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Mammoth Sign Gabe Smith To Entry-Level Contract

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The Mammoth announced they’ve signed center prospect Gabe Smith to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Utah selected Smith, who turns 19 in August, as part of their first draft class in franchise history last year. They took the hulking 6’5″, 207-lb pivot in the fourth round from the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats.

Smith, while drafted for his upside as a bottom-six checking center, has had something of an offensive breakthrough after returning to Moncton this season. After scoring nine goals and 23 points in 54 games last year, he upped those numbers to 20 goals and 39 points in 52 regular-season appearances with a +23 rating. He’s been on another level with the Wildcats in the postseason, though. He ranked second on the team in playoff scoring with a 6-16–22 line in 19 games, along with a team-high +15 rating, as Moncton won its first QMJHL championship in 15 years. He’s also posted two goals and two assists in three games thus far for the Wildcats at the Memorial Cup.

Needless to say, Smith’s stock has grown tremendously in the 11 months since he was drafted. He’s not a candidate for an NHL job in the fall, though, so his entry-level deal will slide to the 2026-27 season before taking effect. The contract will expire following the 2028-29 campaign, after which he’ll be a restricted free agent.

It’s been a busy week for the Mammoth, who also came to terms with 2023 Coyotes first-round picks Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev on entry-level deals to bring them to North America for 2025-26.

Maple Leafs Won’t Ask Morgan Rielly To Waive No-Move Clause

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As the Maple Leafs undergo a retooling this summer following another failed attempt to reach the Eastern Conference Final, there have been some questions around the future of defenseman Morgan Rielly. Their longest-tenured player and highest-paid rearguard carries a full no-move clause for the five years remaining on his contract, though. At least this summer, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving has no intention of asking him to waive it, Pierre LeBrun said on TSN’s Insider Trading yesterday.

“He loves being a Leaf… I don’t think that needs to be a talking point going forward here,” LeBrun said. There have been questions about nearly every player on Toronto’s roster, not just because of their playoff record, but because this will be the first summer with Treliving in full control of the Leafs’ hockey operations decisions. While he’s entering his third season as Toronto’s GM, it’s his first without the oversight of president Brendan Shanahan, whom the organization said earlier this month won’t be retained.

Treliving pledged “DNA changes” during his end-of-season media availability, but it appears that’s less referring to the 31-year-old Rielly compared to the likelihood of letting star winger Mitch Marner walk in free agency. Rielly had a difficult start to the season under new head coach Craig Berube, posting 19 points and a -10 rating through his first 41 games. He improved to 22 points and a plus-two rating in the second half of the year, though, and didn’t miss a game all season. In the playoffs, Rielly recorded points in the first three games of both the first and second round but failed to get on the scoresheet later on in each series. He had a playoff-low minus-three rating in Toronto’s season-ending Game 7 loss to the Panthers.

While the Leafs now have plenty of efficient contracts on defense with Treliving’s work over the past few years, Rielly’s isn’t one of them. Calling him a No. 1 defenseman on a championship-contending team is a bit of a stretch, especially for a player whose calling card has always been his offensive skill and point production. His 0.50 points per game last season were his worst output in seven years, and his 21:23 average ice time per game was his lowest since the 2014-15 campaign. Jake McCabe actually led Toronto’s blue line in ATOI by a slim margin this year, the first time since 2017-18 that Rielly hasn’t been the Leafs’ most-used defender on a nightly basis.

A $7.5MM cap hit isn’t a drastic overpay for someone who still has legitimate rebound potential to the 50-60 point range, but the five years remaining on his contract might have limited his trade market even if he was willing to waive his NMC. Regardless, if the Leafs have plans of acquiring a new top defenseman this summer, they’ll need to do it by leveraging someone other than Rielly.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Sharks, Andrew Poturalski To Mutually Terminate Contract

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The Sharks and center Andrew Poturalski are headed for a mutual contract termination, the club announced Friday (via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group). He’s presumably been placed on unconditional waivers today, and the termination can proceed if no one claims him in the next 24 hours.

Poturalski has an opportunity lined up outside North America, the Sharks said, presumably in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. He told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now after the season ended that he was frustrated with the lack of NHL opportunities he received in San Jose this year, despite leading the AHL in points, something he’s done three times in the past five seasons. He’ll walk away from the second season of a two-year contract that would have paid him an $800K salary in the NHL and a $500K salary in the minors.

