The Florida Panthers are poised to dominate the league for the foreseeable future.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2024, expectations were high once again for the team from Sunrise, Florida. Those expectations rose further during the season, as they acquired Seth Jones and Brad Marchand.
Let’s take a look at how the Panthers’ 2024-25 season went, what they’ve done so far this off-season, and how their team will shape up come October.
How the season went
Even though the Panthers acquired Jones and Marchand before the trade deadline, they limped into the post-season due to an injury to former Flame Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad’s suspension.
Overall, they finished with a 47-31-4 record with 98 points, third-best in the Atlantic Division, just one point better than the Ottawa Senators. But after making two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, were you really going to count the Panthers out?
For the second time in as many post-seasons, the Panthers kicked off the first round with a Battle of Florida, quickly dispelling the Tampa Bay Lightning in just five games. Their toughest test of the playoffs came in the second round, as they were down 2-0 in the series to the Toronto Maple Leafs and trailed 3-1 in Game 3. However, an overtime winner in Game 3 and dominance in Toronto led the Panthers to a Game 7 victory with a final score of 6-1.
Like the Lightning, the Carolina Hurricanes rolled over to the Panthers, falling in five games. Game 4 was the first time the Hurricanes won an Eastern Conference Final since 2006. proceeding to beat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final. However, unlike their matchup from the 2023 post-season, this wasn’t even close, even if the Hurricanes were swept two years ago.
With an Eastern Conference Final victory under their belt, the Panthers took on the Oilers for the second consecutive season. They didn’t jump out to a 3-0 lead this time, as the Oilers won Game 1 in overtime on home ice, followed by a Panthers’ Game 2 victory, also in overtime. In Game 3, the Panthers started to take over, as they forced the Oilers to play their game, blowing them out to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Oilers managed to tie the series at two thanks to an overtime winner in Game 4, but it was all the Panthers from there. In a pivotal Game 5, the Panthers defeated the Oilers 5-2, followed by a 5-1 victory on home ice to capture their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Drafted players
The Panthers traded many future picks over the years, with their first pick in the 2025 draft coming in the fourth round. With the 112th overall pick, they selected Frölunda winger Mads Kongsbak Klyvø from Denmark. Also in the fourth round, they selected winger Shea Busch, who was teammates with Calgary Flames prospect Eric Jamieson in Everett.
In the fifth round, the Panthers selected Shamar Moses, followed by Arvid Drott in the sixth round. With two seventh-round picks, the Panthers drafted Brendan Dunphy and Yegor Midlak, the latter being a Russian netminder.
Trades
The most noteworthy trade from the Panthers this off-season trade for their backup in 2025-26, moving a 2025 fifth to the Columbus Blue Jackets for netminder Danill Tarasov. They also traded Justin Sourdif to the Washington Capitals for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, giving them draft capital for a move at the 2026 trade deadline.
Other than those two moves, the Panthers traded their 2026 seventh-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for the pick used to draft Dunphy.
Free agent signings
Where the Panthers made their biggest mark this off-season is with free agents. More specifically, they had three pending unrestricted free agents who were keys to their Stanley Cup victory: Marchand, Ekblad, and former Flame, Sam Bennett.
Thanks to a winning culture and being a tax-free state, the Panthers were able to re-sign all three. Bennett signed an eight-year deal worth $8 million annually, Ekblad also signed an eight-year deal worth $6.1 million annually, and the 37-year-old Marchand signed a six-year deal worth $5.25 million annually.
Additionally, the Panthers were also able to re-sign Tarasov to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million, as well as Mackie Samoskevich on a one-year deal worth $775,000. They also brought in Jeff Petry, who agreed to a one-year deal on a league-minimum deal, while Luke Kunin signed the same deal toward the end of August.
Departures
There were departures from the Panthers, but no one who left will hurt their chances of a three-peat. Defenceman Nate Schmidt is the most notable departure, as he signed a three-year deal with the Utah Mammoth.
Nico Sturm signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild, while netminder Vítek Vaněček signed with the Los Angeles Kings.
What the team looks like heading into 2025-26
So, how do the Panthers stack up heading into the 2025-26 season as they look to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup? Down the middle, they’ll have Aleksander Barkov, Bennett, Anton Lundell, and Tomas Nosek, a strong centre core.
On the wing, they’ll have Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, and Matthew Tkachuk in their top-six, although Tkachuk will be out of the lineup to start the year. In the bottom six, they have Eetu Luostarinen, Marchand, A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich, and Samoskevich.
Defensively, Gustav Forsling and Ekblad make up a strong top pairing, followed by Niko Mikkola and Jones on the second pairing. Their left-shot defenceman on the third pair is Dmitry Kulikov, who’ll be paired with Petry.
In between the pipes, the Panthers will run Russian veteran Sergei Bobrovsky as their starter, with Tarasov backing him up.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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It was a quiet season for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, the Lightning haven’t been able to get out of the first round since they fell in the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. Their window of contention is quickly fading, if it’s not already gone.
Let’s take a look at how their 2024-25 season went, what they’ve done so far this off-season, as well as how the team stacks up in 2025-26.
How the season went
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a strong regular season, finishing with a 47-27-8 record with 102 points, the second-best point total in the Atlantic Division. They were especially strong at home, finishing with a 29-8-4 record, one of the best home records in the league. However, they were below .500 on the road, posting an 18-19-4 record.
They made one significant trade during the season, moving Michael Eyssimont, a 2025 second-round pick, their 2026 first-round pick, and their 2017 first-round pick for Oliver Bjorkstrand, Kyle Aucoin, Yanni Gourde, and a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
The Lightning had a first-round match-up against the Florida Panthers for the second consecutive season, and it didn’t go great. Game 1 was a 6-2 defeat, and Game 2 was a 2-0 defeat to put them in a hole early. They got a 5-1 win in Game 3, but followed that up with a 4-2 loss in Game 4 and a 6-3 loss in Game 5 to be bounced in the first round for the third consecutive season.
Both picks have top-10 protection, but we may look back at that mid-season trade as one of the worst in recent memory.
Drafted players
The Lightning’s 2025 first-round pick was traded in an equally dismal trade that saw them acquire Tanner Jeannot back in 2023. Their first pick in the 2025 draft was with the 56th selection, using it to draft centre Ethan Czata from the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs.
