Major Name Comes Off the Trade Block Ahead of the Deadline

I'm not sure it's the right move, but it looks like it's happening either way. An insider is reporting that a major name has been pulled off the trade block ahead of the deadline. And it's not just a major name, it's a position that a few teams are after at the moment.

According to Anthony Di Marco, who contributes to both The Fourth Period and TSN, the Calgary Flames have told teams they won't be trading goaltender Jacob Markstrom ahead of the deadline on March 8. He says the team wants to send the right message to the players that are there.

It seems the message management is trying to send is that they aren't going into full rebuild mode, and will instead make tweaks to the roster in order to get back to where they want to be. The Flames can still make the playoffs this year, and trading Markstrom would almost ensure they won't. The Flames are currently five points out of a wild card spot in the Western Conference. At the same time, Calgary did trade defenceman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars yesterday. That was more likely due to the fact that he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2023-24, while Markstrom still has two seasons left on his current contract after this one.

While wanting to send the right message makes sense, there will certainly be regret on GM Craig Conroy's part of the Calgary Flames can't turn things around over the next couple of years. Markstrom is 34 and showing no signs of slowing down yet. However, that could change quickly, and will severely diminish his trade value if it does. There was rumoured interest from the New Jersey Devils in acquiring Markstrom, as well as rumbling about Edmonton, and a couple of other teams.

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