Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Calgary Flames.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Connor Zary – With Matthew Coronato signed to a six-year extension, the Flames will enter the off-season with two free agents demanding particularly close attention. The first is young center Connor Zary, who caught a strong wind with 14 goals, 34 points, and a plus-12 in 63 games last season. He seemed on track to top those numbers this year – netting 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games – but routine injuries forced Zary to miss most of January and shut down for the season before the end of March. He had three points in his final five games of the year, and was receiving upwards of 22 minutes of ice time each night. Those are lofty totals for a player who has paced for 40 points in back-to-back seasons. It’s clear that Calgary sees a future top-six center in Zary, but without reaching 70 games in a single NHL season, his upside is hard to project. He’ll likely be a candidate for a bridge deal this summer, and hopefully a much larger deal after a few healthy seasons.
D Kevin Bahl – Joining Zary at the top of Calgary’s list is defender Kevin Bahl, who the Flames acquired in their shipping of Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils last summer. Bahl was a revelation for a gutted blue-line, that lost the likes of Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov last season alone. The 24-year-old Bahl quickly took to playing north of 20-minutes a night and posted a career-high 20 points in 73 games this season. He’s 6-foot-6 and looked plenty comfortable playing opposite of Calgary’s top right-defenders, like MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson. Calgary doesn’t have much in the way of competition for Bahl’s role as the top left-defense. Unless that changes with a big signing this summer, it’d be hard to think Bahl won’t land a deal that will carry him into his 30s.
F Morgan Frost – Frost is another trade acquisition who’s matched the bill in Calgary. He was acquired mid-season alongside Joel Farabee, in a deal that sent Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier the other way. Frost quickly stepped into a middle-six center role with the Flames, but found his way into boosted minutes when Zary fell to injury. The results were simply fine – 12 points and a minus-six in 32 games, but never any egregious moments of poor play. Frost combined for 37 points in 81 games this season, just shy of the 41 points he scored last year; and the career-high 46 points he managed in 2022-23. He has tepid upside at the age of 26, but could be a reasonably-priced option as Calgary looks to build out their center depth. Given his mid-season move, Frost seems to be a strong candidate to re-sign.
F Adam Klapka – Klapka played in the most NHL games of his career this season when he made 31 appearances in Calgary’s bottom-six. He performed alright in the role – netting 10 points, 29 penalty minutes, and a minus-three. He also confidently led the Flames in hits-per-60, recording a whopping 108 hits despite averaging just 9:39 in ice time each game. His 21.65 hits-per-60 is over five hits more than the 16.14 hits-per-60 averaged by Martin Pospisil in second place. Simply put, hard hitting, 6-foot-8 wingers don’t grow on trees. Even in his modest role, Klapka has emerged as a legitimate piece for an undrafted player. He should continue to offer Calgary the services of an imposing forward, and could even have scoring upside ahead – evidence by his 26 points in 33 AHL games this year. This should be a cheap and promising re-signing for the Flames.
F Rory Kerins – Flames fans kicked down doors to try and earn Kerins a hardy NHL chance this season. The 23-year-old centerman led the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in scoring for much of the year, and finished the season with a whopping 33 goals and 61 points in 63 games. He continued to perform in his brief view of the NHL, recording four assists and a plus-three in what were the first five games of his NHL career. After such a red-hot season, Kerins seems like a strong bet to make the Flames’ roster out of training camp next season – even if it’d require some additional padding to house his small frame. Kerins isn’t at the point of a hefty contract yet, but could earn good money and a few years to prove he can continue his hot play into the NHL.
Other RFAs: F Eetu Tuulola, F Sam Morton, D Carl-Johan Lerby, D Nikita Okhotyuk, D Yan Kuznetsov, D Jeremie Poirier, G Waltteri Ignatjew, G Connor Murphy
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Anthony Mantha – Mantha suffered an ACL injury on November 5th, less than one month into the regular season. The injury immediately ended his
season, cutting things short after he posted an impressive seven points and plus-six in the first 13 games of the year. Mantha continued to perform into his age-30 season, and is only one season removed from posting 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games. He’s a hard bet to make coming off such a tough injury. That could push him out of favor for a Flames group with players earning roles. But on the open market, Mantha shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a cheap, prove-it deal.
F Justin Kirkland – Less than three full weeks after Mantha’s injury, bottom-line forward Justin Kirkland also suffered a season-ending ACL injury. The blow took out what was set to be Kirkland’s first full year in the NHL. He looked strong to start the campaign, managing eight points and a plus-six through 21 appearances despite a low-grade role. But instead, Kirkland has spent the last few months recovering, and could face an uncertain future as a result. He’s a hard-working, bottom-end centerman who’s grown to an NHL role after multiple strong seasons in the minors. But he’s also coming off a difficult injury and facing competition from Calgary’s many emerging prospects. He could be on the cutting block in Calgary, and may have to rediscover his NHL hopes somewhere new.
F Kevin Rooney – Rooney was the beneficiary of injuries up the depth chart. He stuck into Calgary’s bottom-six for the entirety of the season, and scored a modest 10 points, split evenly, in 70 games. Rooney has now rotated onto the Flames roster in each of the last three seasons, and went on long campaigns with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers in four seasons before joining Calgary. He’s up to 60 points in 330 career games in the NHL. Those numbers won’t jump off the page for a Flames team close to the playoffs, but Rooney will offer cheap veteran upside.
D Joel Hanley – Among the unheralded this season is depth defenseman Joel Hanley, who seemed to grow as a shutdown option operating behind Bahl on the depth chart. Hanley posted a career-high nine points in 53 games this season, while adding 21 penalty minutes and a plus-12. He didn’t push the boundaries in any one way, but boasted a style that was well-rounded enough to stick. Calgary will need left-shot defenders this summer, and Hanley should be a cheap way to pad their depth.
G Daniel Vladar – Behind the glimmer of Dustin Wolf’s star rookie season, Daniel Vladar appeared in 30 NHL games for the first time in his career. He handled the growing backup role just fine – setting a 12-11-6 record and .898 save percentage. Those numbers – like many of Calgary’s UFAs – don’t jump off the page. But the Flames will continue to need a backup they can count on behind their top-notch starter. Vladar has served in that role for the last four years, and it’d be tough to see the organization let him go without a clear option to replace him.
D Tyson Barrie – Barrie signed a one-year, $1.2MM contract with the Flames in October, but wasn’t able to carve out much of any role in the daily lineup. He posted three points in 13 games with Calgary before being waived and assigned to the minors in February. Barrie didn’t find much spark in the AHL either, though – with just five points and a minus-five through 11 appearances. He’ll be a hard bet to earn a new contract this summer, unless it’s a league-minimum price or two-way deal. One silver lining – Barrie has 508 points in 822 career games in the NHL.
Other UFAs: F Dryden Hunt, F Martin Frk, F Clark Bishop, D Jarred Tinordi, D Jonathan Aspirot
Projected Cap Space
The Flames are entering the summer with $28.15MM in projected cap space. That should be more than enough to lock-up the must-sign options on this list – Zary, Bahl, and Frost – and other upside bets like Klapka, Kerins, or Dryden Hunt shouldn’t come at too much additional premium. All of that should set Calgary up for an aggressive summer. They finished the 2024-25 season with the most points ever from a team that missed the playoffs – and a couple of impactful free agent moves could be what pushes the Flames back into Spring hockey.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports. Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
“Tepid upside” is a good way to put it re: Frost. He has the puck skills and two way game to tease you into thinking he’ll be a solid 2C some day. I doubt he ever gets there though.