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Rasmus Andersson is one of the more important players on the Calgary Flames' roster — but the Swedish defenseman might not be long for Alberta. With one year remaining on his contract, it appears there's a significant bridge to gap in extension negotiations between player and club.
As Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported earlier this week, the two sides are currently not on the same page regarding what Andersson's next contract should look like.
“Flames and Rasmus Andersson's camp shared $ figures recently and it's fair to say they're not on the same page, as expected,” the hockey insider wrote on Friday. “Calgary is happy to keep him and auction arguably the premier right-shot D option at the deadline. But he's also available now.”
The 28-year-old — who managed 11 goals and 31 points in 81 games in 2024-25 — has been usurped on the top powerplay unit by MacKenzie Weegar, and has seen his offensive output drop off because of it.
Andersson's best season came back in 2021-22, when he played a full 82-game slate and amassed 50 points in the process. His point totals have slowly declined every season since.
Here's what Seravalli had to say about the veteran, while including him at No. 7 on his latest trade board:
“The Flames and Andersson’s camp were expected to trade numbers last week for the first time to see what an extension might look like. The tenor of those talks will determine what happens next. Fish or cut bait? Andersson presents great trade value, even after a relatively down year, for a right-shooting defenseman with an edge, double-digit goal scoring ability and a very reasonable cap hit.
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“The Flames aren’t in a rush. They’d have no problem hanging onto him until the trade deadline to potentially watch his stock rise even higher.”
Flames might not make a Rasmus Andersson decision this summer
Even if the Flames can't bridge the gap with Andersson over the offseason, they're in no rush to make a decision. Calgary could allow the blue liner to begin the season without an extension and potentially move him at the deadline.
Andersson is currently playing on a team-friendly deal that carries a $4.55 million AAV. Although he's coming off a bit of a down year, his next contract will almost certainly eclipse the $5 million mark.
The former Barrie Colt is still an excellent all-around defenseman, and he's no stranger to playing upwards of 24 minutes per night. At this point, it could make sense for both sides to wait things out and see if his performance at the beginning of the 2025-26 campaign might help to shrink the gap.
It'll be interesting to see if general manager Craig Conroy ends up getting an offer he can't refuse this summer, or whether Andersson will still be part of the team's plans when training camp kicks off in September.
