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Rory Kerins

Flames Re-Sign Rory Kerins, Yan Kuznetsov, Jeremie Poirier

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The Flames re-signed a trio of restricted free agents today, announcing new deals for forward Rory Kerins and defensemen Yan Kuznetsov and Jeremie Poirier. Kerins’ deal is a one-year, two-way pact paying him $775K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL with a $125K guarantee, per PuckPedia. Poirier also landed a one-year, two-way deal with the same breakdown as Kerins but no guarantee.

As for Kuznetsov, he lands a two-year contract that converts from a two-way structure in 2025-26 to a one-way in 2026-27. He’ll make the league minimum NHL salary in both seasons of $775K and $850K, respectively, for a cap hit of $812.5K. He’ll earn a $125K AHL salary this season with a $150K guarantee.

Kerins, 23, made his NHL debut in a five-game call-up in January. He was extremely productive in his small sample, recording four assists and a plus-three rating while averaging 12:14 per game.

Calgary selected the 5’10” center in the sixth round in 2020, and he’s since forced his way up the depth chart as a potentially high-ceiling offensive option. Whether he’s worked out enough of a niche to unseat veteran Dryden Hunt for one of their extra forward spots on their opening night roster remains to be seen. Still, he should be in contention for a job after his strong initial showing in the NHL in combination with his 33 goals and 61 points in 63 games for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season.

Kuznetsov lands a bit more of a commitment with a signal that the Flames expect him to be an NHL contributor for the 2026-27 season. Calgary selected the 6’4″ Russian lefty in the second round in 2020, but the stay-at-home rearguard only has one NHL game to his name. He skated 11:58 of ice time in a game against the Senators on Jan. 9, 2024, recording a block and a minus-one rating with two shots on goal.

The 23-year-old is coming off a career year in the minors, though. He played all 72 games for the Wranglers and recorded 21 points along with a +21 rating, the highest on the team by a significant margin. Giving him a two-year deal risks walking him to Group VI unrestricted free agency in 2027 if he doesn’t reach 80 NHL career games by then.

Poirier, also 23 and a member of Calgary’s 2020 draft class (a third-rounder), is the only member of the group without NHL experience. The 6’1″ lefty has spent the last three seasons with the Wranglers as their top-scoring defenseman but missed significant time in 2023-24 due to injury.

Back healthy last season, Poirier rebounded with 42 points in 71 games, a career high. There remain some significant defensive gaps in his game that limit his recall potential, which he’ll need to make significant strides on in 2025-26 to work toward an NHL future.

Calgary has 42 of 50 contract slots filled for the season, with forward Connor Zary as their lone unsigned RFA.

Calgary Flames Reassign Rory Kerins

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For the second time in two weeks, the Calgary Flames announced they’ve reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. However, given they’re down to 13 healthy forwards after losing Walker Duehr to waivers last week, Kerins should return to the Flames’ active roster tomorrow.

Kerins debuted in the NHL relatively quickly especially given he was a sixth-round pick of the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft. He scored 16 goals and 32 points in 54 games in AHL Calgary last year during his first full season of AHL hockey.

The Flames finally recalled Kerins in early January after he started the AHL campaign at a point-per-game pace. He’s continued his productivity in the NHL, tallying four assists through his first five NHL contests.

Although today’s move is likely a paper transaction, Kerins shouldn’t expect to have a spot on the Flames’ roster for the rest of the season. He’s only one of two waiver-exempt forwards aside from Matthew Coronato and Calgary will need to open a roster spot for Connor Zary once he returns from his left knee injury.

Still, Kerins shouldn’t be any worse off once he returns to a full-time role with the Wranglers. They are on pace to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs for the third consecutive year after relocating from Stockton, CA ahead of the 2022-23 AHL season. Kerins would assist in that endeavor and help the Wranglers reach beyond the Division Finals for the first time.

Sharks Claim Walker Duehr Off Waivers From Flames

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Jan. 22: The Sharks plucked Duehr off the wire from the Flames on Wednesday, Friedman reports. He’ll provide a likely temporary bottom-six presence for San Jose with Tyler Toffoli, Nico Sturm and Klim Kostin currently sidelined with injuries. The Sharks don’t have an open roster spot, however, and will need to make a corresponding transaction. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that move will be placing Sturm, who missed Tuesday’s loss to the Predators with a lower-body injury, on IR.

Jan. 21: The Flames placed winger Walker Duehr on waivers Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll presumably head to AHL Calgary if he clears.

Duehr, 27, hits the wire for the second time this season. After making the opening night roster last season, he failed to do so in 2024-25 and cleared without incident near the end of training camp.

The 6’3″, 205-lb righty responded by notching 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points through 20 AHL games. That earned him a recall back to the Flames in early December as they needed a replacement for Justin Kirkland, who underwent season-ending ACL surgery.

Duehr appeared in 10 consecutive games for the Flames to begin his call-up, which was interrupted on a few occasions by paper transactions to extend his temporary waiver exemption. The number of days he’d spent on the roster no longer mattered once he played his 10th game, though.

Since that run of 10 straight, he’s been scratched four times in the Flames’ last 10. On the whole, the South Dakota native only contributed one assist with a minus-six rating.

Given Duehr’s underwhelming offensive performance, limited ice time and his team-worst -12.2 relative CF% at even strength, today’s demotion is unsurprising. The South Dakota native has nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 84 games with Calgary since signing as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2021.

