should they go that route. If they do, expect plenty of teams to show interest in the Boston-born defenceman.
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