Flames Sign Morgan Frost To Two-Year Extension
The Calgary Flames have signed centerman Morgan Frost to a two-year, $8.75MM contract extension per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal was first reported by Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. It will carry an annual cap hit of $4.38MM and an up-front signing bonus of $500,000 per PuckPedia.
The Flames acquired Frost alongside Joel Farabee partway through this season in a deal that sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick (Shane Vansaghi), and a 2028 seventh-round pick back to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Frost quickly slotted into Calgary’s third-line center role, but struggled to maintain the heights that he had reached with the Flyers. After beginning the year with 11 goals and 25 points in 49 games with Philadelphia, Frost finished it off with just 12 points in 32 games with Calgary. Despite the dip in scoring, he remained an active presence in all other areas of the ice, recording a positive faceoff win-rate, 21 blocked shots, and 34 hits with the Flames.
Frost’s cumulative 37 points on the season fall just shy of the pair of strong seasons he posted in Philadelphia over the last two years. Playing through his first full year in the NHL in 2023-24, Frost managed an impressive 19 goals and 46 pionts in 81 games while splitting time between the second and third lines. He followed that performance up with 13 goals and 41 points in 71 games last season, this time in a much more clear-cut third-line role.
There seems to be heaps of untapped offensive upside in Frost’s game. He’s recorded 147 points in 310 games in the NHL, to go with 48 points in 65 career games in the AHL. He was even tracking for a 50-point season to kick off this year, before being knocked off course by a what seemed to be a sudden trade. That fact could make this short-term deal an interesting bet for the Flames. He will enter unrestricted free agency on the other side of this contract, providing Frost a chance to either earn a pay raise in Calgary or find new pastures should he flame out. He’ll head for the third-line center role on the Flames lineup next season, behind Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund.
Two-Way Deals: 7/1/25
As major signings come in around the NHL today with the 2025-26 league year beginning, teams are shoring up their minor-league depth as well by signing players to two-way contracts. We’re keeping track of those signings today in this article, which will be continuously updated. Deals are one year unless otherwise noted.
Boston Bruins
F Riley Tufte ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
D Jonathan Aspirot ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
G Luke Cavallin ($775K NHL) – Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub
Buffalo Sabres
F Riley Fiddler-Schultz ($865K NHL/$90K SB/$35K PB/$85K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years, entry-level
F Carson Meyer ($775K NHL/$350K AHL Y1 – $375K AHL Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Mason Geertsen ($775K NHL/$425K AHL) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet // two years
D Zachary Jones ($900K NHL/$550K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Zach Metsa ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$325K gt’d) – PuckPedia
Calgary Flames
D Nick Cicek ($775K NHL) – team release
Carolina Hurricanes
G Amir Miftakhov ($775K NHL/$100K AHL/$240K gt’d) – PuckPedia
Chicago Blackhawks
F Dominic Toninato ($850K NHL) – team release // two years
Colorado Avalanche
F T.J. Tynan (unknown) – team release
D Jack Ahcan (unknown) – team release
D Ronald Attard ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia
Columbus Blue Jackets
F Owen Sillinger (unknown) – team release
D Christian Jaros (unknown) – team release
Dallas Stars
D Niilopekka Muhonen (unknown) – team release // three years, entry-level
Edmonton Oilers
D Riley Stillman ($775K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
G Matt Tomkins ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$450 Y2 gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years
Florida Panthers
F Nolan Foote ($775K NHL/$150K AHL/$250K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Jack Studnicka ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – Chris Johnston of TSN/The Athletic
G Brandon Bussi ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia
G Kirill Gerasimyuk (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level
