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[Calgary Flames]

Wranglers add assistant coach David Liffiton to coaching staff

The Calgary Wranglers have added a new face to their coaching staff for the 2025-26 season.

Well, okay, it’s not an entirely new face. Joining the Wranglers as an assistant coach is David Liffiton, most recently an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen, who share a home building with the Wranglers.

The 40-year-old Liffiton is entering his fifth season as a coach after a pretty interesting playing career. A blueliner by trade, he played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Plymouth Whalers and was selected in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft by Colorado.

Nine months after being drafted, he was traded to the New York Rangers as part of a trade that sent Matthew Barnaby to Colorado. He went pro with the Rangers organization, ultimately playing 14 seasons of pro hockey in a lot of different leagues.

Here’s Liffiton’s pro career at a glance:

• 7 NHL games with the NY Rangers and Colorado
• 339 AHL games with Hartford, Syracuse and Lake Erie
• 16 ECHL games with Charlotte
• Two seasons in Denmark, with EfB Ishockey and the Frederiksvahn White Hawks
• One season in Italy with Milano Rossoblu
• Half a season in the Swedish Hockey League with Farjestads BK
• A season and a half in HockeyAllsvenskan with the Malmo RedHawks
• One season in Austria’s EBEL with HC Innsbruck

Liffiton began assistant coaching high-level hockey in 2020, and he’s racked up a year of U18 coaching with the North Island Silvertips U18 AAA, two seasons of BCHL coaching with the Nanaimo Clippers, and last season with the Hitmen.

Liffiton’s move to the pros from the Hitmen continues a pretty impressive trend of internal promotions within Calgary’s hockey clubs. In addition to Liffiton, in recent memory we’ve seen goalie coach Jason LaBarbera, skills consultant Matt Stajan, video analyst Connor Rankin, PR/team services Rees Giacchetta and athletic therapist Nathan Hollinger make the jump to the Flames or Wranglers staffs from the Hitmen. The Hitmen have been a pretty good spot to develop and promote up-and-coming hockey talent from.

The Wranglers coaching staff for the coming season will consist of head coach Brett Sutter, assistants Joe Cirella and David Liffiton, goalie development coach MacKenzie Skapski and video coach Chandler Biggar. Aside from Cirella, it’s a pretty youthful group coaching what could potentially be a pretty youthful AHL lineup. It should be a lot of fun.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/wranglers-add-assistant-coach-david-liffiton-to-coaching-staff

 

[Calgary Flames]

Streaming Flames games will cost more in 2025-26 due to Sportsnet+ price hike

If you’re a Calgary Flames fan hoping to stream games in 2025-26, it’s gonna cost you a bit more than it used to.

On Thursday, Sportsnet announced price increases for its Sportsnet+ streaming platform starting Sept. 9, 2025 (prices do not include taxes):

• For the Standard yearly package, the price has increased from $199.99 to $249.99, an increase of $50.00.
• For the Premium yearly package, the price has increased from $249.99 to $324.99, an increase of $75.00.
• For the Standard monthly package, the price has increased from $24.99 to $29.99, an increase of $5.00.
• For the Premium monthly package, the price has increased from $34.99 to $42.99, an increase of $8.00.

For cord-cutting Flames fans, the Standard package has been sufficient to watch regional and national broadcasts for those living in the local Calgary area. However, for out-of-market fans in other parts of Canada hoping to keep up with the red team, the Premium package has been a requirement. Both options are getting much pricier. (And this excludes anyone that wants to watch any TSN or Amazon broadcasts…)

This Sportsnet+ price hike continues a frustrating trend for fans, who have seen prices steadily climb up for the service. Sportsnet+ originally launched as Sportsnet NOW in 2016 as an online streaming platform for Sportsnet programming – essentially replicating the TV broadcast experience online for existing subscribers on the go, or those who had cut the cord but still wanted a reliable way to get their sports fix. A few years later, Sportsnet+ essentially replaced the NHL.TV service as the streaming home for all NHL games in Canada.

That would have been great, except the service has been a source of frustration for hockey fans for awhile. (When you try to Google “Sportsnet Plus,” the majority of the search engine’s fill-in suggestions for your search are references to the service not working properly.)

Some fans have had issues getting the service to recognize their IP address, resulting in (for example) Calgary fans trying to watch Flames games while in Calgary but being told they’re located outside the broadcast region. Or the service’s app crashing randomly. Or merely the service buffering perpetually when trying to stream video.

Based on online sentiment, and conversations with fans, the reaction from hockey fans looking for a reliable, safe place to stream hockey games when faced with Sportsnet+ price hikes in the past has been “Okay, sure, as long as the service works.” The persistent unreliability of an increasingly expensive platform has been a big challenge for fans just trying to watch their team.

Let’s see if this season, in the face of another price hike, if Sportsnet+ takes a big step forward.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/stream...t-more-in-2025-26-due-to-sportsnet-price-hike

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames will have 10 prospects playing college hockey in 2025-26

Folks, college hockey has always been one of the lifelines of the Calgary Flames. Some really splendid hockey players came to the Flames via the NCAA; among them names like Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Mullen, Jamie Macoun, Joel Otto and Johnny Gaudreau.

But with the NCAA’s rule change that allows players from Canadian major junior hockey to be eligible to play in college, there’s been an influx of top prospects into the college ranks over the past year. Heck, the Flames will have 10 prospects – roughly a quarter of their prospect base – playing in the NCAA in the 2025-26 season.

So as we amble through our summer months and the fall remains in the distance, for now, let’s take a look at which college teams Flames prospects will be on during the coming season. (We’ve sorted it by conference!)

ECAC Hockey​

Quinnipiac University Bobcats – F Ethan Wyttenbach (2025 5th-rounder)

Based in Hamden, Connecticut, Quinnipiac is a really strong program. They’ve appeared each of the past six NCAA national tournaments, winning the crown in 2023.

In addition to Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac boasts just a pair of NHL-drafted players in Boston Bruins prospects D Elliott Groenewold (2024 4th-rounder) and F Christopher Pelosi (2023 3rd-rounder). They haven’t had a powerhouse recruiting class, especially compared to some other programs, but they look to be returning a lot of their heavy hitters from last season, so they should be strong again.

Harvard University Crimson – F Aidan Lane (2025 6th-rounder)

Now, we know some Flames fans have some Ivy League anxiety about Harvard because of Adam Fox. But hey, Harvard also gave the Flames Matt Coronato, and historically they’ve been a really nice proving ground for NHLers. They’ve missed the NCAA national tournament in the past two seasons, but they could be bound for a bounce-back season.

