Flames receiving little to no trade interest in Dan Vladar: report
The Calgary Flames may have a tough time opening a path for prospect goalie Dustin Wolf to have a regular NHL role to close out the 2023-24 season.
Fans have been hoping all season long that general manager Craig Conroy could find a way to make room for Wolf, whether that comes from trading Jacob Markstrom or Dan Vladar. The latter felt like the more likely option given their contracts, though based on some recent comments from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, moving him may not be an easy task.
“I’ve just heard there hasn’t been a ton of interest,” Friedman said in regards to a Vladar trade on The Jeff Marek Show.
Though there are some teams in desperate need of goaltending, it is understandable that Vladar doesn’t have much in terms of value right now. Not only has the 26-year-old struggled with a 3.27 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (SV%) in 16 appearances this season, but he also has an underwhelming 2.95 GAA and a .897 SV% through his 71-game career. Those numbers, along with the fact that he has an additional season on his contract with a $2 million cap hit, make him a tricky player to move.
Markstrom, on the other hand, would be much easier to move thanks to the bounce-back season he’s having. That said, moving a $6 million cap hit on a deal that doesn’t expire until 2026 is extremely difficult to pull off midseason. If he does indeed get moved, it is much more likely to happen in the summer.
Unfortunately, this means that Wolf is likely to remain with the Calgary Wranglers for the rest of the season. The 22-year-old is dominating the AHL for the third straight year but is caught up in a logjam, preventing him from becoming a regular at the NHL level. Assuming nothing changes before now and the March 8 trade deadline, this will be an issue for the Flames to figure out in the offseason.
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