Los Angeles Kings
F Cole Guttman ($775K NHL/$450K Y1 – $475K Y2 AHL/$475K gt’d Y1 – $500K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Pitlick ($775K NHL/$300K Y1 – $350K Y2 AHL/$325K gt’d Y1 – $375K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
D Ben Gleason ($800K NHL/$475K AHL) – PuckPedia
Montreal Canadiens
F Alex Belzile (unknown) – team release
D Nathan Clurman ($775K NHL/$125K AHL/$140K gt’d) – PuckPedia
New Jersey Devils
D Calen Addison ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$400K gt’d) – PuckPedia
F Angus Crookshank ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years, one-way in 2026-27
New York Islanders
F Matthew Highmore (unknown) – team release
D Ethan Bear ($775K NHL/$325K AHL/$425K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole McWard (unknown) – team release
New York Rangers
D Derrick Pouliot ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$425K gt’d Y1 – $450K gt’d Y2) – PuckPedia // two years
Ottawa Senators
F Wyatt Bongiovanni ($775K NHL/$160K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Olle Lycksell ($775K NHL/$450K AHL/$500K gt’d) – Darren Dreger of TSN
Philadelphia Flyers
F Lane Pederson ($775K NHL/$525K AHL) – PuckPedia
San Jose Sharks
F Jimmy Huntington (unknown) – team release
F Samuel Laberge (unknown) – team release
F Colin White ($775K NHL/$425K AHL/$475K gt’d) – PuckPedia
D Cole Clayton (unknown) – team release
St. Louis Blues
F Matt Luff ($775K NHL/$400K AHL) – PuckPedia
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Nicholas Abruzzese (unknown) – team release
F Tristan Allard (unknown) – team release // two years, entry-level
F Boris Katchouk (unknown) – team release
D Simon Lundmark ($775K NHL/$250K AHL/$350K gt’d) – PuckPedia // two years
G Ryan Fanti ($775K NHL/$80K AHL) – PuckPedia
Utah Mammoth
F Kailer Yamamoto ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Scott Perunovich ($775K NHL/$400K AHL/$500K gt’d) – PuckPedia
Vancouver Canucks
F Joseph LaBate ($775K NHL/$350K AHL) – PuckPedia
F Mackenzie MacEachern ($775K NHL/$575K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
D Jimmy Schuldt ($775K NHL/$500K AHL) – PuckPedia // two years
Winnipeg Jets
F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K NHL/$450K AHL) – PuckPedia
D Kale Clague (unknown) – Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet
Flames Ink Goalie Ivan Prosvetov To One-Year Deal
The Calgary Flames have signed goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to a one-year contract, the team announced. The deal, which is a one-way contract, will come with a $950,000 AAV.
The 26-year-old is a former fourth-round selection of the Coyotes (144th overall) in the 2018 draft. After spending a few seasons in the minors, Prosvetov made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season, and appeared in 13 games in Arizona over three seasons. After the Coyotes placed him on waivers in October 2023, he was picked up by the Colorado Avalanche and appeared in a career-high 11 games for the Avs that season, compiling a record of 4-3-1. He also appeared in 21 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, where he secured a .921 save percentage and 11-7-2 record.
However, with a career save percentage of just .881 at the highest level, Prosvetov was unable to secure an NHL contract last offseason and instead returned to Russia to try to reinvigorate his career — and appears to have done just that. In one season in the KHL for the CSKA Moscow, Prosvetov posted a .920 save percentage, four shutouts, and a 20-16-2 record.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Moscow native joins the Flames’ goaltending room that includes the rising Dustin Wolf, and potentially replaces last year’s backup Daniel Vladař, who signed a two-year, $3.35MM AAV contract with the Philadelphia Flyers earlier today. While Vladař has proved to be a solid veteran backup, he hasn’t eclipsed the .900 save percentage mark since the 2021-22 season. If Prosvetov can maintain the confidence he created in his one season overseas, he could prove to be a smart, affordable addition for GM Craig Conroy.
Flames Re-Sign Joel Hanley To Two-Year Deal
The Flames announced they’ve signed defenseman Joel Hanley to a two-year, $3.5MM extension worth $1.75MM per season. He was set to become a UFA at 11:00 a.m. Central. PuckPedia reports he’ll earn $1.25MM in base salary and a $500,00 signing bonus in 2025-26 and a $1.75MM base salary in 2026-27.
