Flames expected to bring back Brett Richie on one-year deal

Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that the Calgary Flames are close to bringing back winger Brett Ritchie on a one-year deal.

Ritchie will return to the Flames for a third straight season. This time, though, he won’t have to work his way in on a PTO as he did last season.

Since the 2020-21 season, Ritchie’s had seven goals, five assists, and 12 points in 73 games in a Flames uniform. The 29-year-old forward has a total of 72 points in 341 career games since debuting in 2014-15 as a member of the Dallas Stars.

He’s played sparingly in Calgary, but he’s the type of fourth-line energy forward that head coach Darryl Sutter loves. While he likely won’t be playing for more than 45 games per season, that’s fine given his very limited ice time. He’ll be competing for a bottom-six role shared by Trevor Lewis and PTO invite Cody Eakin.

For the Flames, it continues to show they’re not quite ready to have young players make the next step. They also brought Sonny Milano into camp on a PTO Monday, who should earn a spot in their top-nine forward group to add to their excellent depth. For players like Jakob Pelletier and Matthew Phillips, though, it’s likely another season of conditioning in the AHL.