In addition to Lane, Harvard’s NHL drafted prospects include Anaheim D Ryan Healey (2022 4th-rounder), Buffalo D Sean Keohane (2023 6th-rounder), Boston D Mason Langenbrunner (2020 5th-rounder), Anaheim F Michael Callow (2022 5th-rounder), San Jose F Richard Gallant (2025 7th-rounder), Toronto F Joe Miller (2020 6th-rounder) and Philadelphia F Heikki Ruohonen (2024 4th-rounder). They may lack elite NHL prospects, but they have a ton of pretty promising depth.

Big 10​

Penn State University Nittany Lions – F Luke Misa (2024 5th-rounder)

You’re probably aware of Penn State for either their run to the Frozen Four this past spring (backstopped by Flames prospect Arsenii Sergeev) or their recent recruitment of presumptive 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna. They’ve been on the upswing in recent years, making the NCAA national tournament in two of the past three seasons.

Aside from Misa (and McKenna), the Nittany Lions also have Ottawa G Kevin Reidler (2022 5th-rounder), Columbus D Jackson Smith (2025 1st-rounder), Florida F Shea Busch (2025 4th-rounder) and Carolina F Charlie Cerrato (2025 2nd-rounder). Even before McKenna signed on, Penn State was looking to be a really fun team. They’re a team to watch this fall.

University of Michigan Wolverines – D Henry Mews (2024 3rd-rounder)

The Wolverines had a bit of a down year by their standards in 2024-25, missing the NCAA national tournament for the first time in five seasons. They’re generally considered one of the top programs in the country, and they’re likely hoping for a bounce-back.

In addition to Mews, in terms of NHL prospects the Wolverines have Nashville G Jack Ivankovic (2025 2nd-rounder), Anaheim D Drew Schlock (2025 4th-rounder), San Jose F Cole McKinney (2025 2nd-rounder), Carolina F Jayden Perron (2023 3rd-rounder) and NY Rangers F Malcolm Spence (2025 2nd-rounder). It’s a younger group, but there’s a lot of potential there.

NCHC​

University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks – F Cole Reschny (2025 1st-rounder) & F Cade Littler (2022 7th-rounder)

You’re probably aware of North Dakota as a Flames fan, likely due to 2025 first-rounder Cole Reschny being headed there in the fall. (We’ll forgive you if you don’t recall that Cade Littler goes there, too.) North Dakota has built a reputation as a really strong program, but they’ve been in a bit of a slump lately. They missed the NCAA national tournament last year, and have qualified for just one of the past three.

In addition to Reschny and Littler, the Fighting Hawks have NHL prospects like NY Islanders D Sam Laurila (2025 5th-rounder), Vegas D Abram Wiebe (2022 7th-rounder), Detroit F Dylan James (2022 2nd-rounder), San Jose F David Klee (2023 7th-rounder), Buffalo F Ashton Schultz (2025 6th-rounder) and Boston F Will Zellers (2024 3rd-rounder). North Dakota graduated Sasha Boisvert to the pros in the spring and Owen McLaughlin moved on to Boston University, so we’ll see if North Dakota’s new faces can find their stride quickly.

Arizona State University Sun Devils – F Cullen Potter (2025 1st-rounder)

From the hockey hotbed of Tempe, Arizona, the Sun Devils are the home of Flames first-rounder Cullen Potter and have been one of the more interesting stories in college hockey over the past decade. They’ve made the NCAA national tournament just once, in 2019 as an independent, but could be a surprise this season.

In addition to Potter, their NHL prospects include Minnesota D Justin Kipkie (2025 5th-rounder), Philadelphia F Noah Powell (2024 5th-rounder) and Boston F Cole Spicer (2022 4th-rounder). The Sun Devils have an older group than a lot of teams, but they’re returning a bunch of key players. If they’re going to make a splash, someone – probably Potter – is going to need to have a strong season.

University of Denver Pioneers – D Eric Jamieson (2024 6th-rounder)

The Pioneers have been consistently very good lately. They’ve qualified for the NCAA national tournament in each of the past four years, and made it to the Frozen Four three of the past four years. Heck, they won a national championship in 2024. They’re good. Carter King played there last season, and they keep winning and graduating players to the NHL.

In addition to Jamieson, NHL prospects at Denver include Montreal G Quentin Miller (2023 4th-rounder), Colorado D Tory Pitner (2024 6th-rounder), Seattle F Clarke Caswell (2024 5th-rounder), Los Angeles F Kristian Epperson (2025 3rd-rounder), Colorado F Jake Fisher (2024 4th-rounder) and Los Angeles F Brendan McMorrow (2025 7th-rounder). The Pioneers graduated a bunch of their top players, so we’ll see who steps up to fill the void.

Hockey East​

University of Maine Black Bears – F Jaden Lipinski (2023 4th-rounder)

Maine’s been a low-key fun story in the NCAA over the past few years, with back-to-back NCAA national tournament appearances after not being in the big dance for over a decade before that.

In addition to Lipinski, the Black Bears have NHL prospects like Florida D Luke Coughlin (2023 6th-rounder), Nashville F Miguel Marques (2024 3rd-rounder) and Carolina F Justin Poirier (2024 5th-rounder), Jeremie’s brother. Maine’s resurgence hasn’t been star-driven, so we’ll see if they can continue to play a strong team game and keep their hot streak going.

Merrimack College Warriors – F Trevor Hoskin (2024 4th-rounder)

Is Merrimack College a conference powerhouse? Not really. They’re a solid team, but they’ve made just one NCAA national tournament appearance in the last decade (back in 2023).

As of right now, Hoskin is the only NHL-drafted player committed to Merrimack College for the coming season.

Which Flames prospect are you most excited to watch in the NCAA this coming season? Let us know in the comments!

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-flames-will-have-10-prospects-playing-college-hockey-in-2025-26

 

[Calgary Flames]

FlamesNation Mailbag: The Stampede ends and the dog days of summer begin

Gang, the 2025 edition of the Calgary Stampede is now complete. Hopefully everybody had a good time, or avoided it entirely, to their own personal preferences.

As we sweep all the hay out of Calgary’s streets, let’s check in with the mailbag!

Is it managements decision not to commit to an actual rebuild or ownerships? It seems like Conroy knows what this team needs but isn't allowed to do it as Nonnis and malony are actually calling the shots. It's incredibly frustrating as a fan.

— Alberta Moose Knuckle (@AlbertaMatt) July 12, 2025

All due respect, I think you – and others – are overestimating the influence Dave Nonis and Don Maloney have on Flames management. Craig Conroy is running the show and while he does consult with others, including his experienced colleagues such as Nonis and Maloney, he’s steering the ship. My read, from various chats with Conroy over the years in various settings, is that he legitimately believes that tearing it down to the studs was not the ideal option for the Flames when he took the reins, and so he’s embraced the “retool” or “hybrid rebuild” or whatever folks want to call it.

