On the third day of free agency, the Calgary Flames kicked things off with another depth signing. They sought and signed free agent defenceman Brady Lyle. The contract is a one-year, two-way deal with $775K in the NHL and $140K in the AHL.
Lyle adds depth to the Flames
By all accounts, this signing is an AHL deal. While the two-way nature of it allows him to be called up if needed, Lyle is still well and far behind many defenders in the system, including a returning Oliver Kylington, newly signed defender Jorden Oesterle, prospect Jeremie Poirier, and more.
Lyle is an undrafted player, but he signed his first entry-level contract as a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins back in 2021. Playing with the Providence Bruins in the AHL, he posted two goals and seven assists in 48 games. Midway into the first year of the contract, he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. He continued to be an AHLer there, playing with the Springfield Thunderbirds. While he marginally effective in his first 15 games to close out 2021–22 (he scored three goals and four assists in 15 games), his 2022–23 campaign was by far his best one to date.
Playing 51 games, Lyle posted seven goals and 24 assists from the blueline. After the conclusion of the season, he became an unrestricted free agent after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Blues.
Now joining the Flames’ organisation, if he can follow up his play with his most recent season, he’ll be a great depth addition to the system and would play a big role in with the Wranglers as they’ll look to find success after some roster turnover themselves. Recall that the Wranglers already look mightily different as Mitch Love is no longer head coach after signing on with the Washington Capitals as an associate coach and Matthew Phillips followed his bench boss to Washington. On top of that, there will likely be promotions to the NHL as well, none bigger than the one expected for Dustin Wolf—the reigning AHL MVP.
The Flames are tending to depth before making major moves, and in adding to their fundamental needs first, they’ll figure out what they can do the rest of the way later, rather than sooner.
