Continuing their rebuild at this year’s trade deadline, the Calgary Flames—already one of the NHL’s lowest spending teams this year—shed more salary. According to PuckPedia, the Flames currently have the fifth-lowest cap hit in the NHL. Let’s take a deeper look!
Rebuilding through the 2025–26 season
The Flames have made three key moves since January 18, 2026. That first move was to send long-time blueliner Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights. While they retained 50% of Andersson’s $4.55M cap hit, they actually gained $0.475M in this deal by taking on Zach Whitecloud’s $2.75M.
This is a move that will save the Flames money in the future, though, as Andersson is in the final year of his current contract and will likely command a hefty raise. Whitecloud—who has fit in well with the Flames so far—is signed through 2027–28 with a very manageable cap hit. And if the Flames decide to part with him, this year’s trade deadline showed that other teams are interested.
In a surprising move ahead of the deadline, the Flames dealt MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth. There was no salary retention, meaning the Mammoth took Weegar’s entire $6.25M cap hit through 2030–31. As part of the return, the Flames received Olli Maatta, who is signed through 2027–28 at $3.50M. That’s a net savings of $2.75M for the next three seasons, and $6.25M for three more seasons after that.
Then, on deadline day, the Flames made the expected move and dealt Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. They retained $1.40M on the centre, who is signed through 2028–29. The Flames also received winger Victor Olofsson, signed for $1.575M through the end of this season. The result is $4.025M in savings this year, and $5.60M in savings for the next three years.
A surprising move on deadline day saw the Flames add Ryan Strome, signed at $5.00M for through 2026–27. All in, the Flames came out of the trade deadline with an extra $2.875M in cap space this year. Their $85.60M cap hit is higher than just four other teams.
Looking ahead to next season
Most of the Flames’ current roster is signed through next season. The only players on expiring contracts are Ryan Lomberg ($2.00M), Olofsson ($1.75M), John Beecher ($0.900M), Jake Bean ($1.75M), and Daniil Miromanov ($1.25M).
It would not surprise me if the Flames re-signed Lomberg. But these are all players they can afford to move on from. It looks like the organization has finally embraced the rebuild. Part of rebuilding is giving young players a look, even if they make mistakes. Keeping any of these players now will only block the path to the NHL for homegrown players like Samuel Honzek, Rory Kerins, and William Stromgren.
Yes, I understand that Beecher may seem like the odd man out in that list of names. But he turns 25 in April and has over 160 NHL games on his resume. He hasn’t shown anything to prove he deserves a spot in the lineup over anyone currently playing for the Calgary Wranglers.
But I digress. Assuming the Flames move on from all of those players, they head into the offseason with a projected cap hit of just over $82.00M. With the salary cap projected to go up to $104.00M, the Flames will have nearly $22.00M in cap space. That would move them to 15th in the NHL in terms of most cap space. Unlike some of the teams ahead of them, though, the Flames will not be trying to compete. They can afford to weaponize that cap space rather than participate heavily in the free agent frenzy.
Beyond next season
Naturally, the further into the future you look, the more cap space NHL teams will have. With the NHL salary cap projected to increase to $113.50M in 2027–28, the Flames are currently projected to have a little over $51.60M cap space. Their current cap hit for that season is just under $62.00M. Just like the 2026–27 season, they’re currently projected to be 15th in terms of most cap space.
That cap hit is based on expiring contracts for Strome, Blake Coleman, Morgan Frost, Adam Klapka, Joel Hanley, Brayden Pachal, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Yan Kuznetsov. The reality: there’s a high chance of Coleman not even completing his contract in Calgary. With the Flames regaining the salary retention spot this summer that they used on Andersson, they can afford to retain on Coleman to sweeten any deal.
It’s almost certain that Brzustewicz will be re-signed, and the outlook is good for Klapka and Kuznetsov to stay, too. Frost is a big question mark; he’s shown flashes of skill but seems to lack consistency. Ultimately, his fate will be in his own hands as an unrestricted free agent. I don’t expect the Flames to try to keep Strome, but you never know. At least he seems to be having fun in Calgary! Pachal and Hanley are probably both gone after next season, though.
Another factor to consider in 2027–28 is the opening of Scotia Place. Will ownership accept a rebuild continuing through the early years of a new arena? Or will they want to fast-track the rebuild to see a competitive team hit the ice when the doors open? Only time will tell. In the meantime, the Flames have plenty of money to spend, so let’s just hope they do so wisely!