Hanley, 34, was a waiver claim back in March 2024 from the Stars. A solid No. 7/8 option for Dallas for six years, they didn’t have room for him on the roster after acquiring Chris Tanev at that year’s trade deadline. Calgary took advantage and added the veteran, who was in the first year of a two-year, $1.575MM contract, for added depth through this past season.
He ended up playing a bigger role than the Flames expected, making a career-high 53 appearances this past season. He also averaged a career-high 18:35 per game when dressed, providing two goals and nine points. Offense has never been the focus of the 5’11” lefty’s game at the pro level, but he had quite good possession impacts across the board with a +12 rating, a 52.2 CF%, and 54.8 xGF% at even strength.
The Ontario native is a great third-pairing option and even a fringe top-four one at that price point, especially for a Calgary squad whose only NHL-caliber lefties in the system without him were Kevin Bahl, Jake Bean, and Ilya Solovyov. Adding or retaining depth was a major priority for them today, and they got some business done early with this deal.
Calgary has a full active roster after signing Hanley, but has a few waiver candidates like Dryden Hunt, Daniil Miromanov, and Solovyov included in that count. They have plenty of cap space left ($18.07MM) to get new deals done for RFAs Morgan Frost and Connor Zary while making external additions today if they can.
Latest On Rasmus Andersson
Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is eligible to sign a contract extension as of today but talks between him and the team showed that there is still a considerable bridge to gap. While GM Craig Conroy has said they’re comfortable with having the blueliner in training camp without a new deal in place, the gap in discussions has certainly fueled trade speculation.
To that end, TSN’s Darren Dreger recently reported on Edmonton Sports Talk (video link) that the Kings were believed to have a trade in place to acquire the 28-year-old but Andersson made it known that he doesn’t want to play for them. He only has a six-team no-trade list but presumably, Los Angeles would have found out about Andersson’s lack of desire to play there when hypothetically discussing what an extension would look like.
At the moment, it appears that Andersson has his eyes set on one trade destination in particular. Pierre LeBrun reports in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link) that the team on the top of Andersson’s wish list is the Golden Knights. He adds that there have been discussions between the two teams over the past week but Calgary hasn’t been excited about the offers on the table just yet.
There’s a logical fit for Andersson in Vegas, with Alex Pietrangelo’s playing days appearing to be over now. Pietrangelo’s absence would open up a significant hole on the right side of their back end, one that Andersson would be capable of filling.
The 28-year-old has been an all-situations player for several years in Calgary and has reached at least 30 points in four straight years. Andersson is coming off a quieter year but he still managed 10 goals and 21 assists in 81 games for Calgary last season while logging 23:59 per night of playing time. While he wouldn’t be quite as impactful as a healthy Pietrangelo, he would certainly be a quality replacement.
Of course, fitting him onto the books for the upcoming season is a whole other challenge. Vegas used the LTIR relief from Pietrangelo to acquire Mitch Marner from Toronto. Even with the LTIR savings, that will put them over the cap by the time they fill the remaining open roster spots, meaning that some salary would need to be cleared to open up room for Andersson and his $4.55MM cap charge for next season.
Meanwhile, should Andersson get moved to his preferred team, it stands to reason that an extension would need to be worked out. Given the contracts that have been handed out to some blueliners in recent days, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could come close to doubling his current price tag on a long-term contract.
With Vegas taking on Marner at $12MM per season and Jack Eichel expected to receive an extension at some point as well, that’s a lot of money to be adding to their future books so if the Golden Knights are able to land Andersson, they’re going to have to clear up some significant cap room – both present and future – to do so.
Flames Hire Brent Seabrook As Player Development Coach
A few days ago, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Vegas Golden Knights had attempted to acquire Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson last week. No deal came to fruition, and TSN’s Darren Dreger doesn’t believe that the Golden Knights were the only intra-divisional opponent to try to poach Andersson from Alberta.
Speaking on The Nielson Show, Dreger indicated that the Los Angeles Kings put together a formidable offer for Andersson at the 2025 NHL Draft. Dreger believes that the offer was compelling enough for the Flames that they brought it up to Andersson, but the nine-year veteran had no interest in playing for Los Angeles.
