What the Flames, Stars get in big Chris Tanev trade

It wasn’t a first-round pick, but the Calgary Flames found a deal they were happy with Wednesday night, and sent Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars just over a week before the trade deadline.

In what turned out to be a three-team trade, the key components coming back to Calgary were Dallas’ second-round pick in June and defence prospect Artyom Grushnikov. Calgary will also get a 2026 third-round pick from Dallas if the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final this June.

“Just a true professional and a great person to be around,” Flames GM Craig Conroy said of Tanev on 960 the FAN’s “Flames Talk.” “He’ll be greatly missed. We all watch him and what he does on the ice, but it’s how he leads off the ice and the type of person he is.

“I had teams that were not in the playoffs call, so there were lots of calls,” Conroy continued. “Everybody would like to have a Chris Tanev on their team, so there was lots of interest.”

For the Flames, it’s another domino to drop on the sell-off toward a retool and comes as the team is on a four-game winning streak and still very much alive in the playoff race, just five points behind Nashville with one game in hand.

But keeping Tanev for a run was just never in the cards. With the post-season far from a certainty, the 34-year-old doesn’t quite fit the age window of where Calgary is now. Still trying to be competitive while also reloading for the future, it made more sense for Calgary to get these assets for the player now, rather than try to re-sign him or lose him for nothing to free agency.

“We want to make the playoffs,” Conroy said. “(The players are) saying it night in, night out and proving it with their play. So I know this will be a big loss, but I still believe in those guys in the room.”

It’s absolutely fitting that the last play Tanev made for the Flames was this calm shot block that bounced to Mikael Backlund, who converted an empty-net goal that sealed victory.

For Dallas, Tanev adds an element the Stars have sorely needed. The last time they made the Stanley Cup Final, in 2020, you may remember them as a defensively staunch team under coach Rick Bowness that had a real hard time scoring. In 2023-24, however, the Stars have the NHL’s sixth-best offence, but allow the 14th-most shots against per game. Tanev, second in the league in blocked shots, adds precisely the disciplined, defensive element the Stars need on the back end.

And Dallas may not be done. In getting the Flames to retain 50 per cent of Tanev’s contract, and then getting the New Jersey Devils involved to retain another 25 per cent, Dallas picks up only 25 per cent of the tab and assumes a $1.125-million cap hit on Tanev. That still leaves the Stars with a projected $2.05 million in deadline-day cap space, according to CapFriendly, and they still have their first-round pick available.

It’s also interesting to note New Jersey’s involvement, as the Devils casually picked up a 2026 fourth-rounder to assume 25 per cent of Tanev’s cap hit (they also gave up goalie prospect Cole Brady). If your initial reaction was that it could signal the Devils’ intent to sit mostly on the sidelines of this deadline, consider that GM Tom Fitzgerald still has $8.362 million in deadline-day cap space, which is more than he would need to make a big trade for a goalie.

For more on what the Flames and Stars each got in this trade, we turn to our scout, Jason Bukala.

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

The Chris Tanev sweepstakes, if they ever really got to that point, came to an end Wednesday night when the Flames traded the veteran defenceman to the Stars.

In recent weeks, it felt like the Flames were holding out hope that they would end up with a first-round pick in any transaction involving Tanev.

We now know they settled for defence prospect Artyom Grushnikov, the Stars’ second-round pick in June and a conditional third-round pick in 2026.

What the Stars get

This might be the easiest description of a player I have ever had to analyze.

In Tanev, the Stars add a veteran right-shot defenceman who empties the tank defensively every time his number is called. Tanev won’t bring much offence, but he’s the second leading shot blocker in the entire NHL.

Tanev suited up 56 times for the Flames this season and averaged 19:50 of ice time, deployed at even strength and the penalty kill. He provided one goal and 13 assists. More importantly, Tanev matched up against top-six forwards every night and was credited with 25 hits and 171 shot blocks.

Tanev’s low number of hits provides a look inside his strategy defending his zone. He rarely gets caught out of position. He defends from the middle of the ice and out, generally positioned between the face-off dots. He reacts very well to high-danger opportunities developing inside his blue line and fronts the play and shooter, electing to sacrifice his body and block shots in the process.

The Stars are a more stingy team defensively with the addition of Tanev.

Tanev is playing out the season on an expiring contract and is a pending UFA. It will be interesting to monitor if Tanev and the Stars are interested in extending their partnership beyond the end of this season.

The Stars also acquired the rights to goaltender Cole Brady, who is in his fourth year of college hockey. He started his NCAA career at Arizona State, before transferring to UMass. In nine games this season, he’s posted a 3.03 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage. He’s the backup goaltender, behind Arizona Coyotes prospect Michael Hrabal, at UMass.

What the Flames get

Artyom Grushnikov is in his first full season as a pro. The left-shot defenceman is listed at six-foot-one, 205 pounds.

Grushnikov was selected in the second round (48^th overall) by the Stars in 2021. I describe him as a two-way defenceman who appears like he’s capable of providing more offence. The fact of the matter, however, is Grushnikov elects to play a relatively safe game. He rarely takes chances leading the rush, joining as an extra layer in transition, or pinching down to extend plays in the offensive zone.

Grushnikov is an excellent skater. He tracks up and down the ice very well. He has a powerful stride on straight lines, and the agility to turn/pivot tracking pucks deep in his zone without losing momentum.

Here’s an example of what I’m describing:

This is Grushnikov’s opening shift in a recent game versus Anaheim’s top affiliate, San Diego.

Grushnikov takes away the middle lane as San Diego moves the puck through the neutral zone. He then tracks a puck into his zone, below the goal line, before moving it effectively to his winger.

The entire sequence speaks to his spatial awareness, ability to maintain pace tracking pucks and making an on-time decision moving the puck accurately up ice.

One of the most intriguing attributes to Grushnikov’s game is his physicality. He isn’t punishing all the time, but he never backs down. He pushes back along in the hard areas and will occasionally sneak up on opponents when he gaps up aggressively to kill zone entries.

It’s going to take time for Grushnikov to fully develop. I appreciate his approach and believe he can turn into a reliable NHL defenceman.

It’s my opinion, however, that Grushnikov projects as a bottom-pairing defenceman who’s deployed at even strength and one of the penalty-killing units.

He could surprise me, but as of today I’m more comfortable with that projection compared to overhyping the prospect and pinning him as a top four.

• The second-round selection the Flames receive from Dallas is likely to land somewhere between picks 52–64.

• The conditional 2026 third-round pick the Flames receive is predicated on Dallas making the Stanley Cup Final. If the Stars bow out before then, the condition is waved and the Flames do not acquire the pick.

• It was obvious the Flames were going to receive no less than a second-round pick for Tanev. For their sake, the hope is Calgary ends up with an extra swing in the third as well.

Here’s how the Flames’ draft board sits after this trade:

Conroy is in the process of providing Flames director of amateur scouting Tod Button with a significant number of draft slots.

The more picks, the better, when an organization has made a decision to retool.

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