The 31-year-old center has always been a high-end contributor at the AHL level, but after going undrafted, he barely ever got an NHL look. His three games played with the Sharks this season were actually a career high. He’d logged six NHL games entering 2024-25, two each in the 2016-17, 2021-22, and 2023-24 campaigns with the Hurricanes and Kraken.

The 5’10”, 187-lb pivot will thus head overseas, potentially for the remainder of his career, without an NHL goal to his name. He recorded three assists and a minus-six rating in his nine games of NHL action.

In the minors, though, Poturalski has been one of the most dominant players of the last decade. He made his debut with the Charlotte Checkers, then affiliated with Carolina, in the 2015-16 season and has since won two Calder Cups, twice been named a First Team All-Star, and scored the Calder Cup-clinching goal for Charlotte in their 2019 championship win, along with being named playoff MVP. He’s posted a 161-332–493 scoring line in 527 career AHL contests over the last 10 years, including a career-high 30 goals with the San Jose Barracuda this year.

With no NHL future ahead of him this late in his career, he’ll head across the Atlantic in hopes of playing a starring role on championship teams there. He’s likely to land with Avangard Omsk on a two-year deal, Russia’s Match TV reported back in April.

Flyers Sign Helge Grans To Two-Year Extension

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The Flyers announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Helge Grans to a two-year extension. The deal carries a cap hit of $787,500 and is a two-way contract in 2025-26 before becoming a one-way deal in 2026-27, the team said. Grans was a pending restricted free agent after completing his entry-level contract.

Philadelphia acquired Grans, 23, from the Kings in 2023’s three-team deal that sent Ivan Provorov to the Blue Jackets. Los Angeles had selected him early in the second round of the 2020 draft, 35th overall, due to what they thought was a projectable skillset as a fringe top-four piece with a well-rounded game.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Grans had a good first impression in North America in his first AHL season in 2021-22, posting 24 points and a plus-seven rating in 56 games with the Ontario Reign. Grans had just nine points in 59 games the following year, though, and then scored eight in 56 games in 2023-24 after moving to the Flyers’ affiliate in Lehigh Valley.

The 6’3″, 205-lb righty got off to a much better start in 2024-25. He finished the year with 23 points and a minus-two rating in 66 AHL games and climbed up the Philadelphia depth chart, earning his first NHL recall in November. It was the only one he got all year long, but he recorded an assist, five blocks, and four hits in six appearances while averaging 14:28 per game. His possession results weren’t particularly promising, though. He only controlled 44.4% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting over 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Nonetheless, doling out a one-way structure in the second year of his extension indicates the Flyers anticipate Grans being more of an everyday NHL contributor in the near future. The righty could make the opening night roster next fall in lieu of Rasmus Ristolainen, who’ll likely miss the first few weeks of the campaign while recovering from triceps surgery. Philadelphia is light on other righties in their system outside of Jamie Drysdale and 2023 first-rounder Oliver Bonk, who could also get a look out of the gate with Ristolainen sidelined.

Grans will be a restricted free agent upon expiry. Unlike this summer if he remained unsigned, he’ll have arbitration rights in 2027.

Islanders Sign Kyle Palmieri, Adam Boqvist To Extensions

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The Islanders announced they signed pending UFA winger Kyle Palmieri and RFA defenseman Adam Boqvist to two-year and one-year contract extensions, respectively. Boqvist’s deal carries a cap hit of $850K, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Palmieri’s is worth $4.75MM per season for a total value of $9.5MM, Friedman adds. His deal also includes a full no-trade clause in 2025-26 and a 16-team no-trade list in 2026-27, according to PuckPedia.

The two signings are the first of general manager Mathieu Darche’s tenure after they made his hiring official one week ago, succeeding Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello had held extension talks with both players before the Islanders announced he’d been let go. They hit pause while the organization conducted its GM search, but it appears they were high on Darche’s list to get across the finish line in his first several days on the job.

Palmieri, 34, has spent parts of five seasons on Long Island and will look to extend that number to seven with this new deal. Initially acquired from the Devils at the 2021 trade deadline, he spent about a month testing free agency the following summer before returning to New York on a four-year, $20MM contract.

It was an eye-raising commitment at the time, especially for a player who finished the regular season with just four points in 17 games after his acquisition. It largely worked out in the end, though. Palmieri returned to his ways as a consistent 20-goal winger, putting himself on pace for the mark in his last three seasons with the Isles. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2022-23 campaign and even tied his career-high 30 goals one year ago. He followed that up with a 24-goal, 48-point showing this season, placing him third on the Islanders in scoring and 14th among pending unrestricted free agents.

