2025 DRAFT

[Ace Rimmer]

I’m just saying, if we were to indeed trade Raz for another 2026 1st, there aren’t too many players on our roster that I wouldn’t be willing to package up with those three 1sts for a shot at a generational talent in Gav Mac.

It's more that the team holding that pick won't want to give up that generational talent either.

 

[Darth Vladar]

It's more that the team holding that pick won't want to give up that generational talent either.

Every GM has a price, and three 1sts would be a good place to start. I’d be throwing in Zary, Honzek, Kerins, anybody not named Coronato or Parekh basically lol I’m sure we would be able to make an offer no GM in his right mind could refuse, so long as we had that third 1st rounder.

Edit: I realize Lindros handcuffed the Nords back in the day, but Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two 1st-rounders and $15 million in cash still got it done. The Flames have the assets to put together a deal twice as good as that.

 

[Lunatik]

Every GM has a price, and three 1sts would be a good place to start. I’d be throwing in Zary, Honzek, Kerins, anybody not named Coronato or Parekh basically lol I’m sure we would be able to make an offer no GM in his right mind could refuse, so long as we had that third 1st rounder.

Edit: I realize Lindros handcuffed the Nords back in the day, but Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two 1st-rounders and $15 million in cash still got it done. The Flames have the assets to put together a deal twice as good as that.

There is a reason why top 5 picks are rarely traded any more. In the last 20 years only 3 have been traded... 2 were in trades where the pick was traded more than a year prior (Kessel to Toronto, and Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta... the latter was traded back to ATL to re-acquire Tkachuk's rights, still a year before that draft)...

the other, which is the only top 5 pick knowingly traded, was in 2008 when the Leafs traded up from the 7th pick.

 

[Darth Vladar]

There is a reason why top 5 picks are rarely traded any more. In the last 20 years only 3 have been traded... 2 were in trades where the pick was traded more than a year prior (Kessel to Toronto, and Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta... the latter was traded back to ATL to re-acquire Tkachuk's rights, still a year before that draft)...

the other, which is the only top 5 pick knowingly traded, was in 2008 when the Leafs traded up from the 7th pick.

Granted they made the deal with Garth Snow, but it’s still also worth noting that it didn’t cost the Leafs very much at all to move up to 5th: their own 1st (7th overall), a 2008 third (68th overall), and a 2009 second (37th overall). If the Flames were to suck badly enough to get inside of the top-10 next year (not too far a stretch, considering we almost did it this year), three 1sts in the same draft plus five or six high-quality players might be too much for a GM to refuse. Not saying it’s likely to happen, only saying that we’d be in a unique enough position to have something substantial enough to offer for a GM to at least pick up the phone about it. Three 1sts + Zary + Honzek + Brzusty + Kerins + a couple of roster players, I’d do something like that all day.

 

[Lunatik]

Granted they made the deal with Garth Snow, but it’s still also worth noting that it didn’t cost the Leafs very much at all to move up to 5th: their own 1st (7th overall), a 2008 third (68th overall), and a 2009 second (37th overall). If the Flames were to suck badly enough to get inside of the top-10 next year (not too far a stretch, considering we almost did it this year), three 1sts in the same draft plus five or six high-quality players might be too much for a GM to refuse. Not saying it’s likely to happen, only saying that we’d be in a unique enough position to have something substantial enough to offer for a GM to at least pick up the phone about it. Three 1sts + Zary + Honzek + Brzusty + Kerins + a couple of roster players, I’d do something like that all day.

There is 0 chance a GM accepts that for the #1. You want the #1 in 2026, I can guarantee the starting point in Parekh, Coronato and at least 2x1st. It's just not happening, and there is no point in even entertaining the idea.