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Dryden Hunt

Flames Recall Dryden Hunt, Sam Morton; Reassign Rory Kerins

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The Calgary Flames have made a few changes to their active roster. Calgary announced that they’ve recalled forwards Dryden Hunt and Sam Morton. Additionally, the team has reassigned forward Rory Kerins to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in a corresponding roster move.

Today’s recall presents an opportunity for Hunt to play in his first NHL game of the season. Despite seeing his role reduced over the last three years in Calgary, Hunt re-upped with the Flames on a two-year, $1.65MM contract this past summer.

Regardless of seeing his opportunity drop at the NHL level, Hunt has become an exceptional offensive force for the Wranglers. Since coming to the organization in a minor swap with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season, Hunt has scored 33 goals and 102 points in 104 games for AHL Calgary. Unfortunately, this has not resulted in NHL success, as Hunt has contributed only three goals and 11 points across 33 games while averaging 11:13 of ice time since his move to Alberta.

Likewise, Morton is another depth forward in the Flames organization who’s been highly successful at the NHL level. Calgary signed Morton as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State University in the 2023-24 season. Since then, he’s scored 29 goals and 64 points in 99 games with the AHL Wranglers. Still, he’s hardly gotten an opportunity at the NHL level. He’s only played in one game for the Flames up to this point, a game in which he scored his first NHL goal.

Meanwhile, Kerins returns to the Wranglers after participating in a couple of games for the Flames. He did average 15:51 of ice time over his recent recall, but went scoreless with a -1 rating. He’s scored five goals and 14 points in 13 games with AHL Calgary this year.

Calgary Flames Assign Dryden Hunt To AHL

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Saturday: Hunt’s stint on Calgary’s roster was short-lived as the team announced that they have sent Hunt back to the Wranglers.  He didn’t wind up playing against Winnipeg.  They’re now back to carrying an open roster spot.

Thursday: The Calgary Flames announced today that they recalled forward Dryden Hunt from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. The move brings the Flames to a full 23-man active roster, with the full slate of 14 forwards and seven defensemen.

Today’s recall puts Hunt in a position to potentially make his 2024-25 debut tomorrow when the Flames play the Winnipeg Jets. The Flames have gotten off to an extremely poor start to 2025-26, sitting 31st in the NHL with a 1-6-1 record through eight games. Should the San Jose Sharks defeat the New York Rangers tonight, the Flames will end the day in last place in the NHL.

The most significant reason behind their struggles has been a lack of offense – they’ve scored just 13 goals so far this season. They’re generating a fair number of shots (they took 37 in last night’s overtime loss to Montreal). Still, they simply have not been able to generate high-quality looks or reliably finish the high-end chances they do manage to generate.

Recalling Hunt, 29, won’t solve those problems on its own. Although Hunt has proven to be a quality AHL scorer (he has 251 points in 322 career games) he hasn’t translated that scoring ability to the NHL level. He has one season as a full-time NHL regular on his résumé, coming in 2021-22 with the New York Rangers. But even though he won’t solve the Flames’ offensive woes on his own, there are definitely worse players a team could call up to help fill a bottom-six role.

Hunt has gotten off to a fast start in the AHL this season (six points in just four games) and does bring 235 games of NHL experience. He can be a tenacious player and has worked his way from being an undrafted WHL star and someone who was playing in the ECHL as a rookie pro into a solid NHL/AHL bubble forward.

2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek has not registered a point through six games this season, and after managing just 21 points in 52 AHL games last season, it’s possible he could be well-served getting a stint in the AHL to help build his confidence as a pro scorer. If the Flames take that view, Hunt could land on the team’s third line in Honzek’s spot, on a line with Morgan Frost and Connor Zary.

Although this recall has some financial implications for Hunt, the raise he’ll receive for his time spent on the NHL roster compared to his AHL salary will be relatively limited. Hunt’s two-way contract has one of the higher AHL salaries in the league, containing a $450K base salary and $500K total guarantee. Depending on how long he can manage to spend on the NHL roster, this recall could go a long way in helping Hunt surpass his $500K guarantee by the time the season concludes.