If Conroy holds on to Anderson and intends to trade him at the deadline, but he gets injured and cant be moved.
Is it total meltdown in Flames land? And will the fans turn on Conroy?

— Baldy (@Bald8Tyler) July 12, 2025

This is probably a fair sentiment. Rasmus Andersson is arguably the last big sellable asset that Craig Conroy inherited from the previous regime, and if Andersson is going to be departing the organization and not signing a long-term deal to remain with the club, they need to get some assets back for him in order to keep the momentum of their retool rolling along.

And much like with Chris Tanev, who everyone seemed to wince alongside every time he blocked a shot during the 2023-24 stretch drive, it’s imperative that Andersson not get injured and become a diminished asset before he can be sold off.

I think Conroy has done enough good things thus far that he has a lot of banked goodwill with Flames fans, but not getting a sufficient return for Andersson should garner him criticism from fans and media in the event that it happens. It probably wouldn’t wash out all the smart things he’s done so far as general manager, but you never know.

Who is the Flame, new prospect, or whomever that can be the new Sam Bennett(similar playing style), but stays this time. Or maybe it's no one?

— Steve Berman (@5t3v3b3rm4n) July 12, 2025

Sam Bennett was a unicorn in terms of having the size, smarts and snarl to be a really effective playoff player. I don’t know if anybody in the organization right now has those three attributes to the degree Bennett did.

However, I am excited to see Andrew Basha at 100% potentially playing pro hockey this coming season, because he has a lot of those Bennett-y attributes, albeit possibly not in the same amount. I’ll also single out Lucas Ciona, who probably doesn’t have the skill ceiling of Bennett or Basha, but feels like someone that opponents will hate playing against in the playoffs if he keeps progressing as a physical role player in the forward group.

But no, there’s no Sam Bennett clone out there.

Is there any news on the Zary signing?

— Fox (@FoxON3P) July 12, 2025

On July 1, here’s what Craig Conroy said to us media folks when asked if he had any updates on Connor Zary and Morgan Frost:

“Talking to their agents. I think it’ll get done here at some point. So hopefully we’ve been busy with the draft and everything. So I think those will start to pick up. That’ll be our priority in the next couple weeks.”

Frost signed shortly afterwards, so we would suggest that Zary is their top priority right now.

Which current players do you think will be on the team in 2030?

Also what’s your favourite new change to the CBA?

— Aidan (@aidan_thakkar) July 12, 2025

Current Flames that I think will be on the team in 2023 include, but are not limited to, Dustin Wolf, MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Bahl, Jonathan Huberdeau and Matt Coronato. And because I want to throw some prospects on there, I’ll also say Cole Reschny, Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz.

Via e-mail from David: “How many of the Flames and the prospects train in Calgary during the offseason?”

It varies, because some players stick around for awhile after the season ends – especially those with school-aged kids – and then head off elsewhere. I would estimate somewhere around 20-25% of the players under contract hang around town for a significant amount of the off-season.

Via e-mail from Steve: “I’ve been looking at the development maps for the area and I’m stumped at the “walking path” for the hockey fans from the LRT station to the new dome. I was there since the new station was finished and the only walking route is the “alley way” between the BMO and Cowboys. Something will replace the now demolished elevated partially covered walkway. I can’t find anything in any plans anywhere. To be clear from Victoria Park station to the Event Centre. If the Green Line gets built it will be across the street for the Event Centre but the Red Line walk way remains a mystery. Any news you have seen??”

The plan, as has been relayed to me by various people working on the various Stampede Park developments, is for there to be no dedicated indoor path from either Victoria Park LRT station (to the west) or the eventual Green Line station (to the north) to Scotia Place. The idea is that the planners want some foot traffic along the street level, and that would drive some business to the various places that pop up in the area.

They’re working on a couple more hotel developments for the area to go with the two that were just announced in recent weeks, and those hotels will have lobby bars and restaurants, as does the Cowboys Casino. The hope is that fans will pop in and out of all those places before and after games and concerts and make the area a fun, lively place.

Via the DMs from Ethan Williams: “What will be the first event at Scotia Place? Will it be a concert? Will it be the 2027 regular season home opener? Will it be a pre season game? IMO the regular season home opener should be the first ever event.“

In an ideal world, the hope is probably to have a few concerts before the 2027 NHL pre-season to stress test Scotia Place. It sounds incredibly stressful to launch a brand-new building with an NHL regular season game, and I think everybody involved would like to have a few smaller-scale rehearsals before the pre-season begins. Failing that, the two home pre-season games (and the early Calgary Hitmen regular season games in 2027-28) would probably work as stress tests.

But you can understand why they would like multiple outings with varied audiences to work out the kinks, and then use the Flames season-opener in 2027-28 as a big event to act as the building’s “grand opening,” so to speak.

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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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnation-mailbag-the-stampede-ends-and-the-dog-days-of-summer-begin

 

[Calgary Flames]

Despite offensive breakout in 2024-25, Flames prospect Jacob Battaglia might still be underrated

When Calgary Flames fans think about the organization’s prospects, a few names immediately come to mind.

Understandably, fans are excited about Zayne Parekh. The club’s other recent first-rounders – Matvei Gridin, Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter – merit a lot of attention. Local product Andrew Basha returned from a pretty significant ankle injury to help Medicine Hat win a league championship. Several prominent prospects are headed onto new challenges with good college programs in the fall.

In this context, let’s talk about 2024 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia, who scored 40 goals and 90 points for the Kingston Frontenacs last season and may still somehow be underrated when we discuss Flames prospects. He had a big leap forward offensively in 2024-25, increasing his goal output from 31 and his point output from 65. He was asked about the secret to his scoring increase.

“Honestly, I feel like I just got better in the off season, just kind of translated that into the hockey season,” said Battaglia. “Didn’t really try to do too much, just kind of wanted to kind of play more simple and try to keep the puck on my stick and less hope plays and throwing it away. And I think that helped me a lot, just being able to possess the puck longer on the ice and make better plays and higher end plays that ultimately result in a goal or at least an offensive chance.”

Back in November, the developmental hockey landscape changed as the NCAA voted to allow Canadian junior players to become eligible to play college hockey starting in 2025-26. That led to a veritable gold rush as junior-aged CHLers began to make college commitments. One of the most prominent CHLers who didn’t do that was Battaglia, who signed his entry level deal with the Flames in late March, closing the door on any possible collegiate move.

