Calgary Flames: 3 Quality Overseas Free Agents Available

The NHL Playoffs are into Round 2 and are providing hockey fans with a plethora of dramatic moments to be etched into the history of the game forever. What is much less exciting is being a fan of a team on the outside looking in, sitting idly by until the fall comes. For those enamoured with the Calgary Flames, that is a long wait. The team was eliminated from playoff contention in early April and now haven’t partaken in any postseason play for two consecutive seasons. Currently, the focus is on the offseason; general manager Craig Conroy has a big draft ahead of him and will likely be looking for trades and free agent signings to bolster his roster.

This year’s NHL free agent pool isn’t as deep as years past. For the Flames, their window is off in the horizon and thus they shouldn’t necessarily be hunting for expensive, veteran players to sign. The onus should be on developing the team’s current prospect core and potentially adding one or more young, impactful players to aid the team both now and in the future. Unfortunately, most of these specific players aren’t unrestricted free agents, they are either under contract with another team or are restricted free agents still under team control. Luckily for the Flames, there are a few free-agent options outside the league that could fill their needs and not break the bank. Here are three overseas free agents that we think could be worth pursuing.

Adam Najman, Czechia

First up on our list is Czech centreman Adam Najman. The 23-year-old has been plying his trade in his native country’s highest level of professional hockey, the Extraliga. He was a pretty productive junior player, but went undrafted in the NHL. One could chalk it up to the seemingly fewer and fewer prospects coming from the Extraliga. He joined Bílí Tygri Liberec for the 2018-19 season and has been there ever since. He was relatively underwhelming in his first few seasons of pro hockey but came into his own during the last two years. In 2022-23, he put up nine goals and 38 points in 49 games as well as four points in 10 playoff contests. This season, he upped his totals to 12 goals and 45 points in 49 games and six points in nine playoff games.

At 6 feet tall and 196 pounds, Najman has a decent frame for the NHL. His strengths are his soft hands and solid playmaking capabilities. He is tenacious without the puck as well, sacrificing his body to win loose puck battles. His potential isn’t high; most likely an impactful bottom-six NHL player at best. However, the Flames could use more creativity in their lower forward lines as well as the regularly required defensive presence. The team’s pipeline is relatively weak in young centres. He would probably love a chance to play in the best hockey league on Earth and could bring some benefits for a relatively cheap entry-level contract.

Maxim Tsyplakov, KHL

The proverbial cream of the crop for free agents outside the NHL this season is Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov. NHL teams view him as this year’s Andrei Kuzmenko, which is very fitting for the Flames. He has already been rumoured to have made contact with numerous NHL franchises. He turns 26 in the fall and has been playing for his hometown Spartak Moskva in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) since 2017-18, skating in over 300 contests. He was also appointed an alternate captain for the 2023-24 season. After a respectable 2022-23 season, he exploded this past season for 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games. Only three players had more goals in the KHL, and his point total had him tied for 22nd league-wide. Therefore, he is much less of a prospect and someone who would be ready to step into an NHL role immediately.