In the fourth round, the Lightning selected centres Benjamin Rautiainen (108th) and Aiden Foster (127th). They also selected Everett Baldwin 151st overall. Moreover, the Lightning had four seventh-round picks, draft netminder Caleb Heil, centre Roman Luttsev, defenceman Grant Spada, and winger Marco Mignosa.
Trades
With all their picks traded, the Lightning weren’t very active in the trade market. They moved their 2025 sixth-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for 23-year-old Lucas Mercuri. On the second day of the draft, the Lightning traded their 2026 fourth-rounder to the Boston Bruins for a 2025 fourth-rounder.
Their lone notable move came on July 8, sending 2025 Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for right-shot centre Sam O’Reilly.
Free agent signings
After losing captain Steven Stamkos and signing Jake Guentzel during the 2024 free agency period, it was a quiet July for the Lightning on the free agent side of things. Depth forward Pontus Holmberg secured a two-year deal worth $1.55 million annually, while Boris Katchouk signed a one-year deal worth $775,000.
The Lightning also agreed to terms with former Calgary Flame Jakob Pelletier after he didn’t receive a qualifying offer. They signed him to a three-year deal worth $775,000, a low-risk, high-reward type of signing.
Departures
The Lightning’s departures are more notable than their additions. Defenceman Nick Perbix was an important top-four defender for them last season, but he signed a two-year contract with the Nashville Predators.
They also lost Luke Glendening, who signed a professional tryout with the New Jersey Devils, while Cam Atkinson remains an unrestricted free agent.
What the team looks like heading into 2025-26
Although the Lightning have been eliminated in the first round the past three seasons, it’s still a strong team with Stanley Cup experience. Down the middle, they have Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Gourde. On the wings, they have Guentzel, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Gage Goncalves, Conor Geekie, Bjorkstrand, Holmberg, and Chaffee. It’s not a bad forward core.
That said, their defence is a bit of a concern. Victor Hedman leads the defence, but the rest of the core is J.J. Moser, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak, Emil Lilleberg, and Darren Raddysh, a clear area that will need an upgrade with very few assets to give up ahead of the trade deadline.
Between the pipes, Andrei Vasilevskiy had a strong season before collapsing in the playoffs. His backup could be Jonas Johansson.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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Folks, if you’ve watched the Calgary Flames much over the past several seasons, you’ve probably noticed the play of blueliner MacKenzie Weegar. Simply put, Weegar’s been very good for the Flames since his arrival from Florida during the 2022 off-season, aside from a brief adjustment period during the 2022-23 campaign.
But if you’re tired about our writing staff waxing poetic about how dang good Weegar has been, good news: others are joining the chorus in praising Weegar.
Over at Daily Faceoff, the great Paul Pidutti – who you can find on social media under Adjusted Hockey – has developed the High Noon methodology to rank players, and he recently published his top 40 NHL blueliners. “The method uses a three-year weighted average of adjusted point shares to systematically rank the league’s players by position.” The methodology focuses on offensive production, not underlying numbers, and so it’s unabashedly skewed towards offensive blueliners via its design, with the weighed skewed skewed towards more recent offensive production.
On this year’s edition of the High Noon defenceman ranking, Weegar has slotted in as the 16th-best blueliner in the league. That’s a jump up from 30th in 2024 and 35th in 2023.
From a production standpoint, Weegar had eight goals (tied for 34th) and 47 points (tied for 16th) in 2024-25. Over the past three seasons (2022-25 inclusive), he has 32 goals (19th) and 130 points (tied f0r 22nd). In the grand scheme of things, 16th feels roughly where he should be based on his offensive production and year-to-year consistency in his production.
Weegar’s Flames teammate, Rasmus Andersson, was 34th on last year’s High Noon list but dropped to 75th in this year’s edition, a product of his offensive production taking a dip in 2024-25.
At 16th on the High Noon list, Weegar slots in behind (in order) Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Josh Morrissey, Adam Fox, Evan Bouchard, Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, Shea Theodore, Roman Josi, Devon Toews, Vince Dunn, Zach Werenski, Gustav Forsling, Mattias Ekholm and Thomas Harley. That’s not bad company to be keeping.
The 2025-26 season will be Weegar’s fourth with the Flames, and the third year in an eight year deal that carries a $6.25 million cap hit. At his current cap hit, Weegar is tied for 49th among the league’s blueliners in that category with Ekholm, Morrissey, Ryan Ellis, Damon Severson, Travis Sanheim, Alexander Romanov and Bowen Byram.
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Rasmus Andersson is under contract with the Calgary Flames through the 2025-26 season.
But his future beyond this season remains unclear, with projections ranging from “murky” to “definitely being traded.” Heck, during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour, Flames captain Mikael Backlund told The Athletic regarding Andersson: “He’s getting traded. It’s obvious.”
However, for the time being, Andersson remains with the Flames, with general manager Craig Conroy noting prior to the season-opening Flames Foundation golf tournament that he doesn’t think Andersson’s situation will be a distraction.
In the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discussed Andersson’s future.
Here’s Friedman:
Friedman and Bukauskas also discussed how attractive Andersson’s current contract is, especially with the new playoff salary cap rules. Andersson’s current cap hit is $4.55 million, and it could be as low as $2.275 million if the Flames could be convinced to retain 50% of his cap hit in a deal.
“So this is a player who’s going to be available this year that the new salary cap rules, they’re not going to be as onerous towards,” said Friedman. “And I don’t think that’s a small thing. I just think at some point in time this year, everybody will get what they want.”
The Flames’ prospects play a pair of games against Edmonton’s prospects this weekend before beginning main training camp next week.
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The first Battle of Alberta has gone the Calgary Flames’ way.
On Friday evening, after a 30-minute delay due to travel issues, the Flames rookies took on the Edmonton Oilers rookies, defeating them 6-5 in a fun, high scoring game with a bunch of ups and downs.
It may have been due to the late arrival, but the Flames appeared slow to start the game. Just over four minutes into the game, the Oilers’ Viljami Marjala opened the scoring as all five Flames were deep in the zone. On the breakaway, the Finnish centre slid it between Owen Say’s pad for the opening goal.
Marjala opens the #BattleofAlbertapic.twitter.com/IiK1j1TPPI
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 13, 2025
The Flames responded just over three minutes later, as Kadon McCann battled to get a shot off on the Oilers’ netminder. Although it was saved and put behind the net, Nathan Brisson was able to follow it up and put it to the front of the net, finding Hunter Laing for the tap-in.
