Flames likely to be ‘dabblers’ in NHL free agency: Seravalli

The month of May is starting to wind down, meaning that the NHL Draft in June and the opening of free agency on July 1 will soon be upon us. Over at Sportsnet 960 The Fan, Pat Steinberg chatted with Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli on Tuesday afternoon’s edition of Flames Talk, and a main topic of conversation is what the Calgary Flames may do in free agency.

According to Seravalli, the Flames are likely to be “dabblers” in the market.

Here’s Seravalli:

“I would characterize the Flames as dabblers. A team that will definitely be paying attention to the market. I don’t think will be diving in head-first at 12:01, noon Eastern time. But I think a team that will certainly be monitoring it and looking to find some value if they can. Find, it’s such an expensive proposition, but find a way to maybe add some goals to this lineup is certainly going to be the thought process.”

Seravalli added that he doesn’t think the Flames will be looking to add anyone with a ton of term, but will instead be looking to find players that can add to their group.

Steinberg noted that he doesn’t think the Flames will make as many signings as they did a year ago, as they want to avoid creating a situation where young players are blocked from having a shot at roster spots. “I think the next step for them is really wanting to see these young players take that step and make a push in training camp,” said Steinberg.

And while Seravalli agreed with Steinberg’s notion that the Flames don’t have a ton of pressing business in the trade market – obviously depending on what happens with Rasmus Andersson’s future – Seravalli did add a bit of an asterisk on that note.

“I think they’re a bit of a wild card in the sense that if the Flames are going to be super aggressive in one department this summer, it’s probably not going to be free agency,” said Seravalli. “My guess is it’s probably not going to be an offer sheet. That it would probably be in trying to make a deal.”

Seravalli shared that if the Flames are going to address some of their roster construction challenges – he mentioned goal-scoring specifically earlier in the segment, but expanded to discuss their need for top-flight centres – it might need to happen via a trade rather than free agency. He posited that maybe there’s a second-line centre with upside that the Flames could try to acquire via the trade market.

At present, based on Evolving-Hockey’s contract forecasts and PuckPedia’s contract data, we’re projecting that the Flames have about $17 million available for a goaltender, a defenceman and two forwards. That affords them a ton of salary cap flexibility moving forward.

Check out the full segment over at Sportsnet’s podcast site.

The 2025 NHL Draft is June 27 & 28 from Los Angeles, CA. Free agency opens at 10 a.m. MT on July 1.