That makes his price tag a smart one for his relatively projectable goal-scoring touch, although the Islanders would presumably like to decrease his deployment from the 18:31 per game he hit last season, a career high. While a known commodity offensively, he’s never been particularly adept away from the puck, and those concerns perhaps overshadowed his decent production in 2024-25. His -17 rating was a team-low and a career-low. The Islanders also allowed 30.24 shots per 60 minutes with Palmieri on the ice at 5-on-5, the worst figure of any New York skater with at least 200 minutes played, per Natural Stat Trick.

Palmieri should still be able to hover around the 20-goal mark in slightly decreased usage to limit his defensive drawbacks, particularly if Darche’s roster retooling gives him a two-way, playmaking center to partner with lower in the lineup. The new deal is a slight pay cut from his previous $5MM cap hit, a notable factor in the Islanders’ ability to spend this offseason amid the largest year-to-year salary cap jump in history.

As for Boqvist, he lands some stability after a tumultuous 2024-25 campaign. The 2018 eighth overall pick’s offseason began on a sour note when he was bought out by the Blue Jackets with one year remaining on a three-year, $7.8MM contract. He landed with the Panthers on a league-minimum contract to play with his brother, Jesper Boqvist, but managed only 18 appearances in the first four months of the campaign before ending up on waivers.

The Islanders, in need of puck-movers on the back end with injuries to Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock, took a flyer on the 24-year-old Swede. He was a serviceable depth piece down the stretch, even rotating into the lineup at center at times, recording eight points and a minus-five rating in 17 games. The 6’0″ righty averaged 15:22 per game after the claim.

It remains to be seen whether Boqvist is in the opening night lineup next fall, but he’s likely done enough to at least earn a roster spot and stick around as a healthy extra if the Isles need more scoring punch on the power play. Like Palmieri, Boqvist’s defensive game has been his biggest wart at the NHL level. He’s never been particularly physical, and his play style doesn’t warrant being a good shot suppressor through pure puck possession, but he did have some decent 5-on-5 defense numbers in New York. His 25.99 shots against per 60 minutes ranked ninth on the club out of 26 skaters to play at least 200 minutes, and his 2.40 expected goals against per 60 ranked 10th.

Boqvist will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer. The Islanders still have nearly $21MM in cap space after today’s extensions, per PuckPedia.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Blackhawks Hire Jared Nightingale As AHL Head Coach

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The Blackhawks announced they’ve named Jared Nightingale as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He replaces Mark Eaton, who took over as Rockford’s interim head coach to end the campaign after Anders Sorensen was promoted to the NHL bench to serve as the Blackhawks’ interim in the wake of Luke Richardson’s firing. Eaton will return to his previous assistant GM role with Chicago.

Nightingale, 42, is no stranger to the Blackhawks organization or to Rockford. He spent parts of three seasons there as an assistant coach from 2021 to 2024 before leaving last summer to work in the Capitals organization. He spent one year as the head coach and director of hockey operations for ECHL South Carolina, which has also churned out future NHL head coaches Spencer Carbery and Ryan Warsofsky in recent years.

South Carolina was Nightingale’s first experience as a head coach at any level. It went quite well, guiding the Stingrays to a franchise-best 52-15-3-2 record, although they were upset by Orlando in seven games in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Nightingale is the brother of Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale, who also served as an assistant under Mike Sullivan for the United States en route to a gold medal at this year’s World Championship. He had a lengthy minor-league career as an enforcer on defense, spending the 2013-14 campaign in Rockford as their captain.

Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes

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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 continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Hurricanes.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Ryan Suzuki – The Hurricanes are a rare bird this summer. After needing to deal with high-profile RFAs in the 2024 offseason in Seth Jarvis and Martin Nečas, Carolina didn’t even have a single pending RFA on the active roster to end the season. We’ll look at the most intriguing non-roster RFA at each position instead, starting with Suzuki. The 2019 first-round pick needed to have a big 2024-25 campaign to maintain a role in the organization after some underwhelming AHL performance over the last few years, and he delivered. The 24-year-old recorded a career-high 59 points (12 G, 47 A) in 69 games for the Chicago Wolves, leading the club in assists and points. Suzuki landed his NHL debut amid that surge, recording a plus-one rating but no points in a pair of outings in January and February. He’ll likely just end up accepting his $813,750 qualifying offer, but it was uncertain whether he’d secure one at all when looking at his track record a season ago.

