MLSE private plane spotted at Calgary airport; are the Leafs and Flames coming together on a blockbuster deal?

As teams look to make moves to clear some cap space to try to take a run at signing some additional free agents or address some other roster needs through the trade market, we're going to begin to see the trade chatter pick up immensely.

Many executives don't go on holidays until they've completed most or all of their offseason moves, so when a private MLSE plane was spotted in Calgary on Wednesday, it caused a bit of a stir. Why? Because of the connection between the Flames and Brad Treliving, their longtime GM and new Leafs GM.

We know that the Flames are in selling mode as they look to kickstart a bit of a rebuild. We also know that there are players in Calgary that Brad Treliving covets, including a few guys that he has either signed or traded for in the past. While there's been no confirmation that Treliving is in Calgary at all, it's certainly very odd to see an MLSE plane in the city if there's no business being conducted.

Names such as Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Nikita Zadorov have been thrown around a lot this summer and there's certainly a chance that the Flames will move a couple of these guys. As for the Leafs, well, we know they have to clear some cap space. Ex-Flame T.J. Brodie is on the books for one more year at $5M. Matt Murray has 1 year remaining at $4.687M as well. And, of course, there's always Calgary-born William Nylander, who is rumoured to be asking for a new deal in the $10M range, which may force a trade out of Toronto.

This is highly speculative on my part, but I almost wonder if the MLSE private plane being spotted at a Calgary airport could be related to a potential blockbuster trade between the Leafs and Flames - a deal so large that it required some actual face time. Again, that's just me wondering. That isn't a report. I suppose there's an equally good chance that Treliving may have had some personal items to collect and was granted access to the MLSE plane as a part of his pact with the Leafs. Still, it's fun to wonder.