Eric Duhatschek: This is a consequential but ultimately not that complicated trade that took eons to conclude on Wednesday before the teams could get the financial machinations in order. But let’s begin by looking at the player first, before we assess the return, because the return for Calgary — which traded Hanifin to their slumping divisional rivals, Vegas — was objectively underwhelming.
But that was mostly a function of Hanifin and what he wants going forward. The Flames and Hanifin engaged multiple times on contract extension talks throughout the season and, even nearing the 11th hour, the Flames made a push to get him to stay in Calgary, reportedly offering a maximum term (eight years) and dollars above the $7.5 million range — generous, but maybe not what the market would dictate for a player who, at the age of 27, is arguably in the midst of the best individual season of his career. It was clear that Hanifin was, for the longest time, of two minds about what he wanted to do. To paraphrase The Clash, Hanifin spent all season wrestling with the question: Should he stay (in Calgary) or should he go?
For the longest time, Hanifin wasn’t sure. As Hanifin was deciding, the Flames explored the market for him and found there were typically two types of potential trades on the table. The first was for a more generous package of players and draft choices, if Hanifin were signed to a contract extension. The second was for Hanifin as a rental, for a player planning to test free agency on July 1. The compensation that teams were prepared to offer for Hanifin dropped considerably in Scenario No. 2. So that reality hung over the entire trade process — and even if there was no immediate announcement of an extension as part of the trade, it stands to reason that Vegas believes it can coax Hanifin into being part of the team’s future in the long term.
