Hanifin "hijacked" Flames trade process which greatly impacted return: report
Calgary Flames fans aren’t thrilled with the return received in the Noah Hanifin trade, but their frustration shouldn’t be towards general manager Craig Conroy.
Conroy had interest from several teams in the 27-year-old defenceman, and may have even had some better offers on the table. Despite only having an eight-team no-trade list, however, Hanifin and his agent were able to have a huge role in where he wound up.
“Noah Hanifin completely and totally hijacked that trade process,” Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said on the Sekeres & Price podcast. “Basically any team that called… and I’m told the Flames had two to three different trades that were nearing the finish line that were scuttled by Hanifin’s camp because invariably the team makes a call to the agent and says, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about trading for this guy, what are the chances we could get him to sign a contract extension?’ And the answer was always, ‘No, he’s not re-signing with you.'”
In the end, it sounds like the Golden Knights are a team Hanifin is open to an extension with. Though one hasn’t been signed, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes indicated on X that it could be coming shortly.
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@StanleyCup Champ @GoldenKnights are still all in on improving their roster ; still in the trade market, and wouldn’t be surprised to see them agree to an 8 Yr Contract Extension in the neighborhood of 7M AAV with newly acquired D Hanifin from @Flames. #HockeyX #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/ka31VS1bdS— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) March 7, 2024
Given the circumstances, the return that Conroy and the Flames received of defenceman Daniil Miromanov, a conditional 2025 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 third-round pick, doesn’t seem as bad as many initially thought. As Seravalli noted, the Flames GM had very little leverage in the situation.
As for Hanifin, Flames fans may not like the way he approached this, but he was within his right to do so. As his now ex-teammate, Blake Coleman, stated today, there are few times in a player’s career when this type of opportunity presents itself. Hanifin simply did what he thought was best for himself, and was able to get traded to a preferred destination as a result.