The Calgary Flames continue to sell as they have now traded Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars for a 2024 second-round pick, a conditional 2026 third-round pick (contingent on the Stars advancing to the Stanley Cup Final), and prospect Artem Grushnikov. The Flames are also retaining 50 percent of Tanev’s salary. The New Jersey Devils were also involved in the deal as they will receive a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Stars to retain a further 50 percent of Tanev’s salary and will send the rights to unsigned goaltender Cole Brady to the Stars.
The veteran defenceman has been a hot commodity leading up to the trade deadline as his style is perfect for the grind of the playoffs. Still one of the best defensive defencemen in the NHL, he has created a reputation around the league as a fearless shotblocker, elite penalty killer and strong personality in the dressing room. It’s no wonder contenders and playoff hopefuls were lining up to acquire him.
Stars Strengthen Their Blue Line
Despite being 34 years old, Tanev has not withered away and become a footnote at the bottom of the Flames’ lineup. No, he’s still averaging 19:40 a night in the top-four and is a massive part of the first-unit penalty kill, leading all players with 146:00 of shorthanded ice time. He also remains one of the top shot blockers in the NHL with 171 on the season already, which ranks him second in the league behind Nick Seeler’s 175. In other words, it’s not a surprise that the Stars wanted him on their team going into the playoffs.
Tanev will probably play a lesser role on the Stars but still provide the same presence on the blue line. He will boost their penalty kill, which is already fifth in the league and complement any defence partner he’s aligned with. It remains to be seen whether he’s a rental or not, as he’s in the final year of a four-year contract he signed with the Flames in the 2020 offseason worth $4.5 million average annual value (AAV).
The other piece of the trade, Brady, was a fifth-round pick of the Devils in 2019 and is currently playing in the NCAA with UMass. He probably wasn’t going to be signed by the Devils, so he’s basically just a throw-in to help facilitate the deal.
With the Flames getting Andrei Kuzmenko, a first-round pick and a couple of prospects in the Elias Lindholm trade, it wasn’t clear whether the Flames were going for a rebuild or simply a retool. They still have solid players in Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane, and could turn around their fortunes pretty quickly with the right moves.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
The Flames wanted a first-round pick for Tanev, that’s why he was not included in the deal for Lindholm. General manager Craig Conroy didn’t end up getting that from the Stars, but a second-round pick is almost as good, and he even got a solid prospect as well. Grushnikov was selected 48th overall by the Stars in the 2021 Draft and is currently in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Texas Stars where he has one goal and five points in 44 games. With the Flames trading away Tanev and possibly losing Noah Hanifin as well, they will need defence in the future. They already got two defensive prospects in Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo in the Lindholm trade, so adding Grushnikov just further strengthens their prospect pool, which isn’t very deep when it comes to defencemen.
All in all, the Stars got stronger on the blue line with arguably the best shotblocker in the NHL. His presence will be immediately felt in the playoffs and could end up being one of the more underrated moves of the deadline when all is said and done. As for the Flames, Conroy increased his draft capital going into the 2024 Draft as well as strengthened his farm system which has been lacking in quality defensive prospects.
