Flames' Blake Coleman trade update suggests one clear outcome before NHL deadline

Flames' Blake Coleman trade update suggests one clear outcome before NHL deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Calgary Flames have two forwards clearly entrenched in trade rumors as the NHL's March 6 trade deadline approaches.

Blake Coleman, based on the latest indication, may be most likely to be traded, while Nazem Kadri is in the picture, too.

Coleman's latest update comes from Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin, and it's a potent one. Larkin put together a trade board with all the possibilities of players who might get traded in the next week. He ranked it by likelihood to be traded. And right at the top, most likely to be traded, he has Coleman.

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That certainly suggests that in a week's time, Coleman will be wearing a different uniform.

"He’s a proven two-time Stanley Cup winner who can deliver 20 goals, occasionally more, while assisting on the penalty kill and playing a feisty, physical game," Larkin writes. "What contender wouldn’t want him for third-line and PK1 work? The Flames could always sit on him a year and move him as a rental next season, but the demand for his services should be sufficient this year."

Maybe the most intriguing outcome for Coleman would be a return to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have been linked to a reunion with him. Coleman won those two Stanley Cups with the Bolts, and going back would be a fitting move.

The Lightning will be far from alone in their pursuit of Coleman, though, and the Flames will also be seeking the best possible return. 

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Especially if Calgary plans to trade both Coleman and Kadri, they've got to get these moves right so as not to hamper their future too greatly.

At this rate, it sounds like Coleman's name will be near the front of the rumors until, not if but when, something happens.

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