Flames shock NHL with Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman trade decisions
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Flames shock NHL with Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman trade decisions originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Calgary Flames had Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman involved in NHL trade rumors right up until Friday's deadline day.
And then, nothing.
Neither Kadri nor Coleman was traded. They both remain with the Flames.
It's not the worst thing ever, because both players still have time remaining on their contracts beyond this season.
They just don't seem to fit the contention timeline in Calgary, so it's a surprise they're still around, at least a little bit.
There's one reason to make sense of most of it, though.
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Why didn't the Flames trade Nazem Kadri or Blake Coleman?
This comes down to money, in reverse of how you normally think of it at the trade deadline.
Kadri and Coleman both have hefty contracts, and the Flames apparently didn't want to retain money (meaning they pay part of a salary for the acquiring team).
NHL insider Marco D'Amico reported on Friday morning:
"Nazem Kadri front, ownership is unwilling to retain on his deal, which significantly limits the market for him. Believed that the Flames had a deal in place with the Avalanche, but with retention taken off the table, the Avs pivoted to Nic Roy. Tough spot for Craig Conroy."
It's not clear if that same thinking applied to Coleman, but it very well may have.
And that makes the math a lot tougher for any acquiring team than if up to 50% of the salary is retained.
So the Flames still have their two veteran forwards, at least until the summer.