After the first period, the two teams were deadlocked at one, but it was the Flames that took over in the second period. With a little under six minutes burned off the clock, Oilers’ forward Brady Stonehouse had a rough turnover, and Jacob Battaglia picked up the puck. It didn’t take long for the Flames’ 2024 second-rounder to make a decision, throwing the puck over to Brisson, who tapped it in.
The Flames converted on their first power play of the game less than a minute into it. After some puck movement, the puck went to 2024 first-rounder Matvei Gridin above the face-off dot. He found Samuel Honzek backdoor, with the Flames’ 2023 first-rounder deflecting it in with his skate for the 3-1 lead with a little over half the game remaining.
Matvei Gridin shoots the puck off Sam Honzek's skate and it finds it's way to the back of the net.
It's 3-1 Flamespic.twitter.com/wlQyZiKDIK
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) September 13, 2025
With under two minutes left in the period, 2026 third-rounder Mace’o Phillips forced a turnover and started the offence the other way. He showed good poise to get the puck to Aydar Suniev, and after a give-and-go with Carter King, the Flames’ 2023 third-rounder buried it with a one-timer.
Aydar Suniev puts the Flames up 4-1
Great play by Maceo Phillips to get the Flames transition game going. pic.twitter.com/JeIRr2RbLE
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) September 13, 2025
On a neutral zone face-off with about six minutes into the third period, the Flames looked slow and allowed Oilers’ top prospect Matthew Savoie to split the defence. A slash resulted in a penalty shot, with Savoie just barely slipping it by Say’s pad to cut the lead in half.
Savoie strikes on the penalty shotpic.twitter.com/8ssdowrihN
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 13, 2025
The Flames got that goal back with about 11 minutes to play. It was a bit of a broken odd-man rush, with Gridin firing it from a tough angle, getting a fortuitous bounce off the Oilers’ netminder back for the 5-2 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Flames to extend their lead to four, as the Flames had a heavy forecheck on the shift after the fifth goal. A pinch led to the puck coming to Hunter Laing, who threw it across to a wide-open Parker Bell, who beat the Oilers’ netminder to take a 6-2 lead.
Parker Bell snipe
It's 6-2 Flames pic.twitter.com/N0FR3AAEac
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) September 13, 2025
The Oilers got their third goal of the game late in the third period, as the Flames had a horrific change, allowing Matt Capponi to find Connor Clattenburg all alone in front of the net, chipping it over Say’s blocker to make it 6-3.
Copponi to Clattenburgpic.twitter.com/0e74N1t1qP
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 13, 2025
It didn’t take the Oilers to make things interesting, as Savoie burst in with speed again, slipping it under Say’s pads on a partial break to bring the Oilers to within two.
Savoie's second of the night
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 13, 2025
The Oilers managed to make it a one-goal game, but it was far too late as Quinn Hutson was able to beat Say over the glove with just two seconds left, giving the game a final score of 6-5.
Takeaways…
Early in the broadcast, it was noted that Samuel Honzek gained 15 pounds in the off-season. He was the best player on the ice all game, even picking up the Flames’ third goal of the game. Last season, he did well enough in pre-season to earn a spot on the roster. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him do the same.
Aydar Suniev scored the Flames’ fourth goal of the game, a well-placed one-timer that beat the Oilers’ netminder to the post. Unfortunately, he blocked a shot early in the third period and headed down the tunnel. Thankfully, he returned after missing a few shifts.
Owen Say was the Flames’ netminder in this game. He was beaten early in the game and did well to keep the puck out until the third period, before his defence let him down. There was no shot clock in this game, but Say was able to make a few big saves, especially in the first and second periods.
On defence, Mace’o Phillips had a fight and picked up an assist, showing great poise on the Flames’ fourth goal of the game. Étienne Morin and Hunter Brzustewicz were noticeable as well, completely dominating a shift in the second period.
Matvei Gridin had a good game and was bumped up to the first line while Suniev was injured. He picked up a goal and an assist and was all over the place. Pretty good game, and the same goes for Hunter Laing.
It was a feisty Battle of Alberta, as there were three separate fights in this game. It’s nice that hockey is back, even if it’s just rookie action. The two teams will battle again on Sunday at 4:00 PM MT.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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The Calgary Flames have 46 players on NHL contracts for the 2025-26 season, and all are going to be attending training camp.
In theory, all 46 of these players have a chance at starting the season with the big club. Of course, we live in reality, not theory, and so not everyone has the same shot at NHL glory this season.
Here’s our pre-camp rundown of which players have good chances and which are more long-shots to break camp with the Flames.
The NHL locks
G Dustin Wolf, D Kevin Bahl, D MacKenzie Weegar, D Joel Hanley, D Rasmus Andersson, D Brayden Pachal, F Jonathan Huberdeau, F Nazem Kadri, F Matt Coronato, F Joel Farabee, F Morgan Frost, F Martin Pospisil, F Connor Zary, F Yegor Sharangovich, F Mikael Backlund, F Blake Coleman and F Ryan Lomberg
Alright, let’s unpack this: Wolf was quietly one of the NHL’s better goalies in 2024-25. Weegar, Bahl, Hanley and Andersson were top four defenders in 2024-25, while Pachal was a regular penalty-killer. The 11 forwards listed are, well, the Flames’ 11 best forwards.
So that’s 17 of the 23 roster spots spoken for, leaving a spot for a goalie, two (or three) defencemen and three (or two) forwards.
On the bubble
G Ivan Prosvetov, G Devin Cooley, D Zayne Parekh, D Jake Bean, D Daniil Miromanov, D Ilya Solovyov, D Yan Kuznetsov, D Hunter Brzustewicz, F Justin Kirkland, F Adam Klapka, F Sam Morton, F Dryden Hunt and F Rory Kerins
This is where the action is! Six of these guys will probably start the season in the NHL. Two of the spots probably go to Zayne Parekh and one of the two goalies (Ivan Prosvetov or Devin Cooley). And then… chaos!
If Parekh makes the main roster, that gives the Flames six defenders, including four right shots. Sure, we’ve seen Weegar play the left extensively (and Pachal occasionally), but that probably gives a lefty the inside track on the seventh spot… right? And we’re reasonably sure that the Flames will carrying “only” seven defenders – one extra above the six they dress every game – but we thought that last year, too, and they carried eight blueliners for most of the season.
