The Rasmus Andersson sweepstakes are heating up, and one team appears to be in the “driver’s seat” early on.
Though the Calgary Flames defenceman suited up for a showdown against the New York Islanders on Saturday, trade talks for the blueliner haven’t slowed down, and the Boston Bruins appear to be the team in control so far, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“The team that appears to be in the driver’s seat — though nothing is done until it’s done — is Boston,” Friedman said on Hockey Day in Canada’s Saturday Headlines segment. “Boston is very serious about its offer, and nobody’s confirming or denying this, but I believe they are the only team that has been given permission to talk to Andersson and I do believe they’ve done some pretty serious extension talks.”
While the Bruins have apparently been allowed to talk to Andersson’s representation about a possible extension, Friedman clarified that they’re not interested in the blueliner without an extension.
Andersson is in the final year of a six-year, $27.3 million contract signed back in 2020 and is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer — a possibility the Bruins don’t want to have to plan for.
-
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
Latest episode
As it stands, the Bruins appear to have the most attractive offer on the table for the Flames after they canvassed the league to get an idea of a market for Andersson.
According to Friedman, they called around to “a bunch of teams that were interested or other teams that maybe they hadn’t heard as much from yet, and they said, ‘We wanna decide if we’re gonna proceed with this, so we want everybody’s most serious offer.'”
While teams like the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs were mentioned as part of that conversation, Boston appears to be the leader in the early goings. But making sure he doesn’t reach the open market remains their priority, as another team may be lurking in the wings should he be available in the summer, with the Vegas Golden Knights leading that race.
“Vegas is there, it’s not believed that their offer is as strong as Boston’s, but that’s for now. It can always change,” Friedman said. “But the thing that Vegas has is that they like Andersson and he likes them. I don’t think Vegas is worried at all that if they can trade for him or he got to the summer, they would have a great chance to get him. But right now, their offer is not seen, from what I’m hearing, as strong.”
Should Andersson head to either Vegas or Boston, he’ll get a chance to reunite with former Flames teammates Noah Hanifin or Elias Lindholm, respectively.
After Saturday’s win over the Islanders, the 29-year-old has 10 goals and 20 assists in 48 games in his 10th season in Calgary.