A pending unrestricted free agent, the Flames may have an interest in keeping Duehr around on a two-way extension, considering his strong AHL production. However, given his poor NHL showing over the past few weeks, the chances of him replicating a one-way deal like he’s had for the past two seasons are slim.

Duehr’s bottom-six spot looks to go to recent call-up Rory Kerins, who’s earned his keep with four assists through his first four NHL games. Kerins, 22, was added back to the roster today after being sent down over the weekend to bank cap space, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reports.

Pacific Division Paper Transactions: Kerins, Brisebois, Lekkerimaki, Olofsson

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According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, the Calgary Flames have reassigned forward Rory Kerins to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Pike adds that Kerins’ reassignment is a cap-related move and indicates Kerins should be back on the NHL roster by Monday.

It’s a testament to Kerins development that the Flames have no interest in keeping him with AHL Calgary. He’s gotten off to an impressive start in his NHL career with four assists in his first four games with a +4 rating averaging 13:33 of ice time per game. It shouldn’t be a surprise given Kerins has already scored 21 goals and 34 points in 34 games for the Wranglers this season.

Kerins will likely reprise his role as a full-time AHLer once forward Connor Zary is activated from the team’s injured reserve. Kerins is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster outside of Matthew Coronato and Calgary will likely want to keep their fourth highest-scoring player on the roster. The only avenue for additional playing time at the NHL level for Kerins is if the Flames make a trade from the active roster or place one of their eight defensemen on waivers.

Other paper transactions from the Pacific Division:

  • The Vancouver Canucks are again making a cap-related transaction on one of their off-days. Vancouver announced they’ve reassigned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimaki has been more oft-used by the club this season scoring two goals and one assist in 11 games this year averaging 13:47 of ice time per game.
  • Finishing off the list of cap-related transactions is the Seattle Kraken who have reassigned defenseman Gustav Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (per a team announcement). Oloffson has been in an unenviable position with the Kraken this season having been recalled on three separate occasions but has been healthy scratched for every available opportunity.

Flames’ Connor Zary Out Indefinitely With Knee Injury

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4:47 p.m.: Zary does not require surgery but will be out indefinitely while he rehabilitates his knee injury, the Flames announced Friday afternoon.

2:43 p.m.: The Flames placed center Connor Zary on injured reserve Friday after he sustained a left knee injury Tuesday on a hit from Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson, per the league’s media portal. Initial imaging yesterday revealed no ACL or MCL damage, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports, but they’re still working out a concrete timeline for his return.

Taking Zary’s spot on the active roster will be 22-year-old Rory Kerins, who the team announced has been recalled from AHL Calgary. Kerins, a 2020 sixth-round pick, currently leads the AHL in goals with 21 in 34 games.

The IR placement means Zary will miss Calgary’s next three games at the very least. Now in his second NHL season, the 2020 24th overall pick had 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points through 40 games.

Zary finished eighth in Calder Trophy voting last year after finishing 10th on the Flames in scoring with 34 points in 63 contests and ranking fifth with a +12 rating. He had started the season in the minors, but after posting a goal and nine assists through only six AHL games, he earned a call-up and never looked back.

The Saskatchewan native has bounced around a few lines this season and has been shifted to the wing, struggling in the faceoff dot with a 36% win rate. He’s shooting at 12% and is averaging 16:18 per game, seventh among Flames forwards.

Zary has posted some of the best possession numbers on the Flames, controlling 53.6% of shot attempts at even strength – a relative share of 2.4%. He’s due for a new contract as a pending restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of $874,125. He will not be eligible for arbitration if he reaches free agency this summer.

In the meantime, Kerins will get his first NHL chance, although he’s not expected to make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Kings. In addition to leading their AHL club in scoring with 34 points in 34 games, his +13 rating leads Wranglers forwards.

The Flames have a full active roster with $34.79MM in current cap space after the moves. Kerins, also a pending RFA, is waiver-exempt this season.

Calgary Flames Sign Rory Kerins

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The Calgary Flames are finalizing an entry-level contract with late-round prospect Rory Kerins, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The news comes on the first day teams are eligible to sign prospects to contracts that begin in 2022-23, likely the plan for the young forward. Unlike some of the others that have inked deals today, Kerins is not undrafted and was still on the Flames reserve list after they picked him 174th overall in 2020. The team officially announced the deal not long after the report surfaced, and PuckPedia relayed that it will carry an average annual value of $847K at the NHL level.

It also won’t be the first time he signs a contract with the organization. Kerins inked an amateur tryout last year in order to play four AHL games with the Stockton Heat while the OHL season was canceled due to COVID restrictions. That taste of professional hockey certainly seems to have ignited something in the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward, as Kerins has 33 goals and 84 points in just 50 games.

That’s good enough for second in the entire OHL, only behind Windsor Spitfires star and Dallas Stars first-round pick Wyatt Johnston who has 85 in 46 games. Kerins’ 33 goals are good for third in the OHL behind two other high picks, Brennan Othmann and Luke Evangelista. All of that turns into a pretty good season for the young forward, who will now be secured a professional future starting next season. Given that he’ll turn 20 at the start of April, Kerins will likely play with Stockton in 2022-23 as he continues his climb toward the NHL. For now, he’ll stay with the Greyhounds and chase an OHL championship, or even a Memorial Cup.

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