The Flames are lean on centres, so we’re thinking that Kirkland, Morton and (perhaps) Kerins have decent shots at roster spots. However, Klapka and Hunt have both spent time on the NHL roster in the past couple of seasons and they’ve shown to be really useful wingers that can be put anywhere in the lineup, so we would argue that they could be good contenders to make the roster as extras.
The dark horses
F William Strömgren, F Sam Honzek, F Carter King and F Aydar Suniev
Strömgren is an experienced young pro now, with only consistency challenges keeping him out of the NHL. Honzek made the team out of camp last fall and seems to be in even better shape this year. King impressed in college and in his brief AHL appearance in the spring. And Suniev also impressed in college and showed well in his NHL debut in Game 82.
Other players may be better-positioned to make the NHL roster, but one or more of these four could surprise.
Likely AHL-bound
G Owen Say, G Arsenii Sergeev, D Etienne Morin, D Nick Cicek, D Artem Grushnikov, D Jeremie Poirier, F Andrew Basha, F Matvei Gridin, F Clark Bishop, F Parker Bell and F Lucas Ciona
The numbers game dictates that not everyone has a realistic shot at the NHL roster. Several of these guys (Morin, Basha and Gridin especially) are really high-regarded prospects… but they’re first-year pros who could use AHL seasoning.
Back to the OHL
F Jacob Battaglia
Battaglia is only eligible to play in the NHL or OHL this season due to his age. There’s just too many forwards ahead of him to play in the NHL this season.
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Folks, hockey is a multi-faceted game. But since the introduction of the salary cap in 2005-06, it’s also a numbers game. The ability to effectively manage the salary cap can determine whether an NHL club can put a good team on the ice or not.
Over at Daily Faceoff, Scott Maxwell is in the process of unveiling his annual NHL team salary cap rankings. Earlier this week, he unveiled the 16th through 9th-best teams at managing the salary cap. Among them? The Calgary Flames, who clocked in at 11th in the league.
Maxwell’s rankings assess teams’ cap situations across five categories, and then aggregates their ratings across those categories. The five categories are Contract Rating (in short: how closely linked a player’s cap structure is to their performances), Contracts with No-Trade/No-Move Clauses, Dead Cap Space, Quality of Core, and their Cap Space to Skill Differential.
Here’s what Maxwell had to say about the Flames:
Yeah, the Flames do have a few veterans over 30 with hefty deals like Jonathan Huberdeau ($10.5 million through 2030-31), Nazem Kadri ($7 million through 2028-29) and MacKenzie Weegar ($6.25 million through 2030-31). But despite that, they have a ton of salary cap flexibility this season and going forward, and several younger players locked up to pretty decent deals.
In terms of clauses, via PuckPedia there are seven players with active clauses: Huberdeau (full no-move), Kadri (full no-move), Mikael Backlund (full no-move), Yegor Sharangovich (10-team no-trade), Blake Coleman (10-team trade list), Rasmus Andersson (6-team no-trade) and Weegar (full no-trade).
Are the Flames in an ideal cap situation? Perhaps not. But they have a lot of flexibility and, as Maxwell’s league-wide snapshot indicates, they’re fairly well-situation relative to the rest of the league cap-wise as they proceed with their retooling process.
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The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers played their second and final prospect showcase game on Sunday evening. The back half of this series was in Calgary and another high scoring game brought the Flames the weekend sweep.
Flames lines
Sam Honzek – Carter King – Matvei Gridin
Parker Bell – David Silye – Aydar Suniev
Jacob Battaglia – Nathan Brisson – Hunter Laing
Kadon McCann – Carter Wilkie – Mael Lavigne
Etienne Morin – Hunter Brzustewicz
Axel Hurtig – Siman Mack
Mace’o Phillips – Colton Alain
Arsenii Sergeev
Owen Say
Recap
It came as no surprise that Zayne Parekh was absent for this game again after missing Friday’s match-up for precautionary reasons. The report is that he’s expected to participate in main camp. For this game, another precautionary scratch was made for Andrew Basha.
These young squads came out with high energy to start this game and some positional hiccups were to be expected. In this match-up, you could see players trying to anticipate moves of teammates they haven’t played with very much but despite that, they will still able to put on an exciting game.
The Oilers were the ones to strike first just 2:13 into the game with a one-timer from Tommy Lafreniere.
Lafreniere one-timer opens the game
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 14, 2025
Shortly after this goal, the first penalty of the game went against the Flames when Sam Honzek was called for tripping. The Flames managed to kill off this penalty and worked towards getting the answer back goal.
A few of the players that stuck out early in this game were Mace’o Phillips, who was putting up big hits and playing with a lot of confidence and Aydar Suniev and David Silye, who had the best looks for the first half of this frame.
The Flames would manage to even up the Oilers with a goal from Mael Lavigne. Calgary set up a passing play with this fourth line and Lavigne finished it on the rebound at 15:36.
Right there to clean it uppic.twitter.com/HZemGlhlO0
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 14, 2025
The first period finished with a deadlocked 1-1 score. In the second period, the Flames got on an early power play but were not able to capitalize on this opportunity. The next goal came for the Flames off the stick of Nathan Brisson. Jacob Battaglia came up on the rush with a forehand backhand play that Brisson sent to the back of the net.
The Flames managed to put more space between themselves and the Oilers with a top shelf snipe from Matvei Gridin on a scrambled Oilers turnover.
With just over three minutes to go in the second, Kadon McCann took a slashing penalty and Edmonton put themselves within one on the power play. Sergeev didn’t get a great read on this awkward shot and Tommy Lafreniere put the puck past the Flames’ netminder.
By the end of the middle frame, the Flames held a 3-2 lead over their northern rivals. Calgary got their two goal lead back pretty quickly when Colton Alain went blocker side and in.
Less than a minute later, the Oilers answered back on a glove side shot on Sergeev. This goal came from Josh Samanski.
Samanski gets a goal & +70 aura pointspic.twitter.com/cGQ0eqwoPB
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 15, 2025
A few minutes later, the Flames were on the power play and Parker Bell took a shot that tipped off Hunter Laing to make it a 5-3 game for the home team.
The Oilers didn’t let this game close out without another goal on their side. They put some zone pressure on the Flames and after losing sight of the shot prior, Sergeev couldn’t get a good read on this shot through traffic. Parker Von Richter was the fourth goal scorer for the Oilers.
