CALGARY – It certainly feels like the end of the Rasmus Andersson era in Calgary.
The end of one of the more successful draft and development stories in Flames history.
Just over a decade after drafting the chubby defenseman out of Malmo with a second-round pick acquired for Sven Baertschi, the Flames are clearly on the precipice of pulling the trigger on a trade to cash out on the 29-year-old defenceman.
Like Joe Nieuwendyk’s trade for Jarome Iginla, the Flames’ hope is that even in trade Andersson continues to help the club he’s dedicated his career to.
His is a legacy he can feel good about, as he’s always done well to show just how much this city and organization have meant to him and his family.
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Unlike most of the Flames’ trades the last few years, he’s not itching to leave.
It’s simply time, as the pending UFA doesn’t fit into the Flames’ rebuild timeline.
The timing is perfect, as a glut of teams are clamouring for a top right-shot defender, he’s playing the best hockey of his career, and the Flames have done well to demonstrate they aren’t playoff material.
Craig Conroy’s patience – the GM’s biggest asset – is poised to serve the club well once again.
Nothing will re-energize the hybuild (hybrid rebuild) as much as the return Andersson is sure to fetch, which is bound to include, at the very least, a first-round draft pick, and a first-round prospect who is already contributing at the pro level.
Quite predictably, the list of teams rumoured to be interested grows daily.
And if Tuesday’s game in Columbus was his last as a Flame, what an exclamation mark it was on his 10 seasons with the club.
A fight that turned the game around, followed by a goal that tied the event, Andersson can look in the mirror and be proud that in this incredible bounce-back season he went down swinging.
Every possible suitor in the league saw it – his 10th goal, and the team’s emotional response to his fifth NHL fight – a battle he initiated despite putting his Olympic participation and trade status in peril.
A minute-munching shutdown defender who is on the verge of shattering career highs for goals and points, there’s nothing he won’t do for his team.
He and the Flames have played this perfectly, all along.
Playing the final 12 games last season with a broken fibula said plenty about his character, giving his new employer one of the many intangibles they are looking for as they try to piece together a playoff winner.
As if his play hasn’t done enough talking, the manner in which he’s conducted himself throughout this season of potential tumult surely has, as the alternate captain is about so much more than what he brings on the ice.
His status as a pending trade piece since last summer has not been a distraction.
In fact, the man who finished minus-38 last season has been one of the team’s best stories of the season, earning him a spot on the Swedish Olympic team while skyrocketing the respect of his teammates.
“I give him a lot of credit, as he’s just all in,” marvelled Blake Coleman, who is a trade-piece column for another day.
“Obviously, he’s playing for a contract as well, but he hasn’t been a distraction to our team. In fact, he’s been a reason why we were actually climbing in the standings.
“I would say he’s playing the best that I’ve seen him play as a Flame since I got here.
“I think we’ve had situations in the past where, you know, it did become loud and a distraction, and guys weren’t fully in anymore, and it’s hard to play that way when you don’t have the guy next to you fully committed. So, I give him a ton of credit, and I hope that everything works out for him.”
As Coleman’s recent upper body injury, and a few blocked-shot scares for Andersson, have made clear, the hockey gods have certainly been warning the Flames of the dangers of keeping their biggest trade assets in the lineup for too long.
With every right hook Andersson threw at Boone Jenner on Tuesday came the possibility of a broken hand, or worse, which could’ve stymied the trade haul Conroy has been eyeing for months.
With a self-imposed Olympic trade freeze as the Flames’ deadline to resolve Andersson’s fate, it just seems natural for the deal to be consummated soon.
The living tributes started pouring in Wednesday morning on Sportsnet FAN 960, as hosts asked for fans’ favourite memories of No. 4.
They spoke of his ill-fated fight with Darnell Nurse in rookie camp, his mockery exchange with Tom Wilson, his hatred for all things Edmonton, his long-distance playoff snipe on Mike Smith, his goal and Yuletide stares, and his relationship with Andrew Mangiapane and Johnny Gaudreau all came up.
The love-in continues, as do the trade talks.
Now is the time to rip off the band-aid.
The team is regressing on the ice and in the standings, heir apparent Zayne Parekh is nearing a return, this club needs to start leaning into this lost season with a longer-term focus, and Andersson has earned a shot with a contender, not to mention a shiny new deal.
As much as it will hurt the current club and its morale, it’s the perfect ending for everyone.