“I mean, my dream and always the route I dreamed of playing was playing in the OHL and going to the NHL from there, even taking one or two years in the AHL and getting to the NHL,” said Battaglia. “That was always kind of the dream route. Even when I chose the OHL at 16, again, never really thought of school, always had in my mind that OHL was going to be the way. So I thought might as well just stick to what I chose before and not change up and make it too hard on myself, just go out there and play the game.”

On Mar. 28, the Flames announced they had signed Battaglia to a three year entry-level deal – presuming that Battaglia spends the upcoming season in the OHL, his ELC won’t kick in until 2026-27. Coming at the end of a really strong season for him, it was some validation that he was on the right path towards his goals.

“Yeah, I got that call the day after my birthday from my agent,” said Battaglia. “So it was kind of a little belated birthday gift. Even that experience, just getting that phone call is so cool. Just the reaction for me was more just a relief and feel that they have been watching me and they’ve been seeing me put in work and that they believe and they want to give me a chance to be a Calgary Flame. So just knowing you have that from the management and the coaching staff and everyone else around that they believe in you and they want you to be a Calgary Flame is just so inviting and you just feel so comfortable around them to be yourself.”

Battagalia is a 2006 birthday, so he’s not eligible to go pro and play in the American Hockey League this coming season. More likely than not, he’ll be back with the Frontenacs for the 2025-26 season. And while he played some really good hockey last season, he remains hungry to prove himself as he works towards his ultimate goal of the NHL.

“I mean, well, the job’s not finished,” said Battaglia. “Obviously that’s just, again, just another stepping stone in the dream plan of eventually playing in the NHL. So yeah, just trying to stay the course and entrust the process. No, it’s not always going to be direct work, go to the OHL, get drafted, sign a contract, play in the NHL. It’s going to be a lot of adversity throughout the way and throughout the journey and just trying to stay the course and stay level with myself, stay level headed, not trying to get too up, not trying to get too down. Just kind of stay right in the middle there and feel where I’m most comfortable on and off the ice.”

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/despit...ect-jacob-battaglia-might-still-be-underrated

 

[Calgary Flames]

Report: Flames place prospect Joni Jurmo on unconditional waivers to terminate contract

The Calgary Flames have reportedly placed defensive prospect Joni Jurmo on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Joni Jurmo (CAL) & Ty Voit (TOR) both on unconditional waivers to terminate contracts

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 15, 2025

The 23-year-old Jurmo is a left shot defenceman from Espoo, Finland. He was originally selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. His rights moved to the Flames as part of the January 2024 trade for Elias Lindholm, and the Flames signed Jurmo to a two year entry-level contract in March 2024.

Since being drafted, Jurmo had bounced around Finnish pro hockey a bit, playing with JYP, Jukurit, Ilves and KooKoo in the first-tier SM-liiga and Kiekko-Espoo in the second tier Mestis over a four season period. When he signed with the Flames, the hope was probably that some stability would allow the big-bodied blueliner to blossom. Listed at 6’4″ and 207 pounds, you can understand why the Flames would have coveted Jurmo’s size, defensive prowess and pro experience in good leagues.

Unfortunately, Jurmo was lost in the shuffle in the Flames system. When he was with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, he played a lot and played quite well. Well enough, in fact, that an argument could be made that he was too good for that league. He had 10 points in 12 ECHL games with the Rush last season. With the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, he played just 17 times, often as a seventh defender, and he didn’t really carve out a role for himself given how sporadically he played. He had zero points in the AHL.

Including Jurmo, the Flames organization has 16 defencemen on NHL contracts for 2025-26. With highly-touted prospect Etienne Morin going pro with the Wranglers in the fall, and lefties like Ilya Solovyov, Nick Cicek, Yan Kuznetsov and Jeremie Poirier vying for ice time, it seems unlikely (on paper) that Jurmo’s placement within the Flames defensive pecking order would improve in 2025-26 from where it was in 2024-25.

A contract termination opens up a contract slot for the Flames, and gives Jurmo a chance to pursue a larger on-ice role elsewhere. Signing Jurmo was a worthwhile, low-risk gamble for player and team. Sometimes those gambles don’t work out.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/report...n-unconditional-waivers-to-terminate-contract

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames and Stars are perfect trade partners for Rasmus Andersson

It’s looking like Rasmus Andersson’s time in Calgary is coming to an end. The Flames and their 28 year old defenceman are reportedly far apart on extension talks.

The best course of action for Craig Conroy is to trade Andersson, preferably before the start of training camp. They are going to want to avoid making this situation a distraction this season.

Andersson has a six team no trade list. Conroy has the ability to move Andersson to 25 teams across the NHL as a rental.

But there is one team that makes the most sense to partner with in an Andersson trade. And that is the Dallas Stars.

Andersson is exactly what the stacked Dallas Stars team is missing.

Dallas desperately needs help on the right side of their defence. As of June 14th, the only right shot defencemen on the Stars NHL roster is Ilya Lyubushkin, Nils Lundkvist, and Alex Petrovic. Keep in mind that Miro Heiskanen plays the right side. But man, after Heiskanen, there is zero depth on that blueline.

Jim Nill needs to add to that group if they want to give themselves the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup. And who better than Rasmus Andersson to fill that void?

Andersson is the type of player you want to add to a cup contender. As Flames fans know, Andersson’s style of play and attitude is perfect for playoff hockey. His physicality, willingness to block shots, defensive play, and ability to piss off his opponents will allow him to thrive in the biggest games of the season.

Andersson would be a great fit. But do the Stars have the assets to make a trade happen? The answer is yes.

The Stars have a lot of assets the Flames would be interested in. They have their second and third round picks in the stacked 2026 NHL draft. They have their first and third round picks in the 2027 NHL Draft.

The Flames have shown in the past under Craig Conroy that they like acquiring young NHL players. The Stars have a couple intriguing names.

Lian Bichsel is a 6’7″, 231 pound, 21-year-old left shot defenceman who broke out for the Stars late in their regular season and playoff run. He is a very similar player to Kevin Bahl. He is a good skater for his size. He is tough and difficult to play against. He is a perfect partner for the Flames skilled, right shot defencemen like MacKenzie Weegar, Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews.

The other young NHL player the Flames would be interested in is Mavrik Bourque. The 23 year old winger played in 73 games, scored 11 goals and added 14 assists. He was under-utilized playing on the fourth line. Bourque might be one of those players who could break out if given a bigger role on a new team.

Finally, there is the salary cap. The Dallas Stars only have $1,955,084 of cap space. Rasmus Andersson makes $4.55 million next season.