D Ty Smith – The 2021 All-Rookie defenseman did log some NHL time for Carolina this year, posting a goal and an assist in eight games as a frequent call-up option from the Wolves. It was his first NHL action since January 2023, as the 2018 first-round pick has failed to hold onto an everyday role after aggressively sliding down the Devils’ depth chart following his promising first-year showing four years ago. He did manage 28 points and a plus-four rating on a defensively challenged AHL Chicago team in 36 games, though. While that may not be enough to secure him a qualifying offer from a Hurricanes organization with brighter defense prospects to insert into next season’s lineup, it could be enough to convince an NHL team in need of an offensive rearguard to give him a more extended look next fall.

G Yaniv Perets – A 2023 NCAA national championship with Quinnipiac, Perets hits RFA status following his second professional season. The 25-year-old played mostly in the ECHL with the Bloomington Bison but was exceptional there, recording a .921 SV%, 2.59 GAA, and three shutouts with a 12-12-1 record. That was a huge step up over last year’s .889 SV% in the ECHL and could be enough to earn him a qualifying offer, although Carolina already has two young minor-league goalies under contract for 2025-26 and might prefer a more veteran option to complement the depth chart as a No. 3 option rather than using a contract slot on Perets.

Other RFAs: F Skyler Brind’Amour, F Noel Gunler, D Domenick Fensore, D Anttoni Honka, D Ronan Seeley

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Brent Burns – Burns, 40, finally got caught by Father Time in 2024-25. While he remained in a top-pairing role alongside Jaccob Slavin, his offensive production took a sizable hit compared to the up-and-down point totals he’d posted over the last few years. His 29 points in 82 games were the fourth-worst points per game pace of his 21-year career and his lowest since his first three years in the NHL. His 20:57 average time on ice was also its lowest since then, not including the two years he primarily played right wing with the Sharks. Once a physical force, he wasn’t nearly as involved along the wall or stepping up against forwards as he once was. Burns had just 11 hits all year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina let Burns walk and deploy younger righty Scott Morrow in his role next season. If he extends his career in Carolina or elsewhere, he’s looking at a one-year deal at likely no more than half of his previous $8MM cap hit.

D Dmitry Orlov – Orlov hasn’t been the best fit with the Canes after signing a two-year, $15.5MM deal in free agency in 2023. He was the top prize of that year’s weak UFA class, but the lefty got thrust into sheltered minutes last year on the left side behind Slavin and Brady Skjei, averaging just 17:19 per game after seeing over 22 minutes per night the year prior. Orlov got increased deployment this year after Skjei left in free agency, logging 20 minutes per game and posting 28 points with a +16 rating in 76 appearances. He remains an extremely serviceable top-four piece with historically strong possession impacts, but the 33-year-old will almost surely hit the open market with the higher-upside Alexander Nikishin set to replace his role in 2025-26. While Orlov’s poor postseason showing may sour some teams on the open market, he again benefits from a weaker market and should again land north of $5MM per season on a short-term deal.

F Jack Roslovic – Roslovic was a pleasant surprise for the Canes, who picked him up for cheap last summer to help soften the blow of losing multiple scoring forwards in free agency. The 28-year-old rewarded their $2.8MM investment by tying his career-high 22 goals, totaling 39 points in 81 games to sit sixth on the Canes in scoring. He can play both center and wing, a valuable factor for a Hurricanes team that’s thin down the middle. It would be surprising not to see them try to retain his services before he hits the open market on July 1, but it’ll likely take something in the $4MM range on a multi-year commitment to help dissuade other offers.

F Eric Robinson – Robinson, 30 next month, also punched far above his weight class offensively for what the Canes paid for him last summer ($950K) to help add some bottom-six depth. The longtime Blue Jackets winger answered the bell with a 14-18–32 scoring line in 82 games, averaging 12:16 per game while placing fourth on the club with 123 hits. He’s also presumably someone the club wants to keep around. Will they be willing to triple his salary to do so?

F Tyson Jost – 2024-25 was an important campaign for Jost, who re-established himself as a fine fourth-line/press box option after spending a significant chunk of last season in the AHL. He still saw some brief minor-league assignments this year but injuries paved the way for him to make 39 appearances, scoring nine points and a plus-two rating while averaging 10:22 per game. He had a stellar 60.3% share of shot attempts at even strength, and it stands to reason both parties could be interested in extending his stay in Raleigh as a 12th/13th forward.

