Flames ship Tanev to Stars for prospect and draft picks

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames traded defenceman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars for prospect Artem Grushnikov, a 2024 secondround draft pick and a conditional 2026 third-round pick.

The deal announced Wednesday happened with some financial lubricant from the New Jersey Devils. Calgary retained 50 per cent of Tanev’s salary, while New Jersey agreed to cover half of his remaining salary this season.

Tanev, 34, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

To obtain the Stars’ fourthround pick in 2026, the Devils agreed to kick in money for Tanev’s contract and also traded to Dallas via Calgary the rights to unsigned drafted goalie Cole Brady currently playing for the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The Flames have provided buzz ahead of the March 8 trade deadline because of the team’s prominent impending free agents and the club’s position hovering just below the Western Conference’s wild-card cutline.

Flames defenceman Noah Hanifin will also become a UFA this summer. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom’s name has also been bandied about despite the two years remaining on the Swede’s contract that pays him an average of $6 million US annually.

Calgary dealt top centre Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 1 for Andrei Kuzmenko, a first-round draft pick in 2024, a conditional fourth-round pick, and a pair of defensive prospects.

Grushnikov, who is six foot two and 192 pounds, has a goal and four assists in 44 games this season for the AHL’s Texas Stars.

The Russian defenceman spent two seasons with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs amassing 13 goals and 16 assists, and helped the team win an OHL championship in 2022.