There is an easy solution to this problem: add Ilya Lyubushkin’s $3.25 million to the deal. The Flames would have to be incentivized to take on that deal. They are doing to Stars a favour.

Lyubushkin could help replace the minutes left behind by Andersson on the Flames blue line. He would also be a stop-gap for Zayne Parekh. He can take on tough minutes at 5-on-5 and help ease Parekh into the NHL.

If the Flames are able to rebuild his value on the trade market, they could move him for an asset at the 2026 or 2027 deadline.

All the pieces are there to make a trade. So what could that potentially look like?

The Flames trade a valuable right shot defenceman on a great contract. They also take on the two remaining years of Ilya Lyubushkin’s contract that pays him $3.25 million. The Stars will need to give up some significant assets to make this happen.

Lian Bichsel, a potential left shot top four defenceman and a 2027 first round pick feels like a fair starting point. Throw in a 5th round pick to boot and there might be a deal to be had.

The stars are aligning on a Rasmus Andersson trade between Calgary and Dallas. All the components are there to make a trade happen. Will these two deals be able to work something out? We will find out between now and the 2026 trade deadline.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-flames-and-stars-are-perfect-trade-partners-for-rasmus-andersson

 

[Calgary Flames]

The Flames and Connor Zary like each other, but have a disagreement on compensation: Friedman

It’s been a pretty quiet summer for the Calgary Flames, gang.

Yeah, general manager Craig Conroy has locked a few players up to new contracts – including Matt Coronato, Kevin Bahl, Morgan Frost and Martin Pospisil. But there’s one piece of lingering contractual business before the 2025-26 season can begin: restricted free agent Connor Zary.

A first-round selection by the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, Zary just completed his entry-level contract and needs a new deal. But so far, the Flames and Zary’s camp have remained at an impasse.

In the most recent edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, co-host Kyle Bukauskas asked Elliotte Friedman about the whole situation.

Bukauskas: Quickly, do you have a read on another RFA out there, and Connor Zary and the Flames, and what the sticking point may be there?

Friedman: I have just heard that the two sides just have been apart. So until that changes, again, I don’t think this is a situation where the Flames don’t like the player or the player doesn’t like the Flames. I’ve just As you’ve heard, it’s a disagreement on, hey, if the term is X, this is what we think the number should be. The good news is that starting to pick up. Business is starting to pick up.

The 23-year-old Zary has played four seasons of pro hockey, a benefit of being a late birthday and gaining a slide year from signing soon after being drafted. On one hand, Zary’s definitely progressed since going pro, and has shown promise playing both centre and the wing.

But while teammate Matt Coronato avoided injury in 2024-25 and was able to really showcase what he can bring to the Flames… Zary wasn’t quite so lucky. Zary began the season playing quite well, but a pair of scary incidents – a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim’s Drew Helleson in January and another with Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen in March – kept him out of the lineup for big chunks of the season and really disrupted his momentum, with his offensive production ending up slightly behind 2023-24’s.

Hopefully the two sides can come to terms on a deal soon and Zary can have a full training camp before the regular season begins on Oct. 7.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/the-fl...-have-a-disagreement-on-compensation-friedman

 

[Calgary Flames]

Western Conference off-season preview: Utah Mammoth

The Utah Mammoth played their first season in Salt Lake City, and it went okay.

Late in the 2023-24 season, it was announced that the Arizona Coyotes would relocate to Salt Lake City after 27 seasons in the desert. The Mammoth, known as the “Utah Hockey Club” in 2024-25, are technically a new franchise as they don’t carry on the Coyotes’ history – and why would they?

Let’s take a look at how the Mammoth’s first season went, how their second off-season has gone, as well as what the team will look like heading into the 2025-26 season.

How the season went​

Unlike the Coyotes in 2023-24, the Mammoth were battling for a wild card spot as late as March last season. By the end of the season, the Mammoth had a 38-31-13 record, a significant improvement over the 77 points the Coyotes finished with.

The Mammoth’s play tailed off by the end of the season, as they missed the post-season by seven points. Still, there’s a lot to look forward to, as the Mammoth have a young core with plenty of help coming down the pipeline.

Leading the team in both goals and points in 2024-25 was 27-year-old Clayton Keller, who scored 30 goals and 90 points. Two of their younger players, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, both finished in the top five in scoring, as Cooley had 25 goals and 65 points in 75 games, while Guenther had 27 goals and 60 points in 70 games.

Another youngster, Barrett Hayton, scored 20 goals and 46 points in 82 games. Additionally, Jack McBain scored 13 goals and 27 points in 82 games last season.

There’s a solid veteran presence on the Mammoth as well. Nick Schmaltz finished with 20 goals and 63 points, third on the team in the latter category. Alex Kerfoot scored 11 goals and 28 points, while Kevin Stenlund scored 14 goals and 28 points. Long-time Coyote Lawson Crouse scored 12 goals and 18 points in 81 games.

Acquired during the 2024 draft, one of the first moves the Mammoth made, Mikhail Sergachev led their defencemen in both goals and points, scoring 15 goals and 53 points. Selected late in the first round of the 2022 draft, Maveric Lamoureux made his National Hockey League debut due to numerous injuries, playing 15 games with a goal and three points. He’ll likely be a factor for the Mammoth in 2025-26.

Both Sean Durzi and John Marino missed significant time, with Durzi playing 30 games and Marino playing 35 games. If they remained healthy, there is a legitimate case that the Mammoth could’ve made the playoffs.

In net, Karel Vejmelka posted a .904 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average in 58 games, with a 26-22-8 record. For the foreseeable future, he’ll be the top goalie for the Mammoth.

Drafted players​

The Mammoth also got incredibly lucky in the draft lottery, ending up with the fourth overall pick. With that pick, they selected Moncton Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers, a teammate of Calgary Flames’ prospect Étienne Morin.

In the second round, the Mammoth selected Portland Winterhawks defenceman Max Psenicka, followed by Stepan Hoch in the third round. With the 110th overall pick, the Mammoth turned to Russian winger Yegor Borikov and picked another Russian prospect in the fifth round, selecting netminder Ivan Tkach-Tachenko.

They also had two sixth-round picks, using them to select two defenceman. Ludvig Johnson was selected 174th overall, and Reko Alanko was selected 182nd overall.

Trades​

The Mammoth also made one of the biggest trades in the off-season, sending Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for J.J. Peterka. While losing Kesselring and Doan hurts, Peterka is a legitimate top-six forward who scored 27 goals and 68 points in 77 games last season. He’ll only make them that much more dangerous.

They also traded a young forward, moving Matias Maccelli to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third-round pick in the 2027 draft. Maccelli scored 17 goals and 57 points in 82 games with the Coyotes in 2023-24, but his production dropped to just eight goals and 18 points in 55 games last season.

Free agent signings​

As for their free agent signings, the Mammoth were able to sign Peterka to a five-year extension worth $7.7 million annually. They also re-signed Kailer Yamamoto, while bringing in unrestricted free agents Brandon Tanev (three-year, $2.5 million AAV), Nate Schmidt (three-year, $3.5 million AAV), and Vítek Vaněček (one-year, $1.5 million AAV).

On Jul. 7, the Mammoth extended Jack McBain, agreeing to a five-year deal worth $4.25 million annually. They also re-signed Michael Carcone on a one-year deal worth the league minimum.

Departures​

There were some losses as well. Kesselring is a top-four defender who scored seven goals and 29 points in 82 games last season. Doan, son of Coyotes legend Shane, scored seven goals and 19 points in 51 games last season.

The only free agent to depart the Mammoth was Nick Bjugstad, who scored eight goals and 19 points in 66 games last season. In 2023-24, Bjugstad scored 22 goals and 45 points, one of the best seasons of his career.

Funnily enough, Bjugstad and Kesselring were involved in the same trade before the 2023 deadline, as the Coyotes sent Bjugstad to the Oilers for Kesselring and a prospect. Ouch.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26​

There’s plenty of young talent in the Mammoth’s top six next season. Cooley and Hayton will likely play centre, while Keller, Guenther, Schmaltz, and Peterka line up on the wings. In the bottom-six, McBain and Stenlund are the centres, while Crouse, Tanev, Kerfoot, and Liam O’Brien will be on the wings.

On the blue line, Sergachev spearheads the defence. Olli Määttä and Schmidt fill out the left side, while Marino, Durzi, and Ian Cole make up the right side. Between the pipes, the Mammoth will have two Czech goalies: Vejmelka and Vaněček.

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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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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/western-conference-off-season-preview-utah-mammoth

 

[Calgary Flames]

How can the Flames navigate their potential left shot winger logjam?

If you look at the Calgary Flames roster on PuckPedia, you may notice a few things. One big thing you may notice: there are a lot of left shot wingers on the roster.

In addition to that, a lot of the most exciting Flames forward prospects are lefties that primarily play on the wing. And if these youngsters keep developing the way the Flames hope they will, they may be facing a bit of a logjam on the big club’s roster with a mix of established NHLers and these many up-and-comers.

Let us explain what we mean.

Lefties on the NHL roster​

Likely starting on the Flames roster to kick off the 2025-26 campaign are the following left shot wingers:

• Jonathan Huberdeau
• Yegor Sharangovich
• Joel Farabee
• Blake Coleman
• Connor Zary (RFA)
• Ryan Lomberg
• Martin Pospisil

Of note: Huberdeau is 32 and under contract through 2030-31. Sharangovich is 27 and under contract through 2029-30. Pospisil is 25 and under contract through 2028-29. Farabee is 25 and under contract through 2027-28.

On the farm​

Oh golly, the Flames have many up-and-comers that are left shot wingers slated to play in the AHL this coming season.

Not up-and-comers, but important players that will get ice time as they mentor younger players, are Dryden Hunt and Clark Bishop. Their presence is really important to helping the Flames’ prospects grow… but as a sort of “necessary evil,” they take away ice time from younger players.

Lefties potentially playing for the Wranglers include Matvei Gridin, Aydar Suniev, William Strömgren, Sam Honzek, Andrew Basha, Lucas Ciona, Parker Bell and Rory Kerins. Now, obviously these guys don’t necessarily all project for the same sorts of roles: Ciona and Bell, in particular, probably trend towards checking roles if they were pushing for NHL time. But the remainder of these players would probably need middle-six duty at the NHL level to be effective… and the Flames have quite a few of players already at the NHL level in that middle-six/top-nine mix.

(And don’t forget about Jacob Battaglia, who’ll likely go pro in 2026-27 as a 20-year-old and would also probably trend towards that sort of role if he pushed for an NHL spot.)

How can they juggle them all?​

There are six top-nine winger spots on the Flames. Odds are that, going forward, four of them will be spoken for by Huberdeau, Matt Coronato, Sharangovich and Zary. On the fourth line, there are two spots. It’s reasonable to expect Adam Klapka to be a prime contender for one of those spots, but he’s far from a lock considering he’s still establishing himself as an NHLer.

In other words: there seem to be three or four future winger spots potentially available… and a whole lot of young wingers that will be battling it out for them over the next few seasons.

We’ll see how it plays out.

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/how-can-the-flames-navigate-their-potential-left-shot-winger-logjam

 

[Calgary Flames]

Western Conference off-season preview: Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators won the 2024 off-season.

They didn’t do so well in the season, as their new signings regressed quite a bit, and the team ended up toward the bottom of the league. Was it just a season where everything went wrong, or precursor to what the next few seasons could look like?

In this season, we’ll look at how the Predators’ 2024-25 season went, what they’ve done in the 2025 off-season, as well as how they line up in 2025-26.

How the season went​

A big reason why the Predators snuck into the 2024 post-season is thanks to a run of 18 games where they got at least one point. This streak included an eight-game and six-game win streak, setting up an opening round showdown against the Vancouver Canucks. In the end, the Predators went home in six games, but there was optimism for the future.

There was even more optimism when the Predators “won” the off-season, signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. Both Stamkos and Marchessault were coming off 40+ goal seasons and it was believed they were going to bring some offence.

That wasn’t the case though, as the 2024-25 season didn’t start great. By the time Dec. 10 rolled around, the Predators had a 7-16-6 record, with their 20 points being the fewest in the league. They eventually snapped what was an eight-game losing skid, but two more six-game losing streaks sunk their season, finishing with a 30-44-8 record. Their 68 points were the second-fewest, only ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.

Neither Stamkos nor Marchessault were the reason for their struggles, but they regressed from the season before. After scoring 40 goals and 81 points in 2023-24, Stamkos scored just 27 goals and 53 points in his first season with the Predators. Marchessault went from 42 goals and 69 points in 2023-24 to just 21 goals and 56 points last season.

Skjei didn’t drop off like the other two players, finishing the season with 10 goals and 33 points. Their other notable defenceman, Roman Josi, had nine goals and 38 points in 53 games, but his season ended due to a concussion.

Filip Forsberg led the team in both goals and points, scoring 31 goals and 76 points in 82 games. Ryan O’Reilly had another strong campaign, scoring 21 goals and 53 points in 79 games. Youngster Luke Evangelista scored 10 goals and 32 points in 68 games. Other intriguing players who haven’t hit their prime yet are Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov.

