Flames Reaching Crossroads With Many Prospects on Expiring Contracts

All of the Calgary Flames’ focus recently has been on scouting the 2026 NHL Draft class. Obviously, for good reason, with them having a league-leading 12 picks to make in the draft at the end of June, along with the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks.

There will be a ton of new faces to get to know after these selections are made. However, the Flames are reaching a breaking point with several prospects in their organization and will have some tough decisions to make this summer, between re-signing players and adding new prospects to the pool.

Let’s review their prospects with expiring contracts and discuss whether they still fit within the organization and deserve another contract.

Prospects Running Out of Time

First, let’s establish what I view as a prospect, as it is vastly different from the many delusional Toronto Maple Leafs fans, who are now thinking they have a top prospect class, because the Toronto Marlies, the seventh-oldest and third-most experienced American Hockey League (AHL) team, have made the Calder Cup Final.

However, at the same time, I’ve come to understand that you have to be patient with many of these players drafted in the mid-to-later rounds to see if they will really develop into the middle-to-bottom of the lineup players they were drafted to be. But the older guys get, the fewer chances they’ll get to move up, with younger guys constantly coming in and getting development priority, so, for the sake of having something concrete, anyone 25 or older will be excluded from this discussion.

For the Flames and their non-roster players with contracts expiring, this excludes: Clark Bishop (F), Justin Kirkland (F), Dryden Hunt (F), Sam Morton (F), Daniil Miromanov (D), Nikita Okhotyuk (D), Nick Cicek (D), Ivan Prosvetov (G), Owen Say (G).

Now, let’s get into who it includes, starting with guys whose time will run out to carve out roles in the NHL (in my opinion) by the end of this season.

Carter King: The Calgary native signed with the Flames in April 2025 after nearly averaging a point per game for the University of Denver and helping lead them to a second straight Frozen Four finish at the NCAA tournament. He spent five seasons at Denver, and in his last two, he put up 77 points (36 goals, 41 points). He spent 2025-26 with the Calgary Wranglers, bouncing around their lineup.

He is a restricted free agent (RFA); the Flames have all the control. Despite inconsistent production, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Flames give the hometown kid one more chance to find some consistency with the Wranglers. They’re already slim, but if he can’t find consistency this season, he’ll likely lose a chance to carve out an NHL role anywhere.

Rory Kerins: The all-time Wranglers point leader with 152 points (72 goals, 80 assists) in 179 games, had an injury that prevented what would have likely been a longer look than the two games he got in April at the NHL level toward the end of last season. However, the now 24-year-old has established himself as one of the prolific offensive players in the AHL, finishing fourth in the goal-scoring race with 33 in 2024-25, then averaging over a point per game in 2025-26.

Kerins likely knows his time to establish himself as an NHLer is running out, as he has said he is coming back next season, “with the mindset that I’m going to try to make the team next year.” Kerins is an RFA, so he could land elsewhere. But it seems like the Flames really like his game and will bring him back for one more chance to establish himself at the next level.

William Strömgren: From the Wranglers all-time points leader, to the all-time games played leader, Strömgren, the now 23-year-old, after a June 7 birthday, is coming off a season where he posted 47 points in 66 games, which was right in line with his 2024-25 production, where he put up 49 in 70 games. He finally earned a call-up midway through January for three games, but barely played 20 minutes, with the Flames not even giving him a chance to warm up his legs.

At 6-foot-4, a great skater for his size and with excellent ice vision, Strömgren is a bit of a unique player. As an RFA, he may have some teams looking to steal him from the Flames with offers that they may not want to match. But in all likelihood, they will extend him another season and give him the chance to come to training camp to show he has taken another step. However, this could be his last chance, at least in this organization.

Lucas Ciona: A sixth-round pick from 2021 and an Edmonton, Alberta native, Ciona is an interesting player. He had an excellent final season in junior hockey, showcasing untapped offensive ability and tallying 75 points in 63 games as the captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Combine that with great size, and there was reason to believe Ciona could be a viable depth power forward one day.

