Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

Calgary Flames in Harsh Contract Stalemate With Young Star Player

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 7:39 PM ET

The Calgary Flames have re-signed several players this off-season, but now it's been reported that they're in a major stalemate with young forward Connor Zary.

This off-season has been a busy one for the Calgary Flames thus far, as they have re-signed Martin Pospisil, Morgan Frost and Kevin Bahl, but there's still one big piece of business left to do.

That would be the re-signing of young star Connor Zary, an RFA this off-season who many expected to get a deal done, including General Manager Craig Conroy, who expressed his confidence in a potential deal being made.

When asked about the situation, Conroy stated that it was a matter of when, not if a deal gets done, but now, the one big holdup between the two parties has officially been revealed.

According to reports, the issue is with the term on the deal, as Zary wants a long-term extension while the team are focused more on a bridge-deal given that Zary is yet to prove himself consistently in the NHL, and at this point in time, with a career high of 34 points and a total of 61 points in 117 games played, it makes sense that the Flames want to bridge him.

The pressure is building on the two parties to get a deal done before training camp, but Zary has reportedly remained in Calgary in the off-season, meaning that things are likely trending in that direction.

Ultimately though, when a player can score goals like this and consistently show skill at the highest level, they're players you want to keep, and while the Flames haven't been able to keep him yet, it's seemingly a matter of when a deal gets done, not if.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: