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7 Wingers Linked to Team Ahead of 2023 Trade Deadline

Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis Blues

The trade deadline need for the Calgary Flames this season is fairly simple. They need a top-six winger who can score to help turn the tide of the season. They are also not looking for much more than a rental player considering the new large contracts of Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar that are going to kick in next season. This leaves them with a number of options still to choose from.

The Flames have salary cap to work with as teams can retain up to 50 percent on a player. Calgary could also put Oliver Kylington on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and free up an additional $2.5 million for the remainder of the season. He has been apart from the team all season and it is still not clear whether he will be returning this season. If there isn’t any clarity within the next month, we can assume the Flames are going to go ahead and make a big addition or two to put themselves at the cap and have the best chance at making the playoffs and winning.

Related: Flames Should Trade Kylington at the Deadline or This Summer


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In the spirit of looking at every angle, here are seven wingers that the Flames have been either linked to, have shown interest in, or who make sense this season.

Vladimir Tarasenko

I’ll start with the potentially most impactful player that the Flames could acquire as a rental this season, Vladimir Tarasenko. The St. Louis Blues are not in a good place this season and have been wildly inconsistent. There is a major drop-off from 2021-22 from most of their players, and they are looking to trade their unrestricted free agents (UFA) so there can be a reset in the summer.

Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Tarasenko is their top UFA and is not going to re-sign in St. Louis, but keep in mind he has a full no-trade clause and controls his future. There has been a rift for a while ever since comments released that he was not happy to not be named captain. The Blues’ winger has just 10 goals and 29 points in 38 games on the season after a career year points-wise in 2021-22 with 82. With not many positives in St. Louis this season, Tarasenko could pick up his scoring like he has done his entire career. He has scored 33 or more goals in six seasons. Despite having a cap hit of $7.5 million, it won’t be much of an issue to acquire the Blues’ sniper. As for the cost, the Flames still have their first-round pick available.

Tyler Bertuzzi

Tyler Bertuzzi is in an interesting situation with the…

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