Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Flames Rumors

Flames Sign Carter King To Entry-Level Deal

at CDT | by 3 Comments

April 14: In short order, the Flames have made King’s signing official. It carries a cap hit of $872.5K.

April 13: Seravalli reports that the Flames are closing in on signing King.  Assuming a deal is finalized, it will begin next season with King inking a tryout deal with AHL Calgary to finish off this season.

March 16: University of Denver captain Carter King is currently attempting to win his third national championship in five years with the Pioneers. As such, the 23-year-old undrafted forward is generating interest from multiple NHL teams on the free agent market as he looks to turn pro – including from his hometown Flames, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote recently.

King, who checks in at 5’10” and 190 lbs, ranks fourth on the Pios in scoring this season with a career-high 18-18–36 line in 38 appearances thus far. He’s also posted a +14 rating and is a nominee for this year’s NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year.

Since King will turn 24 in August before the Sep. 15 cutoff date, he’s only eligible for a one-year entry-level contract. He wasn’t on an NHL club’s reserve list at the trade deadline, so he’s ineligible to play down the stretch in the regular season.

King has spent much of the year as Denver’s first-line center, currently anchoring a line with a unit with Blackhawks 2022 third-rounder Aidan Thompson and Panthers 2022 seventh-rounder Jack Devine. He’s helped the latter along to a second consecutive 50-point campaign that should make him a Hobey Baker Award nominee again after he earned a nomination in 2023-24.

He was initially eligible for selection in the 2019 NHL draft, but was understandably not on teams’ radars after spending the majority of the season in the U18 AAA Alberta Elite Hockey League. Only in his post-draft season did he graduate to junior ’A’ play with the Surrey Eagles in British Columbia before serving as a frequent scratch as a true freshman for Denver in the shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Playing that low on the ladder at that point in his development generally doesn’t bode well for a player’s NHL ceiling. Calgary’s prospect pool isn’t particularly deep down the middle, though, and could use an intriguing infusion in King. Their pool, which ranked 13th in the league in The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s mid-season overview, only has three centers among their top 15 prospects. One of them, 2023 No. 16 overall pick Samuel Honzek, played on the wing in his NHL debut back in October.

Whoever King signs with, he’s likely destined for a full-time AHL role next season. The Flames only have 23 players signed to standard contracts for next season, though, so there’s plenty of room for King in the system as things stand.

Flames Sign Arsenii Sergeev To Entry-Level Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Flames announced they’ve signed goalie prospect Arsenii Sergeev to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins with the 2025-26 season, although he could report to AHL Calgary for the remainder of this year on a tryout. He’ll command a cap hit of $866,250.

Sergeev, 22, lands his first pro contract nearly four years after Calgary selected him in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. The 6’3″ Russian was playing in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the North American Hockey League in his draft year but has since risen up the ranks to become one of the better goalies in college hockey. He started his career at UConn in 2022, posting a 2.65 GAA and .913 SV% in 35 games across two seasons with one shutout and a 19-14-1 record.

After his sophomore season drew to a close last spring, Sergeev entered the transfer portal and landed with Penn State. He had a breakout with the Nittany Lions, posting a .919 SV% and 2.54 GAA in 33 games as he helped the program to its first Frozen Four appearance – defeating UConn in the process. While they were eliminated by Boston University in the national semifinals, Sergeev’s season may not be over.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked Sergeev as the top goalie prospect in Calgary’s system and No. 10 in the Flames’ pool overall, with Calder Trophy hopeful Dustin Wolf graduating to a full-time role. He joins what looks to be a crowded minor-league crease in Calgary next season. The club has Devin Cooley under contract (although he could be Wolf’s backup next season after a strong AHL campaign) and recent undrafted free agent pickup Owen Say out of Notre Dame. That’s not including pending RFAs Waltteri Ignatjew and Connor Murphy, who could be back next year in minor-league roles.

Sergeev’s deal will run through the 2026-27 campaign, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent. Calgary maintains team control over Sergeev’s signing rights until 2030.