- Back in Calgary, the Flames have added a three-time Stanley Cup champion to their player development staff. Earlier today, the Flames announced that they’ve hired Brent Seabrook as a player development coach. Despite having no prior affiliation with the Flames organization, he has been serving as a development coach for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants since retiring from his playing career.
Flames Re-Sign Bishop
- The Flames announced that they have re-signed Clark Bishop on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the winger will make $350K in the minors and that the agreement has a $375K guaranteed salary. The 29-year-old got into six games with Calgary this past season, his first taste of NHL action since 2021-22, scoring once. He also put up his best offensive numbers in the minors, notching 19 goals and 19 assists in 66 games with the Wranglers.
Flames Sign Kevin Bahl To Six-Year Contract
The Flames have locked up one of their pending restricted free agents as they announced that they’ve signed defenseman Kevin Bahl to a six-year contract with an AAV of $5.35MM per season. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the breakdown of the agreement is as follows:
2025-26: $2.35MM salary, $3MM signing bonus
2026-27 – 2030-31: $5.35MM salary; no-trade list from 2027-28 to 2030-31
The 25-year-old was a piece of the trade last June that saw New Jersey acquire goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Flames. Bahl was added along with a first-round pick that was used on center Cole Reschny last night with the 18th overall selection.
A move to Calgary meant a move to bigger role for Bahl. After four seasons of battling for minutes on New Jersey’s bottom pairing, he immediately took to a top-end role for the Flames. Bahl averaged over 21 minutes of ice time a night through 73 games this season, while serving as the go-to partner for top Flames’ defenseman Rasmus Andersson. That role earned Bahl a career-high 20 points, complemented by a minus-six and 35 penalty minutes. Bahl also ranked third on the Flames blue-line in hits (109), third in blocked shots (116), and fourth in takeaways (24).
Landing a strong spot across the stat categories is great momentum for the young Bahl, who had only appeared in 148 games with the Devils prior to joining the Flames. He totaled 25 points, a minus-one, and 127 penalty minutes in those appearances – marks that he’s already outpaced, or outright broken, with the Flames. He’s an imposing, 6-foot-6 defenseman who’s adjusted well to playing away from the puck and jumping up into play at an NHL level. Those were the traits that many scouts questioned in the 2018 NHL Draft – forcing the large-frame defender down to the Arizona Coyotes’ selection at 55th overall. The Coyotes traded him to the Devils in their 2019 acquisition of Taylor Hall and Blake Speers.
Now, two teams later, Bahl has cemented an NHL contract that will carry him through his age-30 season. Bahl is a lanky, defense-first defender who played opposite a strong puck-mover all year long. That fact, and his physical upside, could set up a long career in tandem with aggressive scoring-defenseman Zayne Parekh.
Blue Jackets, Hurricanes Interested In Rasmus Andersson
The Blue Jackets and Hurricanes are among the teams calling the Flames to have trade talks surrounding defenseman Rasmus Andersson, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. Pagnotta mentioned the Senators as well – it’s not the first time in the past few months they’ve been tied to Andersson – but Ottawa is also reportedly on his six-team no-trade list.
Calgary and Andersson have already begun preliminary talks on an extension. He’s entering the final year of his contract at a highly team-friendly $4.55MM cap hit and becomes eligible to sign a new deal on July 1 to keep him in Calgary past 2025-26. However, those talks haven’t been particularly productive in their initial stages, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff last week. As a result, they’re listening to trade interest, but as has been the case for a while now, they’re in no particular rush to move him and could wait until next season’s trade deadline to get the value they want if they’re no closer to an extension.
That means defense-needy teams, particularly those looking for added puck-moving depth, will have Calgary general manager Craig Conroy on speed dial until Andersson’s situation is resolved. Carolina and Columbus fit that bill, with Andersson’s cheap initial cap hit before a potential extension kicks in still providing both clubs a fair amount of flexibility to pursue other avenues of roster improvement this summer.
