Heading into another offseason filled with question marks, Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson added to the uncertainty at his end-of-season press conference on the weekend.
The Swedish defender still has a year left on his contract, but if he doesn’t sign an extension, he knows it’s likely general manager Craig Conroy will trade him.
“I can’t stress it enough how I’ve loved every second here and whatever happens, happens,” Andersson said during his year-end media availability.
“I understand that it’s a business and that it’s the business side of it and it’s got to make sense for both sides. They have a number in mind and I have a number in mind. I don’t even know what the number is because I haven’t even thought about it for a second, honestly, within the last three months.”
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Andersson has spent his entire NHL career with the Flames. He gained full-time employment in Calgary during the 2018-19 season.
Conroy says even though a decision doesn’t have to be made right away, he doesn’t want the situation lingering.
“Everybody has a time when they get to the point in their career where they have to make some decisions moving forward,” he said.
“We’ll sit down and talk about it and see where he’s at and where we’re at. If it makes sense to both sides, then we’ll move forward. I would think something would be done this year, but I don’t want to put on a time frame.”
Playing injured
You could tell Andersson was struggling down the stretch, and now we know why – he revealed he was playing with a broken fibula.
Andersson suffered the injury blocking a shot against the Seattle Kraken on March 25.
“In my world, I don’t like sitting out,” the 28-year-old defenceman said.
“I never have and I don’t think I ever will. If I can get my skate on, I will most likely play.”
Flames want to add more young players
Conroy has said he wants to keep adding youth to the lineup, which may work against Andersson.
Players like 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh are going to be pushing for jobs at training camp. Parekh knows it’s a big offseason for him.
“I’m looking forward to a really big summer for me and I’ve got to put in a lot of work,” the 19-year-old defenceman said.
“I’ve still got a long ways to go to make this team next year. The culture that’s here is unreal, so I’m looking forward to a big summer for sure.”
Andersson is going to play for Sweden at the world championships. It’s being reported Parekh will also go overseas and play some pre-tournament games with Canada.