Mews To Play At University Of Michigan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • One player who won’t be on the NHL-AHL shuffle for a little while longer is Calgary prospect Henry Mews. The defenseman announced (Twitter link) that he’ll play for the University of Michigan next season.  Mews was a third-round pick by the Flames last June, going 74th overall.  He had a strong year offensively in the OHL, tallying 82 points in 68 games between Ottawa and Sudbury but instead of staying in junior, he’ll test himself at the college level next season.

Calgary Flames Recall Zayne Parekh

at CDT | by 1 Comment

One of the game’s top defensive prospects will debut tomorrow night against the Anaheim Ducks. The Calgary Flames announced they’ve recalled defenseman Zayne Parekh from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, and he’ll join the club immediately.

The Flames selected Parekh with the ninth overall selection of the 2024 NHL Draft, and there’s reason to believe he should have been selected higher. In his draft season, Parekh scored 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games with a +39 rating, easily winning the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s best defenseman and being named the CHL Defenseman of the Year.

He followed that performance up with an even better year. Parekh scored 33 goals and 107 points in 61 games for the Spirit this season with a +42 rating, finishing fifth in the league in scoring. Not only did Parekh lead all OHL defensemen in scoring, but there was a 16-point gap between him and Sam Dickinson, who finished in second. Furthermore, the only other defenseman in OHL history to record back-to-back 30-goal campaigns came in the 1965-66 season, when an 18-year-old Bobby Orr tallied 38 goals for the Oshawa Generals.

Despite seeing his postseason end at the hands of the Erie Otters, Parekh still has a chance to play meaningful hockey down the stretch with Calgary. The Flames are four points behind the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card position in the Western Conference with five games remaining and a game in hand.

Calgary ranks 21st in the league with 129 points contributed by defensemen. That number should improve marginally over the five remaining regular season contests if Parekh contributes even fractionally to his performance in the OHL.

Still, his position in the lineup could be up in the air. The Flames already have two top-four right-handed defensemen in MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, with the former having played on the left side several times. Calgary can allow Parekh a quality opportunity over the next two weeks alongside Weegar or a more defensive-minded option like Kevin Bahl or Joel Hanley. Should Parekh play as advertised, the Flames may enter the off-season one blueliner away from having an elite defensive unit.

Flames Sign Aydar Suniev To Three-Year Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Calgary Flames have made official the reports that 2023 third-round draft pick Aydar Suniev signed a three-year, entry-level contract per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Suniev will turn pro after completing his sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts. News of his signing comes just minutes after news that Suniev’s teammate Cole O’Hara has signed his entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators.

Suniev scored 20 goals and 38 points in 35 games this season. It was a strong continuation of his collegiate scoring after he potted 12 goals and 35 points in 36 games last season. Suniev ranked second on the UMass Minutemen in scoring this season, only behind O’Hara’s 51 points. While Suniev posted modest scoring last year, his climb up the leaderboards this year has been impressive – coming on the back of growing confidence on the puck. He’s seemed to take a hardy stride forward in his ability to work the puck into the middle of the ice, effectively rounding out his ability as a puck-hog on the perimeter.

Suniev was a part of a strong Flames draft class in 2023. With this deal, he could become the second member of that class to make their NHL debut, with Steinberg adding that Suniev’s deal should mirror that of former collegiate star and current Flame Matthew Coronato. Coronato played in one NHL game at the end of the 2022-23 season, after wrapping up his sophomore year at Harvard University.

Calgary has eight games remaining in their 2024-25 campaign, and currently sit four games back from the second Western Conference Wild Card with one game in hand. That’s treacherous ground to award an undersized winger his NHL debut, though Calgary could use Suniev’s strong puckhandling and speedy motor as a spark plug as they attempt one final push for the postseason. If they want to stay careful, the Flames could also assign Suniev to the minor leagues, and avoid burning the first year of his contract on an abbreviated stint in the 2024-25 NHL season.

Flames Interested In Callum Tung

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Flames are among the teams interested in signing college free agent netminder Callum Tung out of UConn, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

Tung, 21, backstopped UConn to its first national tournament appearance in program history this season. While they won their regional semifinal matchup against Quinnipiac, they lost in overtime to Penn State last night in the regional final, ending their campaign.

