Analyzing Connor Zary’s Contract Extension With the Flames

It was recently rumoured that Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary has re-signed with the team on a three-year contract with an average annual value of $3.775 million. This contract expires following the 2027-28 season and leaves Zary a restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of it, allowing the Flames another extension with team control should he remain with them when extension time comes around.

What Zary’s Contract Means for the Flames

Zary is a young forward – he plays both centre and left wing, depending on his linemates – hailing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Flames drafted him out of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2020 with the 24th overall pick. After spending his two remaining years of WHL eligibility in the league, he graduated and played three seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Flames’ affiliate before finally breaking into the NHL in the 2023-24 season. He has 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points in 115 NHL games. His career has struggled to get off the ground, mostly due to various injuries, including a knee injury in the 2024-25 season that saw him miss time.

When Zary’s healthy, he’s a creative forward who makes up for his often subpar physical tools by being determined, finding unusual paths to a shooting lane, and having a sneaky shot that’s good at finding open holes. He’s not the fastest skater or the strongest on his feet, and while he’s not an undersized forward, he doesn’t have the size to pressure opponents regularly with success. However, his clear signs of effort and ability to interrupt his opponent’s passing and do things they haven’t thought of stand out.

When Zary doesn’t find opportunities, he creates them by crashing the net and trying to put the puck on the goaltender from as close as possible. Most of his goals are scored from just outside the crease. His philosophy seems very straightforward – the harder it is for your opponents, and especially your opponents’ goaltender, to react to you, the better. 

This offensive dynamism and determination help him stand out on a team that is sorely lacking in offence and that will likely head into the upcoming 2025-26 season struggling to create goals. In an ideal world, Zary could grow into one of the Flames’ primary offensive drivers as players like Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau age. He could replace Martin Pospisil on a first line with the two of them, concentrating some of the team’s best forwards in one place. 

This contract is a fair amount already for a young player with Zary’s production, and as the cap goes up, the value should improve. If he produces at similar rates to his past, it projects to be a fair contract for a middle-six forward. If he stays healthy or improves, then it turns into a steal, and if he does both, then it’s highway robbery.