Waivers: 9/30/25

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The final day of September has once again brought a flurry of waiver activity.  After 22 players were placed on waivers on Monday, all of whom cleared, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, another 22 players are on the wire today, per PuckPedia.  They are as follows:

Calgary Flames

F Clark Bishop
F Dryden Hunt
D Yan Kuznetsov
F Sam Morton

Carolina Hurricanes

D Gavin Bayreuther
F Noel Gunler
F Tyson Jost
F Josiah Slavin
F Ryan Suzuki

Edmonton Oilers

G Matt Tomkins

New York Islanders

G Marcus Hogberg
F Matthew Highmore 

New York Rangers

F Brendan Brisson
D Connor Mackey

Philadelphia Flyers

F Anthony Richard

San Jose Sharks

F Shane Bowers
F Jimmy Huntington
F Oskar Olausson
F Pavol Regenda
G Jakub Skarek

Winnipeg Jets

D Tyrel Bauer
D Isaak Phillips 

Some younger forwards stand out on today’s list.  Olausson, Brisson and Suzuki were late first-round selections back in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively, but haven’t been able to grab a foothold on a full-time NHL roster spot just yet.  Meanwhile, Gunler is only 23 and since he has spent a lot of his time since being drafted playing overseas, he’s still relatively inexperienced in North America with just 100 AHL games under his belt.

Among the blueliners, Phillips has seen NHL action in four straight seasons, all with Chicago, including a 33-game stint in 2023-24.  Mackey was recalled and sent down many times on paper moves last season and has gotten into at least one NHL appearance in five straight years.  Bayreuther is the most experienced of them all with 122 NHL outings but none since 2023-24.

With the belief that a few teams might be eyeing the goalie market, there are a trio of options available.  Hogberg is the most experienced of the three with 57 NHL outings, including 15 last season.  Skarek (two games in 2024-25) and Tomkins (six in 2023-24) joined new teams in free agency this summer and don’t appear likely to be claimed.

These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Wednesday.

Calgary Flames Sign Dryden Hunt To Two-Year Deal

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The Calgary Flames are keeping a quality AHL scorer for the next few years. The Flames announced they’ve signed forward Dryden Hunt to a two-year, two-way agreement worth $1.65MM ($825K AAV).

The player from Cranbrook, British Columbia, joined the Flames organization through a minor league trade during the 2022-23 NHL season. A few months after Hunt was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Denis Malgin, Calgary sent depth player Radim Zohorna to Toronto in exchange for Hunt at the trade deadline.

Despite being an efficient scorer at the AHL level, Hunt has typically been deployed as a fourth-line winger at the NHL level. After debuting with the Florida Panthers during the 2017-18 season, Hunt has scored 18 goals and 54 points in 235 games, averaging 11:02 of ice time per game, and carrying a -31 rating.

His exploits in the AHL have been much better, particularly with the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Since making his professional debut in the 2016-17 season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, Hunt has scored 104 goals and 245 points in 318 games, with a +37 rating. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been on many successful teams, reaching the playoffs only twice in his seven-year career.

Calgary could have some moving parts toward the bottom of their forward core during the 2025-26 campaign, but it’s unlikely to affect Hunt. The Flames are leaning toward larger opportunities for Adam Klapka and Samuel Honzek, meaning Hunt should spend much of the year at the AHL level.

Dryden Hunt Clears Waivers

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Saturday: The Flames announced that Hunt has been assigned to AHL Calgary, meaning that he was not claimed off waivers.

Friday: With their 2024-25 campaign concluded, the Calgary Flames are making the moves needed to bolster their AHL ranks per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. That includes placing forward Dryden Hunt on waivers for the purposes of reassignment. Hunt played in the final four games of Calgary’s season and recorded three assists. It was his only scoring of the NHL season, after he also played in a scoreless game in early February.

This move should return Hunt to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, where he’s stood as one of the most impactful players on the roster. Hunt ranks third on the Wranglers in scoring with 48 points in as many games. He is one of just 15 players to appear in more than 25 AHL games and maintain a point-per-game scoring pace this season. That scoring is largely thanks to just how red-hot the Wranglers offense has stayed all season. The Wranglers supported five different forwards to 40-point campaigns, including Rory Kerins (60 points), Martin Frk (58), William Stromgren (48), and Sam Morton (45). Defenseman Jeremie Poirier came one point shy of reaching the 40-point mark as well.