However, the offensive production hasn’t really translated to the pro level with the Wranglers in the AHL. He is coming off a season in which he battled injuries and managed only nine points in 45 games. With the Flames having so many players coming into the organization, I don’t see them offering another contract to the 23-year-old, who has likely already lost whatever development priority he had, if any.

Parker Bell: Another late-round pick, who is huge and started to show some promise offensively after being drafted, finishing his junior career with the Tri-City Americans with back-to-back seasons with 25 goals or more in the WHL. Unfortunately, that hasn’t translated to the professional level just yet with the Wranglers. In 114 career AHL games, he has only found the stat sheet 18 times.

However, at 6-foot-5, he is a physical force, has a strong defensive game, and is trusted on the penalty kill. It’s the type of size and skillset that could be a solid bottom-six option. At 22 years old, it’s not someone most organizations would give up on. But it’s a numbers game, and the Flames have a lot of size in their organization. I would expect him to be extended, but wouldn’t be shocked if he’s run out of rope with the Flames’ organization.

Brennan Othmann: The 16th overall pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft was acquired by the Flames near the trade deadline, in exchange for 2024 second-round pick Jacob Battaglia. He spent most of his time this season in the AHL, where he had 23 points in 40 games. He has also had stints in the NHL over three seasons.

Throughout his career, his AHL production has been solid, but not outstanding. At the NHL level, it’s been pretty dismal, logging just three points in 42 games for the New York Rangers. However, the encouraging side is that Othmann had a goal and an assist in the two games he played with the Flames toward the end of last season.

He will be an RFA on July 1. I would be seriously shocked if he is not extended and given a real chance to crack the opening-night roster throughout training camp and the preseason. If he can’t create some staying power in his fourth season of getting into NHL action, he probably never will.

Gavin White: Brought in from a deal with the Dallas Stars for Jérémie Poirier, a 2020 third-round pick of the Flames. White is in a bit of an interesting spot leading up to the draft, and likely in the short term following, when the Flames have a clearer picture of what their prospect pool looks like, given the Flames seemingly have their star blueliner on the right side in Zayne Parekh, and could have the chance to draft another in Keaton Vehoeff or Chase Reid, among others, depending how things play out on draft day.

Unfortunately for White and other players like him, he has a fairly well-rounded game that doesn’t necessarily stand out, and can get him lost in the shuffle, whether justified or not. Being 23 and turning 24 this November, I wouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t fit with the Flames’ vision after the draft.

Artyom Grushnikov: Another Stars draft pick whom the Flames acquired via trade. He was drafted by the Stars in the second round in 2021 for his shutdown defensive abilities. However, his game has never rounded out enough for his defensive strengths to truly shine at the next level. He isn’t a great skater or a threat to do anything with the puck offensively at the AHL level.

These two deficits in his game pretty much rule out a successful future at the NHL level, especially as the league moves toward mobile, puck-moving defencemen and away from the statues who play physically on the blue line. He could be one of the Flames let go if they feel they need the contract space.

Next Batch of Flames is Coming

That was eight names we just discussed who are likely out or running out of time in the Flames organization. Add in the nine whom I disqualified as ‘prospects,’ who could very well end up with another contract, and the four other roster pieces whose contracts expired. That has brought the Flames down to 33 of the 50 contracts they are allowed to have.

That could be enough space for all eight of the players we just talked about. However, the Flames still have a bunch of younger prospects who haven’t signed their entry-level deals, which they’ll have to account for.

They are as follows…

While the 17 spots the Flames have open now seem like a lot, when you put it in this broad perspective, you can see how the numbers will be tight, and that doesn’t even include the 11 draft picks the Flames are projected to make this year and the seven they are projected to make next season.

The good news is that many of these guys waiting for entry-level contracts aren’t nearing the signing deadline, and most are playing in the NCAA, which will allow the Flames to retain their rights for longer if they have to.

But either way you look at it, general manager Craig Conroy and his staff have some tough decisions to make this offseason with their prospect pool becoming much larger and much more competitive. We’ll likely get a clearer picture of how they’ll handle these players once the Flames have a clearer picture of their prospect pool after the draft at the end of June.