In a fully stacked Western Conference last season, the Calgary Flames just missed out on the playoffs. The team just missed out on their first postseason berth since 2021-22, because the St. Louis Blues made the postseason just ahead of Calgary.
Now, as GM Craig Conroy puts the ending touches on this 12 months’s roster, one in all the most important questions is the contract status of restricted free agent Connor Zary. In line with NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on Sunday, Zary and the Flames like one another, but are still far apart on a brand new deal.
“I don’t think this can be a situation where the Flames don’t just like the player, or the player doesn’t just like the Flames,” Friedman said on his podcast. “And the excellent news is the market is picking up.”
Zary ought to be on the highest line if he’s back in Calgary, teaming up with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau. The soon-to-be 24-year old is undoubtedly highly considered by Conroy and his staff. Nonetheless, the most important query is his current price to the team.
While Zary is prone to play an enormous role on offense in 2025-26, the hope is that he’ll take the following step forward under an updated pact. While the 27 points in 54 games was an honest second season, it was a little bit of a regression from a robust rookie campaign. Can each side work out a brand new deal where each of them is a winner?
Flames trying to proceed constructing long-term core
At 32 and 34 years old, respectively, Kadri and Huberdeau are beginning to trend towards the back half of their profession. While each players proceed to be stars, in some unspecified time in the future they’ll now not be with the Flames. Kadri will make seven million dollars for the following 4 seasons before becoming a free agent again at 38. Huberdeau, meanwhile, has six seasons left. He’ll even be a free agent at 38.
With the cap rising, Conroy needs to search out a approach to not only lock in Zary for at the very least the next couple years, but additionally goaltender Dustin Wolf. The young netminder looks to be a key a part of the Flames core moving forward. The hope is that Zary and Calgary will comply with terms soon, before training camp begins. If the 2 sides cannot try this, will the winger hold out until a brand new contract is locked in? A number of eyes can be on the Saddledome moving forward, because the Flames are on the precipice of potential postseason glory once more.