But Hunt’s recent seasons have been building towards a strong showing. He scored 22 points in 23 AHL games last season, and totaled 29 points in 32 games split between the Toronto Marlies and Wranglers during the 2022-23 season. The 29-year-old Cranbrook native has had a journeyman career across the professional leagues, and spent NHL time with each of the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche – in addition to Canadian stints in Toronto and Calgary.

In total, Hunt has recorded 54 points and 121 penalty minutes across 235 games in the NHL. Roster rules would require he be assigned to the minor leagues even if another team were to claim him – and doing so might not be a bad bet after a year of consistently strong play in an electric Wranglers top-six. But it seems likely that he’ll instead stay in Calgary, and look to support the Wranglers to a long playoff run.

Flames’ Mikael Backlund Out Week-To-Week

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Flames captain Mikael Backlund sustained an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s shootout loss to the Canucks, the team confirmed. He’s listed as week-to-week.

Backlund left the game midway through the first period and didn’t return after laying a hit on Vancouver defenseman Victor Mancini. The centerman skated off under his own power, but appeared to slightly twist his left shoulder/upper arm area while making the check.

With just over a month remaining in the regular season, it’s likely not a campaign-ender for Backlund – at least, the Flames hope so. They also lost forward Connor Zary to a two-game suspension after the loss. Hence, they’re now down a pair of top-nine fixtures for their next two games, both against playoff-bound teams in the Avalanche and Maple Leafs, as they look to outlast the Canucks, Blues, and Utah for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Backlund, who turns 36 next week, hasn’t missed a game since the 2020-21 campaign. His offensive totals have continued to decline over the past few years, producing just 11-13–24 through 64 games this year, but remains a top-tier defensive forward. He’s averaged nearly 19 minutes per game for the Flames this year while controlling 51.8% of shot attempts despite seeing only 37.7% of his even-strength zone starts in the offensive end.

Now in his 17th year with the Flames, Backlund is in the first season of the two-year, $9MM extension he signed in training camp in 2023. He’s eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2026.

With Backlund confirmed out, Calgary’s recall of winger Dryden Hunt today qualifies as an emergency. They still have three of their four post-deadline recalls remaining after summoning Adam Klapka from the minors earlier this week. Hunt, 29, ranks second on the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in scoring with 15-33–48 in 48 games. The 6’0″ depth forward will presumably draw into a bottom-six role for his first NHL game since Feb. 8, which marked his only NHL appearance of the season so far.

Flames Recall Dryden Hunt, Reassign Clark Bishop

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The Flames announced Thursday they have recalled winger Dryden Hunt from AHL Calgary. In a corresponding transaction, Forward Clark Bishop is headed back to the minors, keeping the team’s active roster at a maximum of 23 players.

Hunt, 29, has been in the Calgary organization since they acquired him from the Maple Leafs before the 2023 trade deadline. He hit unrestricted free agency for a day the following summer before signing a two-year, two-way deal to return to the Flames, which he’s now a few months away from finishing up. He was initially an undrafted free agent signing by the Panthers in 2016 and has since carved out a journeyman’s career as an NHL/AHL tweener with decent bottom-six utility.

He was recalled once earlier this season after clearing waivers during training camp but didn’t see any game action. It’s unclear whether that will change, as the Flames still have 12 healthy forwards without him. Hunt last saw NHL action in April 2024, so he’s likely to serve as a scratch tonight against the Avalanche.

The 6’0″ winger is amid a strong season for the Wranglers, leading the AHL club in scoring with 12-28–40 in 41 games. He’s hovered shy of a point per game for the club since making his Wranglers debut in 2023, totaling 77 points in 81 games. He’s routinely been a productive minor-league producer in the past, too, with a 100-136–236 scoring line in 310 career AHL appearances.

Hunt has also played 230 NHL games across eight seasons with the Avalanche, Coyotes, Flames, Maple Leafs, Panthers, and Rangers, scoring 18-33–51 and having a -30 rating. Last year, he averaged 11:08 per game across 28 appearances for Calgary, scoring 3-5–8 and ranking third on the team with 14.05 hits per 60 minutes.

Bishop, 28, had a goal and a minus-two rating in six games since being recalled on Jan. 23. He’s been a healthy scratch in Calgary’s last two contests after logging his first NHL action since February 2022. He, Hunt, Rory Kerins, and Adam Klapka are a few of the names the Flames have rotated into bottom-six roles while they deal with season-ending ACL tears for Justin Kirkland and Anthony Mantha and a lengthy absence for Connor Zary due to a knee injury.

