Calgary Flames vice president of hockey operations Don Maloney revealed Monday that the team was working on a "significant" move Sunday night that fell through.

Maloney stressed that the Flames aren’t willing to give up top prospects for a rental ahead of the deadline.

"The thing with us (is) we like our group, as you've probably heard that a number of times, we're not a team that's fighting and scratching and clawing to get in the playoffs like some teams,” Maloney told TSN. “We're just sitting, waiting, looking at the market. We were involved in something significant last night that went away from us, but it really comes down, as we all know, [to] how much you're willing to pay to help yourself short term.

"We're just vehemently opposed to putting in what we would consider ‘A’ prospects, first-round picks, for rentals. So, if that's the case, you go into this marketplace and then you search and talk and try and find something that's going to help at a price you can afford."

Maloney said the general manager Brad Treliving will continue to look for ways to boost the Flames, who sit first in the Western Conference with 85 points in 62 games this season.

"The way it works, Brad [Treliving] gets on the phone. He goes in a suite, [then] he comes out and into the war room. We hack it around. We decide how much we're willing to go, how far we're going to go, can we help this group? We're having a terrific year in Calgary. We're looking at the rest of the season, the last six weeks, how we finish and who our matchups are. Our game is speed and compete – we can score, our goaltending has been solid.

"If we can help our self, of course we're going to help ourselves. But not at the price that's going that's going to affect us long term."