The Flames announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled forward Rory Kerins from AHL Calgary. In doing so, they’ve used up the last of the five standard recalls available after the trade deadline, so they won’t be able to make any non-emergency moves before Thursday’s season finale against the Kings. Kerins will be an option to dress tonight against the Avalanche, though.
Kerins has seven NHL games to his name, all coming over the last two seasons. He got a brief recall back in November, during which he suited up in back-to-back games, so he won’t be making his season debut if he plays. The 2020 sixth-rounder got off to a hot start last year, rattling off four assists and a +3 rating through his first five NHL games before being returned to the minors. He didn’t get on the scoresheet in either appearance earlier this season.
The 24-year-old has worked his way up the organization’s depth chart on the heels of some spectacular minor-league offensive performances. As a first-year pro in 2022-23, he was one point shy of a point per game for ECHL Rapid City. He’s now held a full-time AHL role for the past three years and has a lifetime 72-77–149 scoring line in 182 games. That includes a 33-goal, 61-point showing in 63 games last year and another 22 goals and 54 points in 55 games this season.
The 5’11’, 190-lb center has some defensive flaws, though, that have kept him from progressing further into more NHL roles. That, plus the fact he projects as more of a winger at the NHL level, where the Flames are deeper, creates a numbers game that doesn’t fall in his favor when put up against younger, higher draft pedigree names like Matvei Gridin, Samuel Honzek, and Brennan Othmann.
Kerins did pass through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of this season, so that also likely won’t be much of a concern for Calgary moving forward. A pending restricted free agent, they face a choice of whether to qualify him in June, extend him before then, or let him walk to open up a contract slot. His qualifying offer is only a two-way deal with a cap hit of $813,750, so they certainly won’t balk financially at sending that his way.