Flames Re-Assign Adam Klapka

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Saturday: Klapka has been reassigned to the minors, the Flames announced.  While he was on the roster for three games, he didn’t suit up in any of them.

Monday: The Flames announced Monday that they’ve recalled forward Adam Klapka from AHL Calgary. He fills the roster spot vacated by Dryden Hunt, whose reassignment to the minors evaded our coverage over the weekend.

Klapka, 24, made the Flames’ opening night roster but was sent to the AHL on Oct. 30 to make room for Samuel Honzek, who was coming off injured reserve at the time. Honzek has since been sent to the minors, as the Flames have done quite a lot of roster shuffling regarding their young players over the past couple of weeks.

During that three-week window, Klapka was rostered for nine games, playing in five of them. The 6’7″, 238-lb center/winger failed to record a point but had a +1 rating, five blocks and 18 hits while averaging 8:27 per game. It was the Prague native’s second NHL trial after appearing in six games for the Flames last season, scoring his first NHL goal in the process.

The Flames acquired the towering forward when they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Czechia’s Bílí Tygři Liberec early in the 2022 offseason. He’s scored 37 goals, 39 assists and 76 points in 130 AHL games since, including five points through five games this season since being demoted late last month. He was a restricted free agent for over a month last summer before agreeing to a two-way deal ($775K/$100K) to bring him back to Calgary in mid-August.

Despite the recall, Klapka is expected to watch tonight’s game against the Kings from the press box, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney and Justin Kirkland will continue to comprise the Flames’ fourth line.

Hunt was returned to the minors on Saturday night following the team’s shootout loss to the Sabres. He did not play during his brief two-day recall. Now in his third season with the Flames organization, the 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 12 AHL games this year.

Flames Place Anthony Mantha On Injured Reserve, Recall Dryden Hunt

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Flames winger Anthony Mantha has landed on injured reserve, per Wes Gilbertson of Postmedia. Head coach Ryan Huska told reporters earlier in the day, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, that Mantha was still undergoing evaluation for a lower-body injury and would miss tonight’s game against the Bruins. The open roster spot is going to forward Dryden Hunt, who the team announced has been recalled from AHL Calgary.

Given his IR placement is retroactive to his last game (Nov. 5), Mantha will miss Calgary’s next three games and can return as soon as next Tuesday against the Canucks. The organization has yet to give him an official injury designation, so it’s unclear how much time, if any, he’ll miss past the mandatory minimum.

Mantha suffered the injury on Tuesday versus Montreal after falling awkwardly on his right knee after a hit from Emil Heineman. He got up under his own power and skated off the ice, albeit slowly, without the assistance of a trainer. He didn’t return to the game.

It’s been an inconsistent start in Calgary for Mantha, who inked a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency. The 6’5″ winger had two goals and two assists in his first three games but has gone cold since then, limited to three points in his last 10 appearances.

He’s averaging only 1.15 shots on goal per game, something Huska recently said has to change. “You saw tonight, there were multiple times he was standing right in front of the net,” Huska told reporters (including Gilbertson) after Sunday’s loss to the Oilers. “That’s how he scored his goal. And for a guy that is his size and has his ability with the puck, that’s what we need out of him.”

Kevin Rooney will enter the lineup in Mantha’s place after sitting as a healthy scratch three times in the last seven games, per Derek Willis of Sportsnet 960. Hunt comes up to serve as an extra body in case the Flames sustain any more injuries up front and need a last-minute fill-in. The 28-year-old had eight points in 28 games for Calgary last year and has 10 points in 12 AHL games so far this season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Waiver Wire: 10/3/24

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All 12 players placed on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. PuckPedia relays that 17 new names hit the wire today for teams to claim over the next 24 hours:

Calgary Flames

F Walker Duehr
F Dryden Hunt
D Jarred Tinordi

Florida Panthers

F Rasmus Asplund
D Tobias Björnfot
F Zac Dalpe
D Jaycob Megna

Nashville Predators

D Nick Blankenburg

Seattle Kraken

D Cale Fleury

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Nicholas Abruzzese

Utah Hockey Club

F Andrew Agozzino
D Patrik Koch
F Ben McCartney

Winnipeg Jets

F Axel Jonsson-Fjällby
D Simon Lundmark
F Mason Shaw
F Dominic Toninato

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