Calgary Flames Potential selection for the opening evening on Scotia Place

With Captain Mikael Backlund who signed an extension of two years last week, the Calgary Flames added another player under contract for the opening evening at Scotia Place. With the Arena that is opened for the 2027–28 season, the inaugural Scotia Place rosest of the Flames is getting shape.

Now a lot can change in the next two years, but here is who the team currently has under contract for the 2027-28 season and afterwards.

Ahead

With a number of multi-year extensions signed this summer, the Flames currently have more than half of their Forward group under contract for the 2027-28 season. Again, transactions can happen and probably before that time, but here is who is planned to be there on the opening evening in 2027.

NHL Stamfasten under contract

This group has the fingerprints of Craig Conroy everywhere while he forms the schedule. Only Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri were acquired and/or signed by Brad Treliving. In particular, Conroy has been working on internal extensions this summer, the distribution of new deals to Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Backlund to keep them everywhere in 2027. Last season he also acquired Joel Farabee, who signed until 2027, and signed Yegor Sharangovich in a five -year -old deal in 2024.

All in all, the Flames currently have eight ahead contract for the 2027–28 season, which seems a lot. For a team that currently preaches a youth movement in a rebuilding, it is a bit confusing to have tied eight players two years later. It is even more enigible when three of them are in the middle of thirty, and only two are younger than 27 years.

Prospects under contract

The above four attackers are the only current Flames prospects with contracts that run the 2027-28 season. The hope is of course that one or more of the above players will be NHL -Stam guests by the time that 2027 rolls around. Sam Honzek and Matvei Gridin will both have several professional seasons under their belt by that time, so they are currently the favorites.

Andrew Basha and Jacob Battaglia will probably still be in the AHL in 2027–28, given that they are both planned to play in Junior in 2025-26.

Contracts end in 2027

Chances are that at least one, if not more, of the above three names will be signed again for the 2027-28 season. The easy money is on Morgan Frost, who will still be in his prime at the age of 28 and plays a position of need in the middle. Whether Frost returns to play at Scotia Place, will most likely depend on how the young centers of the Flames develop for that.

Aydar Suniev will also be only 22 and almost certainly must be signed again, unless he has a few disastrous years in the AHL before that time.

Blake Coleman seemed to be an obvious name that will have gone by that time, but after the flames extended until 2028, I would not be surprised at all to see how Coleman had retained a few more seasons and still retained here on the opening evening in 2027.

Adam Klapka is the only RFA in the group, so it would not be shocking to see him under contract for the 2027–28 season, even if it is only as a depth option.

Defenders

Unlike Forward, the Defense Group is currently wide open for the 2027–28 season. With a number of remarkable prospects on the position, it seems as if the flames hope for a large youth movement by 2027.

NHL Stamfasten under contract

The Flames currently only locked up two defender in the 2027–28 season. Mackenzie Weegar is the undisputed number one of the team on the Blue Line, and by 2027 it is very unlikely that this will have changed. He will only be 33 years old and would still have to be a top defender in the NHL by that time.

After signing an extension of five years this summer, Kevin Bahl is the only other defender signed for the opening evening at Scotia Place. Bahl was already one of the core pieces of the Blueline last season, and since he will only be 27 by that time, he expects that he is a staple in the top-four of the Flames for the inaugural season of Scotia Place.

Prospects under contract

Although Zayne Parekh is still considered a prospect at the moment, he will become an NHL regulatory this coming season and, if all goes well, he will be a huge part of the team of the team by the time Scotia Place opens. He is currently ready to play the last year of his entry -level contract in 2027–28 and will probably be a core piece of the blue line next to Weegar and Bahl.

The other prospect currently becomes a contract for 2027–28 is Etienne Morin. In contrast to Parekh, Morin is far from a guarantee to become an NHL player, but I think there is a good chance that he will play NHL games in 2027–28. With the potential for two years of AHL experience before Scotia Place opens, he could be on the opening night schedule in 2027, considering how many places could be open by that time.

Contracts end in 2027

The only name in the above list of 2027 that purchases contracts that I am sure will be submitted again according to the 2027 season is Hunter Brzustewicz. I even think there is a very good chance that he is an NHL regulatory by the time Scotia Place opens. Unless his game suddenly falls from a cliff in these next two years, he looks like one of the best NHL-ready prospects of the team on the Blueline and will undoubtedly be signed again.

Among the other three names it would not surprise me to see them all go further before the 2027–28 season. Joel Hanley will be 36 years old by that time, and I will not see the flames bring him back. Perhaps one of Brayden Pachal or Yan Kuznetsov is again informed to offer some depth on the Blueline, but with so many younger players who push in places, they can both leave as free agents.

Goalkeepers

There is not much to write about here. Dustin Wolf is the current and future of the goal congregation of the Flames after signing a mega seven-year extension last week.

As expected, Wolf is the only goalkeeper under contract for the 2027–28 season. In addition to an absolute disaster in the next few seasons, he will remain their locked starter and franchise goalkeeper when Scotia Place opens.

Contracts end in 2027

While Wolf is the only goalkeeper under contract for 2027–28, 2021 Seventh More than Pick Aresnii Sergeev is the only goalkeeper to see his current contract expire the summer before Scotia Place opens. Planned to make his AHL debut this season, if everything goes well in the next two seasons, he could be the backup of the team for the 2027–28 season.

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