"Gonna miss Noah": Flames not surprised, but sad to see Hanifin traded
Calgary Flames players were forced to say goodbye to another teammate last night, as Noah Hanifin was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hanifin is the fourth Flames player to be traded this season, as general manager Craig Conroy has also sent out Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, and Chris Tanev. These moves were all expected to happen as the organization looks to retool, but it doesn’t make it any easier for the remaining players to see their teammates and friends head out the door.
“We’re gonna miss Noah,” Rasmus Andersson told reporters this afternoon. “Great teammate, great guy. He [was having] a really good season. It’s the NHL, and if you have less than a year on your contract and you’re not in the playoff picture, that’s usually the reality. Unfortunately we’ve lost two big pieces of our lineup the last few days.”
While the Flames did hope to sign Hanifin to an extension, the two sides were never able to put pen to paper. That may be frustrating to some fans, but players within the room understand it’s nothing personal.
“When you’re friends with somebody, you just want them to do what’s best for them and their family,” said Blake Coleman. “As much as we would selfishly love to have him stay and be here and stay part of the team, they’ve got to make the right decision for them. You don’t get that opportunity in this league very often, so when you do have a little bit of say in the matter, you respect the fact that he’s doing what’s best for his family.”
The loss of Hanifin, as well as Tanev last week, creates some major holes in the Flames’ back end. Conroy did help make up for that by acquiring Daniil Miromanov and claiming Joel Hanley off waivers, both of whom have great opportunities in front of them.
“One guy’s not going to step in and be Noah,” head coach Ryan Huska explained. “We’re not going to ask Dennis [Gilbert], or Jordan [Oesterle], or Hanley to be Noah, that’s not what it is. It’s the six of them. They have to raise their level as a group. I think that’s what our guys have done all year, and I think that’s what they’ll continue to do.”
The Flames will see what life is like without Hanifin tonight, as they are set to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is expected that Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar will play together on the top pairing, while Oliver Kylington and Brayden Pachal will round out the top four. The third pairing will feature Gilbert and Hanley. Those combinations may change throughout the game, as Huska said they are going to tinker with them moving forward to see what works best.
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