Calgary is destined to take a step back today and dealing their star goalie sooner than later will add more to the future

The Calgary Flames may as well go for it. Not the Stanley Cup, but a full deep, dive into a rebuild.

Having dealt away their four biggest pending unrestricted free agents this season with one middle-six forward and one depth defenceman added their current roster, the Flames have pared down their roster immensely.

As it stands today, with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and the trade deadline coming on Friday, the Flames have moved out a trio of defencemen in Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov, as well as top-line centre Elias Lindholm and brought back forward Andrei Kuzmenko, defenceman Daniil Miromanov, and a whack of picks and prospects. That is legitimately a rebuild.

So, the Flames are best served by trading away number-one goaltender Jacob Markstrom, if not before this year’s deadline, then in the coming summer. The Flames are going to take a step back — with the depth dependant on whether they use a few of those picks to load up on young veterans, think of the Vancouver Canucks acquiring Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings a year ago — and it would be foolish for Calgary’s management to believe they have a playoff team, let alone a Stanley Cup contender, even with Markstrom in the fold.

Markstrom, who has two more years on his contract after this season and a full no-move clause, is not a goaltender for a bottom-feeding club at this point in his career. Not when there are teams with more realistic playoff hopes and expectations in dire need of a puck-stopper. Yep, we’re looking at you, New Jersey Devils, but other squads most certainly will join that list. Just imagine how it will go over if goaltending is the Achilles heel for the Carolina Hurricanes or Los Angeles Kings or Toronto Maple Leafs or Colorado Avalanche.

Having done so much business by Wednesday night, Flames GM Craig Conroy has time to immerse into a Markstrom trade before the clock strikes. The Devils are reportedly deeply interested in acquiring the 34-year-old netminder, and are in Hail Mary territory to be a playoff team this season, with the next two seasons also part of a championship window. Reportedly, a deal was in place only to be nixed by Calgary’s upper management or ownership over salary retention, but New Jersey is now reportedly willing to absorb all of Markstrom’s salary.

Yes, it means waving the white flag, but the Flames must accept a turnaround such as Vancouver’s is a long shot for this club, not with Calgary’s dearth of centres and high-end offensive talent. Also worth noting, the Flames are most best served to finish low enough to get a top-10 pick at the 2025 draft, which would mean handing the Montreal Canadiens the first-round pick from the Florida Panthers instead of their own.

The Flames are destined to fall down the standings. Learn from the ill-fated attempt to rebuild on the fly back in the summer of 2022. Most likely, the Flames will be trying to move Markstrom before his deal expires at the conclusion of the 2005-26 season. Severing ties now, when Markstrom has been at his best, is the best next step.