The Hurricanes’ defensive depth will have a few notable changes next season, regardless of whether they successfully land Andersson or not. They’re not offering pending UFA Dmitry Orlov a new contract, and it remains to be seen if veteran Brent Burns, a top-pairing staple alongside Jaccob Slavin in recent seasons, will be back with the club. If he is, it’ll presumably be in a reduced role after a tough 2024-25 campaign for the 40-year-old. Rookie Alexander Nikishin has likely been penciled in as Orlov’s replacement on the left side with Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere after looking good in limited postseason action, but rookie righty Scott Morrow is a less surefire insurance option for Burns, at least out of the gate. If they’re not yet ready to entrust the 22-year-old with regular NHL minutes, it would make sense to pursue Andersson.
Unlike the Blue Jackets, the Hurricanes might be willing to make a deal without a guarantee of an extension, particularly if it’s done this summer. They have Morrow coming eventually, even if it’s not next season, and are still firmly entrenched in win-now mode.
Columbus’ interest similarly stems from the unknown future of a pending UFA. While things appear close on a deal for top-pairing righty Dante Fabbro, the same can’t be said for lefty Ivan Provorov, who might be forced over to his off-side if he stays anyway with up-and-comer Denton Mateychuk positioning himself for top-four minutes in the near future. Andersson, a legitimate needle-mover, would give the Blue Jackets a highly intriguing right side with Fabbro and Damon Severson in the mix as well while coming in at a much cheaper cost than a new deal for Provorov would require, at least initially.
Regardless, it might behoove the Flames to wait until the season starts to see if Andersson can bump his value. He’s coming off his worst offensive campaign in four years, although he did still produce 31 points in 81 games while averaging 24 minutes per night. His -38 rating paired with career-worst possession impacts doesn’t do much to help his case either, although a few teams could have confidence in that showing being an outlier from the 28-year-old.
Flames, Justin Kirkland Agree To Extension
The Flames and pending UFA forward Justin Kirkland have agreed to a one-year extension worth $900K, the team announced. It’s a one-way deal for the pending UFA.
Kirkland, 28, has played exclusively on one-year contracts since being non-tendered by the Predators when his entry-level deal expired back in 2019. The long-time minor-league depth piece hasn’t spent back-to-back years with the same club since his first stint in Calgary, when he signed three straight two-way contracts to cover the 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 seasons.
The 6’3″ Kirkland had historically been an AHL fixture and had just nine games of NHL experience entering 2024-25, so he was waived and assigned to AHL Calgary to begin this year as a result. He was recalled to the NHL roster before the AHL season even started, though, getting summoned in early October after an early-season injury to depth center Kevin Rooney. He stepped into the lineup and immediately grabbed hold of a spot, becoming a reasonably productive fourth-line piece with eight points in 21 games. While he averaged just 9:42 per game, he quickly developed somewhat of a cult following after going three-for-four in shootout attempts and playing a physical brand, registering 45 hits.
Unfortunately, Kirkland’s momentum came to a grinding halt when he sustained a knee injury in a Nov. 29 game against the Blue Jackets. He required season-ending ACL surgery as a result. He was still named the club’s nominee for the Masterton Trophy, awarded to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey,” for grabbing hold of an NHL spot after eight professional seasons spent almost entirely in the AHL.
As such, Kirkland should be in a good position here to land the first one-way contract of his career. A third-round pick by Nashville in 2014, he also made one-year stops in the Ducks (2022-23) and Coyotes (2023-24) organizations in addition to his time with the Preds and Flames. He’s got a career 75-125–200 scoring line in 408 AHL games with 287 PIMs and a -62 rating. He also won a WHL championship in his junior days with the Kelowna Rockets in 2015.
The Flames have their forward group mostly fleshed out, though, and still have RFAs Morgan Frost and Connor Zary to sign. While Kirkland should start the year on the opening night roster, whether he’ll be in the lineup or in the press box remains to be seen. He’ll need to fend off competition from other veteran depth pieces like the recently extended Dryden Hunt as a result.
Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 was first to report the Flames and Kirkland were nearing an extension.