"Great person": Calgary Flames sad to see Chris Tanev traded
The trade deadline is never an easy time of year for NHLers, and that is currently evident for the Calgary Flames.
The Flames sent Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night in exchange for defenceman prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional third-round pick in 2026. While the 34-year-old was expected to be dealt, that hasn’t made the situation any easier for his teammates.
“It’s a sad day,” Rasmus Andersson told reporters after today’s practice. “We all love Chris in here. Just a great person — great leader to have on our team. I honestly can’t say enough good things about Chris. We’ll miss him for sure.”
While tough for all Flames players, there may not be anyone more impacted by the move than Jacob Markstom. The two both joined the Flames together as free agents in 2020, after having spent parts of seven seasons together with the Vancouver Canucks.
“It’s a void, for sure,” Markstrom said. “Having him for 10 or 11 years as a teammate, I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but for me he’s the ultimate teammate. He’s my favourite player I’ve ever played with and I think ever will play with. He made my job a lot easier, and I think it’s every goalie’s dream to have a player like that.”
Tanev is also a player coaches dream of having, as he is extremely effective while playing a risk-free game. Ryan Huska was able to depend on him a lot in his first season as an NHL head coach, and he’ll certainly miss having him in the lineup. That said, he sees this as great opportunity for others to step up and make an impact.
“It’s an opportunity for people, let’s be quite honest,” Huska explained. “There’s certain guys that die for more ice time, and there’s certain guys that [work] to get themselves in the lineup. Whether it be an injury or someone’s removed from your team because of a trade, this is an opportunity for people. This is their chance to show, ‘I deserve more minutes than what I’m getting’, or, ‘I deserve to be in the lineup on a regular basis.'”
Based on pairings at today’s practice, Oliver Kylington will be getting a big opportunity to do that, as he was skating alongside Rasmus Andersson. The same can be said for Jordan Oesterle, who appears to be drawing in after having sat out the past 11 games as a healthy scratch. The first opportunity for both will come tomorrow night, as the Flames are set to go up against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is set for 8 pm MT.
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