Flames Captain Slips Up and Reveals Rasmus Andersson Trade Is Bound to Happen
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The least that can be said is that Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund doesn't hold his tongue.
I don't remember ever hearing something like this, coming from an NHL player and about his own teammate, but Backlund really did outright announce a pending trade on defense.
Mikael Backlund announces that Rasmus Andersson is going to be traded
It slipped out, and I get the impression he's going to regret that one, but it's really what he said in an interview.
So expect Andersson to be traded before the start of the season..
"Yeah, he's getting traded. It's obvious," Backlund said at the NHL player media tour in Europe. "But the team wants value. He wants a big contract. So he wants to play well. The team needs him to play well. So, just go out and play. I talked to him, too, and he doesn't want to be a distraction. So it's all good. It's too bad it's come to this. I don't think that they're close to getting an agreement or anything, but you never know. Things could change. We'll see."
Mikael Backlund
Mikael Backlund
Let's just say that doesn't leave much room for interpretation.
"At the heart of several trade rumors since the beginning of the summer, Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson will definitely be changing addresses sooner or later, according to the team captain, Mikael Backlund."
TVA Sports
TVA Sports
Andersson's name had been linked to the Montreal Canadiens last season, but following the acquisition of Noah Dobson, that can clearly be ruled out.
Rasmus Andersson, 28 years old, is a right-handed defenseman, 6 feet 1 inch and 202 pounds, who was a second-round pick of the Flames in 2015.
He has accumulated 231 points in 536 career NHL games, and he recorded 31 points in 81 games last season (39 points, 49 points, and 50 points in the three previous campaigns).
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