Acquired before the trade deadline, Michael Bunting scored five goals and nine points in 18 games. And in net, Juuse Saros struggled, mainly because of the defence in front of him, as he had an .896 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average in 58 games.

Drafted players​

Although the Predators finished with the third-fewest points, they dropped down two spots in the draft. With the fifth overall pick, they selected Brady Martin from the Soo Greyhounds. They had two additional firsts, selecting defenceman Cameron Reid 21st overall and winger Ryker Lee 26th overall.

With two second-round picks, the Predators selected defenceman Jacob Rombach 35th overall and netminder Jack Ivankovic 58th overall. The Predators stayed in North America with their fourth-round pick, using the 122nd overall pick to select defenceman Alex Huang.

Their final pick saw them select defenceman Daniel Nieminen with the 163rd overall pick in the sixth round.

Trades​

The Predators already had plenty of veterans in the locker room in 2024-25, but they added another one early in the off-season, trading 22-year-old defenceman and a 2025 fourth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Erik Haula.

Their other trade this off-season had more significance, as the Predators traded Jérémy Lauzon and Colton Sissons to the Vegas Golden Knights for defenceman Nicolas Hague and a 2027 third-round pick.

Hague is a solid defensive defenceman, but this trade paved the way for the biggest off-season transaction, as the Toronto Maple Leafs sent Mitch Marner to the Golden Knights.

Free agent signings​

The Predators focused on revamping their defence in the 2025 off-season. Hague, a then-restricted free agent, signed a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $5.5 million. Their other notable signing saw them sign defenceman Nicklaus Perbix to a two-year deal worth $2.75 million.

Their first draft selection, Brady Martin, also agreed to an entry-level contract. There’s an outside chance he could make the Predators’ roster out of pre-season.

Departures​

Their lone departures came in the Hague trade. Lauzon missed most of last season, playing just 28 games with an assist. He’s one of the hardest hitters in the league, so his presence on the blue line was sorely missed by the Predators.

Sissons was one of the longest-tenured Predators and one of just four players remaining from their Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2017 – Saros, Forsberg, and Josi are the three others. Last season, Sissons scored seven goals and 21 points in 72 games, a drop off from his career-high of 15 goals and 35 points in the 2023-24 season.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26​

So, how do the Predators look heading into the 2025-26 season? Well, most post-season teams have a strong centre core, but not the Predators. O’Reilly is pencilled in as their top-line centre, followed by Svechkov, Haula, and Michael McCarron, not particularly strong. On the wing, they have Forsberg, Marchessault, Stamkos, and Bunting in their top six, which is a bit better.

Wingers who could fit in the bottom-six are Joakim Kemell, Evangelista, Cole Smith, and L’Heurex. Their wing core is definitely one of their strong points, as is their defence. With the addition of Hauge and Perbix, their top four consists of those two on top of Josi and Skjei. Their bottom pair may feature Adam Wilsby and Justin Barron.

In net, Saros is set to start, while Justus Annunen will back up. If the Predators want any type of success in 2025-26, Saros will have to return to his career norm.

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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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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/western-conference-off-season-preview-nashville-predators

 

[Calgary Flames]

Western Conference off-season preview: Chicago Blackhawks

The rebuild of the Chicago Blackhawks chugs along.

Once again, the Blackhawks sat in the basement of the National Hockey League. The position they are in is a far cry from their dynasty years in the 2010s. Although the 2024-25 season was a struggle, they have the pieces to be a Stanley Cup-contending team at some point in the future.

Let’s take a look at how the Blackhawks’ 2024-25 season went, what they’ve done so far this off-season, and how their team shapes up come October.

How the season went​

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Blackhawks finished with the third-fewest or second-fewest points in the league the past two seasons. They were lucky to land the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, selecting Connor Bedard.

It was much of the same for the Blackhawks last season. They finished with a 25-46-11 record, with their 61 points being the second-fewest in the league. Only the San Jose Sharks had fewer points than the Blackhawks last season.

What’s worse is that Bedard had a worse season than the 2023-24 season, at least on a point-per-game basis. His rookie season saw him score 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games, but he followed that up with just 23 goals and 67 points in 82 games.

Other notable young players on the team are Frank Nazar, Lukas Reichel, and Alex Vlasic. Nazar was the other notable young player on the team, as he scored 12 goals and 26 points in 53 games last season. Reichel scored eight goals and 22 points in 70 games, while Vlasic scored four goals and 30 points in 82 games, not bad from a defenceman.

Most of the Blackhawks’ scoring came from veterans. Ryan Donato scored a team-leading 31 goals with 62 points, with Teuvo Teravinen’s 58 points second on the team, Tyler Bertuzzi’s 46 points were third, Nick Foligno had 35 points, and Ilya Mikheyev had 34 points.

Between the pipes, Arvid Söderblom played the majority of the games, posting an .898 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average in 36 games. Spencer Knight was acquired in a mid-season trade for Seth Jones, and he had an .896 save percentage and 3.12 goals against average.

Drafted players​

Thanks to finishing second-last in the league, the Blackhawks had another high overall pick, dropping to the third overall pick. With that selection, they drafted Swedish centre Anton Frondell, who could play NHL games in 2025-26.

They had two more first-round picks, using the 25th overall to select winger Vaclav Nestrasil and the 29th overall pick to select centre Mason West. In the third round, the Blackhawks selected winger Nathan Behm, followed by centre (and Étienne Morin’s teammate) Julius Sumpf.

The Blackhawks had another fourth-rounder, using the 107th overall pick to select Parker Holmes, another forward. Finally, they drafted a defenceman, using their sixth-round pick to draft Ashton Cumby. The only netminder they selected was Ilya Kanarsky in the seventh round. Flames’ prospect Kirill Zarubin served as Kanarsky’s backup with Mikhailov Academy.

Trades​

The Blackhawks have made a handful of trades since the beginning of the off-season.. On Jun. 13, they traded Victor Söderström to the Boston Bruins for Ryan Mast and a 2025 seventh-round pick.

A bigger move came just over a week later on Jun. 21, sending Joe Veleno to the Seattle Kraken for two-time Stanley Cup winner, André Burakovsky. His production waned in the past two seasons, scoring seven goals and 16 points in 49 games in 2023-24 and 10 goals and 37 points in 79 games last season. At his best, Burakovsky scored around 20 goals a season.

They also sent Ilya Safonov to the Vancouver Canucks for future considerations. The Blackhawks’ other trade saw them reacquire Sam Lafferty from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Free agent signings​

The Blackhawks didn’t do anything of note on the free agent front, at least with bringing in new players. On Jun. 18, they re-signed Donato to a four-year deal worth $4 million annually. They signed Frondell to his entry-level contract, while extending both Nazar and Söderblom.