Von Richter through trafficpic.twitter.com/DpkCwfkVnh
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 15, 2025
The Oilers pulled their netminder towards the final few minutes of regulation and the Flames got a couple of looks at the empty net but didn’t end up lighting the lamp one more time before time ran out.
At the end of 60 minutes, the Flames took a 5-4 victory over the Oilers and completed the prospect showcase sweep.
Takeaways
The Flames prospect depth is very impressive at this point. These guys played with a lot of hunger and speed that will be interesting to watch as they develop in their professional careers. Mace’o Phillips in particular, has been a good story out of prospect camp and again played a clean game and used his size to his advantage. His pairing with Colton Alain and the Etienne Morin and Hunter Brzustewicz pairing were the most noticeable on the back end.
The top two lines were very impressive this game with all three players on each line having stand out moments as the game went on. Brisson’s line also had moments that impressed but you really felt the difference when the AHL vets were on the ice.
Someone who didn’t really stand out as much as expected was Arsenii Sergeev. His game seemed a little unsure and his puck tracking was a bit weak. He didn’t show much confidence in net but the scoring and the coverage from his defenders bailed him out in this game.
Next up
This game wrapped up the prospect camp portion of pre-season and next will be the main camp for the Flames that will bring many more familiar faces. Quite a few of these players have earned themselves an invite and a chance to prove themselves with the NHLers. The ones who made the cut will be announced in the coming days.
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The Calgary Flames have concluded their annual prospects training camp, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in both sides of a home-and-home set featuring each club’s youngest players.
Now, we turn our attention to the main portion of training camp, which kicks off later this week. But first up, we turn to the mailbag!
We’re leaning towards Ivan Prosvetov as backup, primarily because he has more NHL experience than Devin Cooley and has NHL experience as a backup netminder. But it’s probably a situation that the Flames are monitoring all season with both Prosvetov and Cooley only under contract for the upcoming season.
On paper, I have 11 forwards locked into opening night roster spots: Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Morgan Frost, Martin Pospisil, Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Yegor Sharangovich and Ryan Lomberg.
Behind them, there’s Justin Kirkland and Adam Klapka, both on one-ways, who have strong chances and probably would need to play their way off the team. So there might be just one roster spot left in the forward ranks to battle over, assuming they go with seven defenders and 14 forwards on the opening roster.
I could see players like Dryden Hunt, Sam Honzek, Sam Morton and Rory Kerins getting some consideration for that spot. When I look at the potential 13th and 14th forwards, the Flames have seemed to have a preference to players with a bit of positional versatility – that can play up and down the lineup, or play multiple positions – and so that may favour players like Hunt and Kerins.
The Flames probably look at the young pieces they have in their system, and the on-ice system they’ve instilled over the past season or so, and conclude that they have created a situation where they were a sneeze away from making the playoffs on a roster that arguably was pretty low on execution and elite skill. If you maintain that structure and then add in a few younger players with a bit more skill to them, suddenly you start executing on those chances that didn’t go in a year ago. That’s probably their mindset: they’ve framed out the edges of the puzzle, but now they need to start filling in the gaps to complete the picture.
DFO published a re-draft of the last few years. For 2024 it had Zeev Buium at #2 and Parekh at #7. I think of ZB as the road not taken and given lots of buzz about his progress, I wonder if maybe they should’ve. How do you see it? (For the record, I like Parekh.)
— John Ludwick(@jludwick66) September 14, 2025
Zeev Buium was so much fun to watch in his draft year. For those unfamiliar, Buium was drafted 12th overall by Minnesota while the Flames took Zayne Parekh at ninth overall. Buium had a superb draft year in the NCAA, while Parekh impressed in the OHL. From scouts I chatted with and reports I read, the perception that I got was that Buium was a bit more physically mature and had a better “overall” 200-foot game, while Parekh was seen as having a higher offensive ceiling.
Both are really impressive young defenders, and which player you prefer now (or preferred at last year’s draft) probably depended on what type of player you liked better.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)
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Last week, the Calgary Flames made a big splash, signing netminder Dustin Wolf to a gigantic seven year extension worth $7.5 million per season.
In making that move, general manager Craig Conroy locked his team’s starting netminder in until 2032-33. He also handed out one of the biggest contracts in franchise history. We thought we’d dig into current NHL deals, and historical Flames deals, to put Wolf’s extension in the proper context.
(Stick taps to our pals at PuckPedia for all the contractual information!)
All goalie contracts, 2025-26
- Igor Shesterkin (NYR), $11.5 million AAV
- Carey Price (SJS), $10.5 million AAV [injured]
- Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), $10 million AAV
- Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL), $9.5 million AAV
- Connor Hellebuyck (FLA), $8.5 million AAV
- Linus Ullmark (OTT), $8.25 million AAV
- Ilya Sorokin (NYI), $8.25 million AAV
- Jake Oettinger (DAL), $8.25 million AAV
- Jeremy Swayman (BOS), $8.25 million AAV
- Juuse Saros (NSH), $7.74 million AAV
- Dustin Wolf (CGY), $7.5 million AAV
Of the nine non-injured goaltenders with a higher cap hit than Wolf next season, five of them have won the Vezina Trophy: Shesterkin, Bobrovsky, Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck and Ullmark. And every single one of those nine goaltenders are two years older than Wolf or more.
The biggest-ever Flames contracts
Wolf’s deal was just the fourth deal ever signed by the Flames with a total value of $50 million or more. Not shockingly, due to the recent growth in the salary cap, all of those deals are pretty recent.
MacKenzie Weegar’s current deal (eight years at $6.25 million) has a total value of $50 million. That was surpassed by Wolf’s deal (seven years at $7.5 million), which reached $52.5 million. Matthew Tkachuk’s sign-and-trade deal with Florida in 2022 reached $76 million (eight years at $9.5 million) and was surpassed shortly after by Jonathan Huberdeau’s $84 million pact (eight years at $10.5 million).
In terms of total dollars dolled out by the Flames, Wolf is technically third but functionally second (given that Florida negotiated Tkachuk’s deal and the Flames executed it as part of the trade).
(Yes, two of the three biggest deals given out by the Flames to players they were keeping were given to Weegar and Wolf, a pair of seventh-round picks.)
The biggest-ever Flames cap hits
Based on the prior section, you can probably make some guesses about which players have had the largest cap hits in Flames history.