Other UFAs: F Jesper Fast, F Juha Jaaska, D Joakim Ryan, D Riley Stillman, G Spencer Martin, G Dustin Tokarski

Projected Cap Space

After dealing with a cap crunch last summer, general manager Eric Tulsky will have much more flexibility in his second offseason at the helm. Burns’ and Orlov’s deals expiring, plus young players on entry-level deals ready to step into their roles, means they can be among the top players in free agency with $28.4MM in space. They’ll have the flexibility to retain whoever they want from the list above, plus pursue some of the top-notch prizes available on the open market.

Image courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images (Suzuki) and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images (Burns). Contract info courtesy of PuckPedia.

Sabres Hire Jarmo Kekäläinen As Senior Advisor

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The Sabres have named former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior advisor to GM Kevyn Adams, per a team release.

Kekäläinen “will be involved in all areas of the hockey department,” the club said. This is Kekäläinen’s first NHL job since Columbus relieved him of his duties as GM in February 2024. He’s been working in his native Finland since then as a senior advisor to Helsinki’s HIFK. Still, he’s interviewed for multiple NHL GM vacancies in the meantime, including the Hurricanes’ last year and the Islanders’ earlier this month.

It’s no secret the Sabres were looking to hire a more established NHL executive to work with the much younger Adams this summer as the franchise navigates a turning point amid their league-record 14-year playoff drought. They’ve been linked to recently-fired Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello and Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan at points over the last few weeks, but opted for Kekäläinen instead.

“As we navigated the process of hiring for this role, it very quickly became apparent that Jarmo was an ideal candidate to augment our front office,” Adams said in a statement. “From his extensive history in scouting, his long tenure as an NHL general manager and his vast experience at the international and European pro levels, Jarmo has a remarkable resume and a long history of success in this league. I spoke with a number of candidates about this role and it’s clear to me that Jarmo is a perfect fit for our team. I couldn’t be more excited to add another significant piece to our front office as we continue the process of adding to our staff.”

Kekäläinen will advise Adams as the duo determines whether to trade or extend a slate of pending restricted free agents that includes defenseman Bowen Byram and winger JJ Peterka. Also on the team’s offseason checklist is a new deal for center Ryan McLeod and opening extension talks with winger Alex Tuch.

The 58-year-old Kekäläinen hopes today’s appointment is a stepping stone back to an NHL GM role, whether that ends up being in Buffalo or elsewhere. He was one of the league’s longest-tenured GMs until his firing in Columbus, which hired him midway through the 2012-13 campaign. Before that, he spent three years as the Senators’ director of player personnel (1999-2002) and eight years with the Blues as their director of amateur scouting and assistant GM (2002-2010).

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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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.

Aleksi Heponiemi Signs In Sweden

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While Aleksi Heponiemi remains on the Panthers’ reserve list until next offseason, it doesn’t appear he’ll entertain an NHL return before then. The 26-year-old center signed a two-year deal with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League today, per a team announcement, essentially confirming Florida will lose his signing rights on July 1, 2026.

Heponiemi, a 2017 second-round pick, once checked out as one of the organization’s top prospects. The Finnish native was named the WHL’s Rookie of the Year in his draft year after posting 86 points in 72 games and took things to another level in 2017-18, leading the league with 90 assists in just 57 games while adding 28 goals for 118 points. But he didn’t immediately join the Panthers’ pro ranks after that, instead opting to return home with Kärpät in the top-division Liiga for 2018-19. He continued to impress there, logging 46 points in 50 games, finally receiving an entry-level contract from Florida at the end of the year.

Upon his arrival in the North American professional ranks, Heponiemi’s development and production cratered. He managed only 14 points in 49 AHL games in his first pro season stateside and managed only six points in 25 NHL games over the following three years. Upon becoming an RFA in 2023, the Panthers still issued Heponiemi a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights, but he was obviously unhappy with his trajectory in the organization and opted to return to Europe instead.

Heponiemi has spent the last two years with EHC Biel-Bienne of the Swiss National League. He’s been serviceable there but not as dominant as he would have hoped. The 5’10” pivot posted a 13-22–35 scoring line in 59 appearances since his arrival, and while Biel-Bienne signed him to a three-year extension last summer, they recently mutually terminated that contract.

He’ll now look to rediscover his game in Sweden, but with his production still yet to rebound to its ceiling, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him not add to his NHL resume down the line. A major resurgence with HV71 could put him on the international free agency radar in 2027, though.

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