Nazar has only played 56 career games, but the Blackhawks are betting big on him with a seven-year deal worth $6.6 million annually. Söderblom will split the crease with Knight, and he signed a two-year deal worth $2.75 million.

Departures​

There were three notable departures from the Blackhawks in the off-season. Philipp Kurashev wasn’t given a qualifying offer and signed with the Sharks. Although the Swiss forward only scored seven goals and 14 points in 51 games last season, he had 18 goals and 54 points in 75 games back in 2023-24.

Their other two departures were because of retirement. Pat Maroon retired after 14 NHL seasons with 126 goals and 323 points in 848 games. He won back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cups from 2019 to 2021. Alec Martinez also retired, playing 16 seasons with 862 games, scoring 88 goals and 289 points. Like Maroon, Martinez is a three-time Stanley Cup champion.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26​

So what does the Blackhawks roster look like heading into 2025-26? Bedard, Nazar, Jason Dickinson, and Lafferty will play down the middle, with Frondell potentially making the NHL next season. Their area of strength is on the wings though, as they have Donato, Bertuzzi, Foligno, and Reichel on the left side, and Teravainen, Burakovsky, Mikheyev, and Oliver Moore on the right side.

Their forward core is solid, but their defence is an area of concern heading into 2025-26. Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Kevin Korchinski could feature on the left side, with Sam Rinzel, Connor Murphy, and second overall pick Artyom Levshunov filling in on the right side.

In net, the Blackhawks will run a tandem of Knight and Söderblom, with Laurent Brossoit potentially featuring at some point.

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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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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/western-conference-off-season-preview-chicago-blackhawks

 

[Calgary Flames]

Flames prospects you should expect to see at training camp

Gang, we’re about three weeks away from the Calgary Flames returning to the ice for their annual prospects training camp. But because of the new NCAA rules, things are going to be a little bit different than what we’ve seen in the past.

Nothing has been announced quite yet regarding the precise form that prospects camp is going to take. Right now, the expectation is that the Flames will be playing a couple prospect games, probably against Edmonton, as they have in past years when they weren’t participating in the Penticton Young Stars Classic tournament.

In past years, pretty much anybody who participated in development camp in July came back for September’s prospects camp, aside from the handful of players with commitments in college or Europe. But since the number of prospects who will be tied up with school or European obligations is pretty high, this year’s camp will look a bit different.

Usually the Flames bring around 25 players to camp – three goalies, eight blueliners and 14 forwards.

If we’re using the “everyone from development camp who isn’t busy elsewhere” rule, here’s how things would look:

• Goalies Owen Say and Arsenii Sergeev – it also seems reasonable that Medicine Hat’s Jordan Switzer, who attended development camp on a try-out, could also appear
• Defencemen Etienne Morin, Axel Hurtig and Zayne Parekh
• Forwards Andrew Basha, Aydar Suniev, Jacob Battaglia, Carter King, Hunter Laing and Matvei Gridin

So… that’s way fewer players than they would require to put together lineups for a pair of prospects games. So the Flames will probably need to fill our their roster with either additional try-out players, bringing in prospects they didn’t have at development camp, or a mix of both.

While anybody that didn’t spend 50 games on the NHL roster last season would be eligible to bring to this camp, the Flames have historically only brought their youngest prospects to this camp, and when they’ve had to fill camp rosters out they’ve opted to bring players still on their entry-level deals.

There are six players on their ELCs that weren’t at development camp: William Strömgren, Sam Honzek, Lucas Ciona, Parker Bell, Hunter Brzustewicz and Artem Grushnikov. We suspect that some of them may get the call, but we’ll see which ones. Even if they brought everybody on ELCs to prospects camp, they would still need to add some players on try-outs, so we’re bound to see some surprises when the camp roster is announced in early September.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi​

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Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/flames-prospects-you-should-expect-to-see-at-training-camp

 

[Calgary Flames]

After playoff near-miss, the Flames are now Chasing 97 Points

12 months ago, not many people in hockey had high expectations for the Calgary Flames heading into the 2024-25 season.

The Athletic’s modelling had the Flames finished 28th overall with 78.9 points, and it was not an outlier. The betting markets set their over/under for points at 81.5. Having endured a season that saw the club part ways with Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, and an off-season that saw Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane traded too, most prognosticators gave the Flames a single-digit percentage chance at making the post-season.

82 games later, the Flames lost to the St. Louis Blues on the regulation wins tiebreaker for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Our colleague Ryan Pinder, of the Barn Burner podcast, often used the term “peak pain” to describe the type of season the Flames just had. On one hand, yeah, the Flames did make a lot of people that predicted that they would suck look pretty foolish, finishing with 96 points – between 15 and 20 points more than anybody thought they’d get.

On the other hand: 96 points was not enough to play past Game 82, and they hit the golf course just as early as teams that really struggled like Chicago and San Jose. (And to add insult to injury, they finished well outside of the draft lottery mix… and then had to surrender their first-round pick to Montreal to close out the Sean Monahan trade.)

During their exit interviews with the media following the regular season, the message from pretty much everyone was pretty consistent and had two prongs:

• The Flames were so much better than anyone outside their locker room thought they could be.
• The Flames weren’t quite as good as they thought they could be, since their goal was to make the playoffs.

Through some really good hockey, the Flames put themselves into a position where they would make or miss the playoffs by the narrowest of margins.

They ended up missing by the narrowest of margins.

If we’re going for a simple answer, the Flames lost the regulation wins tiebreaker to St. Louis because they lost to the Blues twice during the same week in January. But if we’re going for a broader discussion, they missed the playoffs because of a lot of smaller pieces of their game that needed to be a little bit better.

So with the Flames about to gather for training camp for the 2025-26 season, and the goal being to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2022, over the next little bit we’re going to be digging into several topics related to the Flames’ on-ice performance and examining how the Flames can potentially be a little bit better in the next 82 games than they were in the prior 82.

Welcome to Chasing 97 Points.

This article is brought to you by the Alberta Teachers Association​

Alberta spends the least per student on public education in Canada, leaving schools underfunded and in crisis. Overcrowded classrooms, unmet student needs, and dwindling supports are driving record numbers of teachers to leave the profession. As Albertans, we cannot ignore this neglect. Our children deserve better. It’s time to act—advocate for increased funding and demand answers from your MLA. Why does Alberta invest the least in its students? The excuses must stop. Stand up for our schools, support our educators, and help ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed. The future of education in Alberta depends on it. Visit www.stoptheexcuses.ca

Source: https://flamesnation.ca/news/after-playoff-near-miss-the-flames-are-now-chasing-97-points