I assume I am not in the minority when I expected Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames to make a bigger splash this offseason. Yes, the organization made additions; however, those acquisitions do not fall into the category of roster change I was preparing for.

Technically, Calgary still has time to rock the boat with a big fish. Still, we have reached the quiet stage of the offseason, making an earth-shattering move less likely. With that being said, there are still a few big names potentially out there for the taking via the trade market.

Of course, the one that jumps to the minds of most is Buffalo Sabres star center, Jack Eichel. If Treliving ever wanted to make a move to get the league's attention, trading for Eichel would be it. However, the likely asking price mixed with all of the question marks surrounding Eichel's timeline makes that deal an unlikely one.

Enter Vladimir Tarasenko, a respectable Plan B option after acquiring Jack Eichel.

It is not a secret that the 29-year-old winger wants out of St. Louis. It is also no secret that Blues GM Doug Armstrong has failed to strike a deal with any team to make that happen. On some level, it makes sense for Treliving to pursue bringing Tarasenko to Calgary, especially when he should cost far less than some, such as Eichel.

Understandably, you can find prospective Tarasenko deals throughout the "Social Media General Manager" universe. At the same time, you can find arguments for and against bringing the once 30-plus goal scorer to the Flames. However, there always seems to be one major aspect missing from these discussions.

That being Tarasenko's full no-trade clause...

We can discuss whether or not Calgary should aggressively explore a Tarasenko trade until the cows come home. Unfortunately, that debate means nothing if he has no desire to join the Flames organization.

In truth, I find it highly unlikely that he does. Of course, Calgary was not on his initial list of ten teams submitted to St. Louis. Even if he widened that net a bit, the current state of the Flames probably remains far from intriguing. One would imagine that Tarasenko wants to end up on a team capable of a deep playoff run. Regarding Calgary, some may argue that they are actually closer to a full-on rebuild than contention.

The only way I see Tarasenko entertaining the idea of joining the Flames is if he is at the point where anywhere is better than staying in St. Louis for the start of the upcoming season. Now that could totally be possible, but it's also difficult to tell if that is the case unless a public statement is made mentioning it.

For now, though, it makes the most sense for Flames fans to move away from the idea that Tarasenko is a realistic "Plan B" for Calgary. In reality, you should try to get comfortable with the idea that the 2021-22 season will likely start with the roster constructed as is.

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