So when he started taking his equipment off in the Flames dressing room after the morning skate, he had to figure there was a good chance it was one of the last times he'd put his Flames hat on to meet with the assembled media.
"When your name is getting talked about a lot, it wears on you a little bit," he said.
Russell was traded to the Dallas Stars on Monday for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional second-round draft pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Russell, who has been out since Feb. 12 because of a lower-body injury, appeared as though he was ready to return to Calgary's lineup against Philadelphia.
"I had many talks with mainly [Russell] because we know his situation," Hartley said. "It's just a matter of making sure that they know where the organization stands."
Across the hall in the Flyers dressing room, the similar excitement and the unknown of the NHL Trade Deadline was evident with potential trade candidates including defenseman Mark Streit and forward Sam Gagner, who was looking at the NHL Network's trade deadline coverage on television while taking off his equipment.
"I've been on a lot of teams that have been sellers," Gagner said. "So I see my face up there every year. It just kind of is what it is. I was going to call in, I actually don't like my headshot this year."
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said in the past week that he didn't expect to be adding much before the deadline. It was possible for him to sell off a few pieces to better position the organization financially for the future, like he did last month when he traded Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings.
But the Flyers did not make another move before the deadline Monday.
"It's just part of the business," Streit said of the waiting game. "I went through it a few times in my career. It's part of it. It's a little bit special because it's a game day. You want to focus on the game tonight and prepare yourself like it's any other day. It's out of your hands, out of your control."
What is in the Flyers' control is trying to get another two points against Calgary. Like the Flames, the Flyers are currently on the outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs looking in.
Philadelphia, which is three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, has won three of its past four games.
"We like our group," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's a group that we've worked hard together all year long. We obviously have to keep pushing to get better. So we like our group in the locker room."
Here are the projected lineups:
FLAMES
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - David Jones
Joe Colborne - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik
Micheal Ferland - Sam Bennett - Josh Jooris
Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan - Brandon Bollig
Mark Giordano - TJ Brodie
Deryk Engelland - Dougie Hamilton
Tyler Wotherspoon - Jakub Nakladal
Jonas Hiller
Joni Ortio
Injured: Karri Ramo (torn ACL), Ladislav Smid (upper body)
Suspended: Dennis Wideman
FLYERS
Brayden Schenn - Claude Giroux - Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl - Sean Couturier - Sam Gagner
Scott Laughton - Nick Cousins - Matt Read
Chris VandeVelde - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan White
Andrew MacDonald - Shayne Gostisbehere
Nick Schultz - Mark Streit
Evgeny Medvedev - Radko Gudas
Michal Neuvirth
Steve Mason
Injured: Jakub Voracek (lower body), Jordan Weal (upper body), Michael Del Zotto (wrist)
Scratched: Brandon Manning, R.J. Umberger
Status update: An update on Voracek will come later Monday. Hextall will speak to the media at 5 p.m. following the trade deadline. … The scheduled 7 p.m. ET puck drop will not happen until about 8 p.m.; the Flyers are inducting former defenseman Jimmy Watson into their Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony.
Who's hot: Gaudreau has three goals and eight assists during a seven-game point streak. … Neuvirth is 4-1-1 with a .909 save percentage in six games in February.
