In the edition of this week of Calgary Flames News & Rumors, General Manager (GM) Craig Conroy remains convinced that a contract extension between the Flames and Connor Zary will be agreed in the near future. In other news, Jonathan Huberkdeau was recently arranged as the worst contract in the NHL for a second consecutive year. Last but not least was defender Mackenzie Weegar able to score an invitation for the orientation camp of Team Canada for the coming winter Olympic Games in 2026.
Zary extension just a matter of time
It is only a matter of time before an extension is worked out between the Flames and Connor Zary, Conroy said recently. The 23-year-old continues to wait as a limited free agent (RFA), despite the fact that various others, including Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost, are already locked up. Despite the long delay, it does not seem that Flames fans have reason to panic.
“We know it is being done. In the end it always does that. They probably want it to be done today, we want it to be done today. Sometimes it just takes a little longer. We still have a lot of time in the summer,” Conroy said on Sportnet Today 960.
Zary comes from a seasoned season in which he had 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games. He has shown a glimpse of potential, but it is somewhat unclear about what his future has in the NHL. Given the uncertainty, the Flames have aimed at a Bridge deal, while Zary’s camp keeps it up in the hope of a long-term contract.
Huberdeau contract is the worst in the NHL
A bounce-back season in 2024-25 was not enough for Jonathan Huberdeau to prevent what is probably the worst recognition in professional sports. The 32-year-old, who had a solid 28 goal, 62-point season, was again ranked as the worst contract of the NHL based on a model compiled by Dom Luszczyszyn of The athletics. (From ‘Dom Luszczyszyn: NHL’s 10 worst contracts, 2025 edition: Jonathan Huberdeau, Ivan Provorov and more,’ Athletics31-3-15)
“Huberdau is still a good player. And in the right situation it is possible that he can still be a great player,” wrote Luszczyszyn. “Yet it is unlikely that he will someday be a player of $ 10.5 million again. For now he is nowhere close and bears the worst contract of the competition for the second consecutive year.”
Related: Flames’ Huberdeau is not doing well in new worst contracts ranking
Huberkereau has six more seasons on his Albatros deal with a cap -hit of $ 10.5 million. That expansion was of course distributed by former Flames GM Brad Treliving shortly after Huberdeau had recorded a career-high 115 points. Although he expects that he will ever surpass the 100-point barrier, he may not be able to prevent him from being labeled next year as the worst contract of the competition if he can end up closer to a point-per-game pace.
Weegar scores Team Canada Invitation
Despite the fact that he received a lot of hype in advance, Flames defender Mackenzie Weegar remained in the schedule of Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Given how good he has since come to Calgary, one cannot imagine that he was far away from making An opportunity to represent Canada On an even larger stage.
Related: Pospisil extension of Flames is a real head-scratcher
NHL players are back at the Winter Olympics in 2026 and the participating countries are already preparing. This includes Canada, who recently invited 42 players, including 13 defenders, in their orientation camp at the end of August. The other defenders on the list are Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson, Drew Doughty, Aaron Ekblad, Thomas Harley, Cale Makar, Brandon Montour, Josh Morrissey, Colton Parayko, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore and Devon Agews.
Weegar has become a workhorse for the flames, whereby large minutes are recorded on a nightly basis while playing in all scenarios. The 31-year-old is great in his own ending and can also produce a very solid attack. In 81 games last season he registered eight goals and 47 points. The season before he had a career-high 20 goals.
Looking ahead to the flames
Since we are at the beginning of August, there are not many stories about the flames at the moment. That said, as the month progresses, fans should expect more on Zary’s front, as well as trading discussions with Rasmus Andersson, which can still be moved before the 2025-26 campaign starts.
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