It has been four days of the NHL’s annual free agent frenzy, and there is plenty of buzz surrounding some of the contracts handed out. A grand total of $1.12 billion was handed out on July 1 alone, smashing the previous NHL record for most money spent in a day. The Calgary Flames made some moves of their own in the mayhem: they signed six new players to add to the roster in addition to re-signing star forward Yegor Sharangovich and minor league defender Jonathan Aspirot. General manager Craig Conroy elected to spend his almost $30 million in cap space very wisely, giving out short, affordable contracts that won’t get in the way of his young team’s retooling process. However, as with every season, some players departed the Flames for different opportunities as well. Without further ado, let’s look deeper at each of the recent additions and subtractions of the Flames roster.
Additions: Short-Term, High Value
Despite teams like the Nashville Predators handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to some big names, Conroy and the Flames chose to stay patient and look for value signings instead. As previously noted, he handed out six contracts. First up came hometown kid Jake Bean, who signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract. Bean is coming off of his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he scored four goals and 13 points in 72 games. The Blue Jackets chose not to qualify the restricted free agent, leading him to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and thus free to sign with any team. The 26-year-old is a solid two-way defender who should effectively take the place of Oliver Kylington on the second defensive pairing. He has already stated he is super excited to play for his favourite team growing up, and could become a permanent fixture on the blue line if he performs well.
The next Flames’ signing was 29-year-old Anthony Mantha, who inked a one-year, $3.5 million deal. He was a first-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings and played with them for six seasons of his career, scoring 95 goals and 194 points in 302 games. He was sent to the Washington Capitals in 2021 and his play dropped off until 2023-24, culminating in his deadline trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. He finished the season with 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games to go with a plus-11 rating. This was all done in just over 14 minutes of ice time, the lowest full-season average of his career. The hulking power forward brings size (6-foot-5, 234 pounds) to the Flames’ forward core along with an excellent scoring touch. He should be very motivated to perform on his one-year “prove it” deal in order to cash in big as a free agent in 2025. Conroy stated that his hope is for Mantha to develop chemistry with fellow French-Canadian Jonathan Huberdeau.
Conroy also snagged recent Stanley Cup champion Ryan Lomberg (two years, $4 million), bringing the 29-year-old back to where it all began. The Flames signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2015 and he suited up for 11 games over two seasons with the franchise. He is a very effective bottom-six energy forward, registering 179 hits per 82 games in his career so far and wreaking havoc on the forecheck. They also signed 27-year-old goaltender Devin Cooley to help shore up the crease with Dustin Wolf as uncertainty about Dan Vladar’s health remains and Jacob Markstrom was traded to the New Jersey Devils. His deal was for two years, carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level and is interestingly one-way in nature in the first year before switching to two-way in the second year. That’s a bit of handy work by Conroy as a logjam in the crease has been a recent problem, but should be no longer.
Related: Projecting Dustin Wolf’s Next Contract with the Calgary Flames
The Flames also signed minor league forwards Justin Kirkland and Martin Frk to one-year, two-way deals for the league minimum. Frk is a seasoned professional, with over 600 games of experience in various leagues including 124 NHL matches. He played with Flames star defender MacKenzie Weegar in junior. Kirkland has skated primarily in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the past eight seasons but has gotten into nine NHL contests with the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes. Funnily enough, he played three seasons with the Flames’ former AHL affiliate team, the Stockton Heat. Both will surely play with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in 2024-25.
Subtractions: Some Painful, Some Simple
Every offseason is the same: people come and people go. No roster will ever be the same as it was the year before, which is part of what makes professional sports teams special. This year, the Flames lost six players. The first to sign elsewhere was Dillon Dube, who hadn’t played since his 2018 World Juniors scandal unfortunately reached its climax. In fact, none of the NHL players involved are a part of NHL franchises any longer, and rightfully so. Dube signed with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This is a relatively easy pill to swallow for the Flames, who do not want the negative publicity via association. Seventh defenceman Dennis Gilbert was a valuable member of the rotation, playing 34 games last season and providing immense toughness and physicality whenever he dressed. Unfortunately for the Flames, he signed with his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres, on a one-year deal.
The Flames and Florida Panthers essentially swapped fourth-line grinders, as A.J. Greer signed in the Sunshine State. He was claimed off of waivers from the Boston Bruins and went on to play 59 games with the Flames, scoring six goals and 12 points while fighting three times. The Flames likely felt comfortable letting Greer walk with Lomberg now in the fold. Wranglers’ top six centre Ben Jones also departed, signing with the Minnesota Wild for the next two seasons. The 25-year-old played the last two years with the team, scoring 38 goals and 97 points in 143 games. Sadly, he never got the chance to play with the Flames during his tenure. Another Flames depth defenceman signed elsewhere as Jordan Oesterle went east and joined the Boston Bruins on a two-year contract. He never found consistency with the Flames but was serviceable whenever he was in the lineup. He skated in 22 NHL games as well as 30 for the Wranglers.
Minor-league rearguard Colton Poolman also left for greener pastures as he is set to join Gilbert in the Sabres organization. He played four years with the Flames AHL teams; two with the then-Stockton Heat, and two with the Wranglers. With the abundance of prospect defencemen in the pipeline, it probably made management comfortable letting some older ones move on. The last Flames UFA is aforementioned fan-favourite Kylington, who made an inspirational comeback after he spent a year-and-a-half away from hockey to deal with mental health issues. The 27-year-old played in 33 games for the Flames, scoring three times and totaling eight points. Conroy stated in a recent interview that the “door’s probably closed” on Kylington’s return. This will sting many Flames fans, as they were hoping to continue watching him positively influence those struggling with mental health issues with his solid play.
Ultimately, Conroy and company have done a wonderful job over the first three days of free agency. A lot of general managers, old and new, pull the trigger too fast and end up giving out contracts that are either too long, too expensive, or both. None of the six additions got deals longer than two years, and no one had a higher average annual value than $3.5 million. Conroy still has a few restricted free agents of his own to sign, but currently has more than $21 million in cap space available. Look for more moves to come, whether they are signings or trades that see the Flames take on bad contracts or dead money in exchange for assets.