The freshman didn’t have a huge workload this season, only making 15 appearances. He stole the crease from Panthers draft pick Tyler Muszelik late in the season, finishing the year with a sterling 2.01 GAA and .933 SV% with a 10-4-1 record.

Tung, a British Columbia native, appeared at Calgary’s development camp last year. The 6’3″, 198-lb netminder is a late bloomer, only graduating to a full-time player at the junior ’A’ level last season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League. Nonetheless, his quick ascension over the past couple of seasons has him looking to turn pro just two years after logging significant time in the junior ’B’ Pacific Junior Hockey League.

As Friedman notes, the Flames face an uphill battle in landing him. They’ve already made one splash on the goalie market in college free agency this year, signing 23-year-old Owen Say out of Notre Dame. That gives them five goalies signed or under team control for next season, not including the goalie who ended Tung’s season last night. Penn State’s Arsenii Sergeev is a Flames prospect, going to them in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. Ironically, he transferred from UConn last summer and could also sign his ELC with the Flames after leading the Nittany Lions to their first Frozen Four appearance.

Flames' Prospect Trevor Hoskin Enters Portal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Flames prospect Trevor Hoskin has also entered the portal, per Grand Folks Hearld reporter Brad Elliott Schlossman. The 20-year-old forward spent one season at Niagara University and recorded 12 goals and 39 points in 36 games. Despite tying for first in points this season for the Purple Eagles, Hoskin will look for another collegiate opportunity. In three seasons in the OJHL, he recorded 190 points, including 100 points in his last season. The 6’1, 175 pounder was Calgary’s 2024 fourth round selection.

Connor Zary Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While it wasn’t the worst-case scenario for Flames forward Connor Zary as it pertains to his lower-body injury, he’ll still be out for a little while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Zary has been listed as out week-to-week.

The injury was sustained back on Thursday in their loss to Dallas in a collision with Mikko Rantanen, requiring some assistance to get off the ice.  Initially feared it could be a recurrence of the significant knee injury that caused Zary to miss 15 games recently, it doesn’t appear as if the injury is as severe but nonetheless, he’s set to miss some time.

This is Zary’s first full NHL season after he spent a bit of time with AHL Calgary last year.  The 23-year-old had 14 goals and 20 assists in 63 games in 2023-24 and is producing at a similar clip this year, tallying 13 goals and 14 helpers in 54 outings, good for seventh in team scoring, fifth among Flames forwards.

Zary joins Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland (who both have season-ending injuries) on the shelf for Calgary as they look to get back into a playoff spot.  Entering tonight’s action, the Flames are six points out of the last Wild Card spot held by St. Louis but also have three games in hand on the Blues.  But they’ll have to find a way to stay in the mix without one of their top-six forwards for at least the next little while.

Flames Sign Jacob Battaglia To Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Flames have agreed to terms with one of their more promising prospects.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Jacob Battaglia to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry an AAV of $931.7K and while not specified by the club, it will begin next season.

The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick last year, going 62nd overall after a promising sophomore season with OHL Kingston.  After potting seven goals and 20 assists as a rookie, those numbers jumped to 31 and 34, respectively, in 67 outings in 2023-24.

This season, Battaglia was able to add to those totals once again.  He finished up the campaign with 40 goals and 50 helpers in 68 games, good for a share of the team lead in scoring with Vegas prospect Tuomas Uronen.  Battaglia had a pair of assists in yesterday’s playoff opener as well.

As Battaglia won’t turn 20 until next March, playing in the minors next season won’t be an option.  He’ll have to make Calgary’s roster or be returned to Kingston.  The latter scenario is much more likely and in that instance, his deal will slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

Early Prognosis Positive On Zary Injury, Further Testing Required

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that further tests will be conducted to assess the severity of Connor Zary’s knee injury. The young forward for the Calgary Flames awkwardly collided with the Dallas Stars’ Mikko Rantanen shortly into the third period of last night’s contest and required help getting off the ice after a lengthy meet with the trainer. Fortunately, Dreger believes the early prognosis of Zary’s injury was positive. Still, as the fifth-highest scoring forward on the Flames with 27 points in 54 games, Calgary will need Zary in the lineup should they have any hope of catching up to the St. Louis Blues for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top