Wolf’s $7.5 million AAV is third in franchise history, behind Huberdeau ($10.5 million) and Tkachuk’s 2022 sign-and-trade ($9.5 million).
Behind Wolf are a trio of players with a $7 million cap hit: Jarome Iginla (from his 2008 extension), Nazem Kadri (from his current free agent deal, signed in 2022) and Tkachuk’s 2019 bridge contract.
When you take into account the growth of the salary cap and instead look at percentage of the total salary cap each deal represented when they started, the rankings shift around a bit.
- Huberdeau’s $10.5 million AAV was 12.57% of 2023-24’s cap.
- Iginla’s $7 million AAV was 12.34% of 2008-09’s cap.
- Tkachuk’s $9.5 million AAV was 11.52% of 2022-23’s cap.
- Tkachuk’s $7 million AAV was 8.59% of 2019-20’s cap.
- Kadri’s $7 million AAV was 8.48% of 2022-23’s cap.
- Wolf’s $7.5 million AAV is 7.21% of 2025-26’s cap.
However you slice it, it’s a lot of money and one of the largest deals in franchise history. But when you look at how important Wolf was to the Flames in 2024-25, and his overall career trajectory, it may just be worth it to the Flames – especially when you consider that Wolf’s cap hit is cemented through 2032-33 while the cap keeps on growing.
What do you think of Wolf’s new deal? Let us know in the comments!
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Gang, it’s September, and five of the Calgary Flames’ prospects are already playing regular season games in scenic Europe.
Their two Russian goaltenders have played a little bit, and they’re rotating starts for their respective teams. But the three skaters – two Swedish and one Russian – are playing really prominent roles for their hockey clubs so far.
The Canadian Hockey League gets going this coming weekend – the Flames’ three CHL prospects likely miss opening weekend because they’ll be at Flames camp – but let’s check in with the five Europeans already active.
Jakob Leander – D, HV71, U20 Nationell
18; Calgary’s seventh round pick (208th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’4″, 196 pounds; shoots right
GP G A P P1 5v5
P5v5
P1SH NHLe Season to date 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 16.40 2024-25 (J20) 39 1 5 6 3 5 3 33 2.52
Leander is playing on the right side of HV71’s first pairing, alongside Vashek Blanar, with Leander serving as an alternate captain this season. So far, so good. Leander isn’t an offensive-minded player necessarily, but it must feel good for him to be one-third of the way to last season’s points production so quickly.
Yan Matveiko – C, Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL
19; Calgary’s seventh round pick (211th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’1″, 150 pounds; shoots left
GP G A P P1 5v5
P5v5
P1SH NHLe Season to date 6 3 4 7 4 6 3 8 13.68 2024-25 (MHL) 42 10 14 24 20 21 17 68 6.70
Through a quirk of the MHL schedule, Krasnaya Armiya has already played six games while others have played three or four times. He’s off to a really good start, with seven points through six games, including a two point effort on Tuesday.
He’s playing second line centre alongside Nazar Privalov and captain Danila Poroshkov, but actually leads the team in forward ice time because he’s first unit power play and first unit penalty kill. It’s early, but he’s won 50% of his face-offs.
Theo Stockselius – C, Djurgårdens IF, U20 Nationell
18; Calgary’s second round pick (54th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft; 6’2″, 181 pounds; shoots left; FN’s 12th-ranked prospect 2025
GP G A P P1 5v5
P5v5
P1SH NHLe Season to date 2 0 4 4 3 3 3 3 32.80 2024-25 (J20) 40 22 29 51 38 35 29 93 20.91
Stockselius has a pair of two-assist games so far, which is great. But his club blew a 3-0 lead in their second game, eventually losing 7-3, which is less good. Stockselius is playing first line centre between wingers Arvid Drott and Marcus Nordmark and wears an A. He’s playing in every game situation, too.
Yegor Yegorov – G, MHK Spartak-MAX, MHL
20; Calgary’s sixth round pick (176th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 183 pounds
GP TOI SV% Season to date 2 120 .918 2024-25 (MHL) 20 1032 .904
Yegorov has played twice for Spartak Moskva’s second junior team, MHK Spartak-MAX, and has a win and a loss.
He’s also dressed for one game as backup for Spartak’s VHL (minor pro) affiliate, Khimik Voskresensk, and was with the KHL team for a few days as their third goaltender.
Kirill Zarubin – G, AKM Tula, MHL
19; Calgary’s third round pick (84th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft; 6’3″, 178 pounds; FN’s 18th-ranked prospect 2025
GP TOI SV% Season to date 3 164 .912 2024-25 (MHL) 21 1157 .935
Zarubin and AKM Tula’s other netminder, Victor Levchenko, are alternating starts. So far Zarubin has started twice and played a game in relief. He has two overtime losses as the starting netminder.
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When we compiled our annual summer prospect rankings here at FlamesNation, Carter King didn’t crack the top 20.
That’s not meant as a slight against King. Far from it. the Calgary product was an exciting addition to the Flames organization when he signed his entry-level deal back in the spring, and we covered his first pro appearances with the Calgary Wranglers. He’s a quality prospect and someone that Flames fans should legitimately be excited about seeing progress towards the NHL level.
But the Flames have made oodles and oodles of draft choices over the past three years, to the point where once everybody arrives at the pro level, the Flames are going to have some tough decisions to make in terms of how to slot everybody in.
But at the 2025 edition of Flames prospects training camp, a lot of the players that slotted in ahead of King in our rankings weren’t in attendance. Especially the centres.
2025 first-rounders Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter? Preparing for their collegiate seasons. 2025 second-rounder Theo Stockselius? Already playing his regular season in Sweden.
And so when the Flames hit the ice for their two rookie camp games, King was one of four centres on the roster – along with AHL signees David Silye and Carter Wilkie, and invitee Nathan Brisson – and was given the plum position of first line centre. He played with Sam Honzek and Aydar Suniev on Friday, and Honzek and Matvei Gridin on Sunday.
He registered two assists and earned praise from Wranglers head coach Brett Sutter following Sunday’s game.
“He can slow the game down and find those guys flying down the lane because he’s really good at it,” said Sutter. “Another one of those guys, I thought he kind of controlled the pace of play and how he wanted to play. And again, he was one of those guys that took a big step in the checking side of it. From when he came up last year to the first game to this game, there’s noticeable difference. So it’s clear he’s buying in and then that’s what you want to see.”
King’s opportunity to showcase himself seems primed to continue as prospects training camp turns into main camp. Here are the established professional centres expected in camp: Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, Justin Kirkland, Clark Bishop and Sam Morton. (Rory Kerins plays a bit of centre and wing depending on circumstances.) If you’re King, who just centred some strong prospects in rookie games, you might have a chance to centre some established NHL players during the pre-season.
You can’t control the circumstances you’re in, just how you respond to them. King was able to learn the Wranglers systems when he played with them in the spring. He received a big opportunity to play a big role during the two rookie games and performed well, and he’ll likely have an another opportunity when the pre-season begins.
Right now, opportunity is knocking for King. So far, he’s answering well. We’ll see if he can maintain his momentum when main camp begins later this week.
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When it came to the Calgary Flames’ special teams last season, it was bad no matter the situation. Any time the referee’s arm went up, it usually wasn’t good news for Calgary. The team likely preferred to stay five-on-five for the full 60 minutes.
We’ve already looked at their power play last season and how it shapes up heading into the new year. Now let’s dive into the penalty kill, the struggles that plagued it, and whether the Flames can build off a strong finish.
What went wrong?
Even with Dustin Wolf standing on his head most nights, it often wasn’t enough. Here’s a look at the penalty kill units most often deployed in front of him:
PK1
Backlund–Coleman
Bahl–Andersson
PK2
Sharangovich–Huberdeau
Weegar–Pachal
PK3
Rooney–rotating forward
What’s strange is that at even strength, Calgary was one of the NHL’s better defensive clubs. Yet on the penalty kill, they were on pace to set franchise lows.
One of the biggest issues — and one that bled into all areas of their game — was face-offs. Winning the draw is critical on the PK to clear the puck and kill time. But that rarely happened for the Flames, who finished 30th in the league in faceoff percentage at just 46.2. When you’re losing that many draws, you’re immediately on your heels and chasing.
Among the pairings, Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman remained a dependable duo. Backlund has long been one of the league’s best defensive forwards, and Coleman provided consistency.
Jonathan Huberdeau joined the PK mid-season and actually looked comfortable. His offensive instincts allowed him to anticipate plays and disrupt passes, and he scored three of Calgary’s seven shorthanded goals.
Beyond those three, however, the Flames lacked reliability. Yegor Sharangovich couldn’t find consistency in any area of his game, and Kevin Rooney — who logged the third-most shorthanded minutes among forwards — was serviceable but unspectacular. Others rotated through, including Justin Kirkland, Joel Farabee and Jakob Pelletier.
The struggles largely came down to effort and cohesion. Too often, the Flames were outworked, failed to close passing lanes, or couldn’t keep play to the outside. Clearing attempts regularly failed, giving opponents second and third chances — which NHL teams usually capitalize on.
How do the Flames fix this?
Fixing a struggling PK doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. It comes down to simplifying and executing: block shots, disrupt passing lanes, and clear the puck. Easier said than done, but that’s the formula.
Of course, the easier solution would be to simply take fewer penalties. But with frequent offenders like Pachal (88 PIMs) and Martin Pospisil (84 PIMs) on your team, that’s unlikely.
On defence, Kevin Bahl will continue to play a major role. The bigger question is what happens once Rasmus Andersson is traded. Does Zayne Parekh see significant PK time, or does that responsibility fall to depth options such as Joel Hanley or Ilya Solovyov?
Up front, only three names seem certain: Backlund, Coleman and Huberdeau. Beyond them, it’s wide open. Sharangovich will likely get another look, while players like Kirkland and Farabee could see reps.
Pospisil is another intriguing option. First, he’ll need to stay out of the box. But his hard work in puck battles, willingness to block shots, physical edge and speed — he ranked in the 99th percentile in top skating speed, per NHL Edge — give him the tools to become a strong and potentially productive penalty killer.
Like the power play, a fresh approach from the coaching staff will be necessary. Last year’s formula clearly didn’t work. The silver lining is that Calgary actually finished strong, killing 90 per cent of their penalties over the final 10 games. If they can build on that momentum, improvement is possible.
Here’s a look at potential PK units to start the season:
PK1
Backlund–Coleman
Bahl–Andersson/Solovyov
PK2
Kirkland–Huberdeau
Weegar–Pachal
PK3
Sharangovich–Pospisil
If the Flames hope to play meaningful hockey in March and April, their special teams will need massive improvement from a year ago.
Do you think Calgary has what it takes to turn things around?
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It’s a brave new world in college hockey, folks.
The 2025-26 season is the first time in memory that players who have played in Canadian major junior hockey have been eligible to play in the NCAA. This development has led to six Calgary Flames prospects making the jump to college hockey: Cole Reschny, Luke Misa, Jaden Lipinski, Aidan Lane, Eric Jamieson and Henry Mews.
Oh, and four professional players, including former Flames prospect Jack Beck, have also moved to college.
That’s weird, right?
Especially considering that NCAA rules used to be so strict that players that attended NHL development camps had specific rules they had to follow so they didn’t accidentally lose their amateur status. So how come 2021 Flames draft choice Jack Beck, who played a full pro season in 2024-25, is allowed to play college with Arizona State University in 2025-26 as a 22-year-old?
Via our pals at College Hockey News, here’s the broad strokes of it:
Essentially, Arizona State would have had to petition the Eligibility Center that Beck should be eligible based on the precedent set by Thornton and McClennon.
Next, Beck’s age had to be addressed under the NCAA’s delayed enrolment rules:
Beck lost one year of eligibility for the games he played between his 21st and 22nd birthdays, and then was penalized six games for the six games he played in pro hockey after his 22nd birthday. He’ll have to sit until the Sun Devils’ seventh game of the season, but he’ll be allowed to play college hockey this season (and for up to two more seasons).
Beck was a sixth-round pick by the Flames in 2021, but his rights lapsed on June 1, 2023 after he and the Flames didn’t come to terms on a contract. But Beck’s situation is a great example of the very weird, wacky repercussions of the NCAA relaxing their former eligibility rules: not only can Canadian junior players play in college, but in very specific circumstances, pro players can, too.
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Following practice on Saturday afternoon, the Calgary Flames made their first roster moves of 2025’s training camp. Per an announcement from the club, forwards Nathan Brisson, Kadon McCann and Mael Lavigne have been released from their camp try-outs.
All three players were part of Team Black, the third skating group, and actually were skating together as a trio at Saturday’s practice.
Brisson, who turns 19 on Monday, went through the 2025 NHL Draft unselected after posting 24 goals and 72 points with the QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs, where he served as captain. He played in both rookie games against Edmonton and posted two goals and two assists during that pair of games – not bad for someone that was used in the bottom six. He’s headed back to Val-d’Or.
Lavigne, 20, went through the 2025 NHL Draft unselected in his third year of eligibility after splitting the 2024-25 season between the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres and Rimouski Oceanic, posting 17 goals and 49 points. He served as captain in Victoriaville before the trade. He subbed in for Andrew Basha in the second rookie game against Edmonton and scored a goal. He’s headed to Blainville-Boisbriand this season.
McCann, 18, is a Cochrane product who went through the 2025 NHL Draft unselected. He posted 11 goals and 18 points last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He played in both rookie camp games and registered an assist. He’s headed back to Medicine Hat to start his junior season.
Brisson was probably the most impressive of the trio in rookie camp, but the Flames have oodles of prospects in camp and these three gentlemen are unfortunately the victims of the numbers game as the team tries to juggle everybody in camp.
After these roster cuts, the Flames’ camp roster is down to 55 players: six goaltenders, 18 defencemen and 31 forwards. The Flames will see 40 of those 55 players dress for a pair of split squad games on Sunday, as they’ll face the Edmonton Oilers in simultaneous games taking place at 6 p.m. MT in both Calgary and Edmonton to start their exhibition schedule.
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The wider the range of skills you have on a roster, the more interesting the games. The Calgary Wranglers’ inaugural season roster in 2022-23 has many exciting games with a variety of skill sets, which are now benefiting the Calgary Flames at the NHL level. In the three short years since the team made the move, there have been many successes that prove the system for developing the Flames’ prospects is working.
Here’s where the first Wranglers are these days.
Dustin Wolf
This player is top of mind for many Flames fans and has earned attention across the league now. The Calder Trophy candidate last season, Dustin Wolf, has turned into the special player we expected him to be. Last year in his first full season in the NHL, he played 53 games, earned a .910 save percentage, a 2.64 GAA and finished with a 20-12-3. He was a main part of the reason the Flames were even in a playoff conversation.
Wolf has emerged as a franchise goaltender for the Flames and locked himself in to Calgary in a seven-year contract extension earlier this month valued at $53.5 million ($7.5 million per season). He has earned his era as the Flames’ starting goaltender for the next many years and wears that with pride and love for the city of Calgary.
Connor Zary
Connor Zary had a bit of injury trouble last season with knee injuries that kept him out for weeks at a time. His second flare-up towards the end of the season ended his season with the Flames on Mar. 27. Despite these setbacks, Zary still got 54 games in with the Flames and put up 27 points consisting of 13 goals and 14 assists.
This month, Connor Zary signed a three year extension through the end of the 2027-28 season. He’s earned his spot in the NHL and has played 117 games to date with 61 points in that time.
Martin Pospisil
Pospisil has been in the Calgary Flames’ system since the 2019-20 season. By the time he was on the Wranglers, he was pretty much on his way to being an NHLer. He only played in 20 games that season due to injury, but the following year, once he recovered, he spent most of the year at the NHL level. Since then, he’s played 144 NHL games and has 49 points to date.
Last season, he played in all the Flames games with the exception of one. His point totals last season were 25 points made up of four goals and 21 assists. Martin Pospisil was another off-season contract piece of business that took place. He signed a three year contract extension back at the end of July.
Adam Klapka
Adam Klapka turned heads with his 6’8” stature and emerging physical game after the Wranglers’ inaugural season. He got his first handful of NHL games, then last season had nearly an even split between the NHL and AHL. For the Wranglers, he had 26 points in 33 games and for the Flames, he had 10 points in 31 games.
He earned himself a two year contract extension in early June and status as a full-time NHL winger.
Brett Sutter
The Wranglers’ first captain in team history has hung up his jersey and picked up his suit to emerge into the coaching side of things. What started as an assistant coach role turned into an interim head coach role around the midway mark of last season and has now become a permanent head coaching role.
Clark Bishop
Clark Bishop remains as one of the AHL vets with the Wranglers. Once his linemate, Brett Sutter, moved on to coaching, he took the reins as captain of the team. He put up career totals last season and earned a six-game look with the Flames for his first NHL games since the 2021-22 season, and even put up a goal in his first game back at that level. Bishop was re-signed to a one year, two-way contract extension at the end of June.
Dryden Hunt and Ilya Solovyov
While these two play different positions, they feel like they’re in a similar spot between the Flames and Wranglers. A fringe spot, to be exact. They’re both reliable players with NHL experience and seem to be one of the first call-ups made when injuries or circumstances call for it up at the Flames.
Hunt serves as alternate captain when he’s with the Wranglers and played 49 games with them last season. He put up 49 points and was a key part of the top line. He spent some time with the Flames as an extra body as well and ended up getting into five games where he put up three assists.
Solovyov was a similar story but played 10 more games in the AHL. He had 28 points in the AHL and one assist in the 5 games he played in. Both these players had more NHL time in the season prior in 2023-24.
Hunt signed a two-year, two-way contract extension in June. Solovyov’s two-year contract extension was back in 2024, and he plays the last year of it this season.
Flames still hold NHL rights
Connor Zary, William Stromgren, Martin Pospisil, Adam Klapka, Rory Kerins, Dryden Hunt, Clark Bishop, Parker Bell, Ilya Solovyov, Jeremie Poirier, Yan Kuznetsov, Dustin Wolf, Daniil Chechelev
NHL rights held by another team
Cole Schwindt (Las Vegas), Walker Duehr (Winnipeg), Ben Jones (Minnesota), Dennis Gilbert (Philadelphia), Nick DeSimone (Utah), Jakob Pelletier (Tampa Bay)
Everyone else who played on the inaugural season roster, like Matthew Phillips, Emilio Petterson, Mitch McLain, Radim Zohorna, are either on AHL or ECHL deals, retired or playing in international leagues.
This team that came to Calgary from Stockton, CA, had an exceptional first season, earning the AHL regular season title and the Pacific Division title. Those banners can be seen during Wranglers games, and for how far most of that roster has gone in the seasons since, you can really tell how special that team was.
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