Flames News & Rumors: Vladar, Kirkland, Huska & More

Vladar has been fairly underwhelming throughout his NHL career to this point, posting a 2.98 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .898 save percentage (SV%) through 105 appearances. Nonetheless, it seems as though he is strongly considering heading to the free-agent market in an attempt to seek out more playing time.

“The Flames are preparing for him to hit the open market,” Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg said recently on Flames Talk. “The Flames have put offers on the table to Dan Vladar, and nothing has been agreed upon as of yet.”

Should Vladar indeed go to free agency, the Flames will need to find a different option to back up Dustin Wolf next season. One potential in-house solution is Devin Cooley, who posted a 2.94 GAA along with a .904 SV% through 46 appearances with the Calgary Wranglers in 2024-25. He is locked up through 2025-26 on a deal with a cap hit of $775,000.

Gridin Named QMJHL Rookie of the Year

The Flames seem to have a real prospect on their hands in Matvei Gridin. The 19-year-old was the second of their two first-round picks in 2024, being taken at 28th overall. He headed into his draft having scored 38 goals and 83 points in 60 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

Gridin elected to continue his junior career in the QMJHL this past season, and continued his upward trajectory. In 56 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes he scored a team-leading 36 goals and 79 points. As a result, he received the Sidney Crosby Trophy, given out to the top-performing rookie in the league.

Huska Receives Jack Adams Votes

Heading into the 2024-25 season, it was expected that the Flames would be among the bottom teams in the NHL. They were just entering a retooling era, and were expected to struggle immensely after having traded several veterans away late in the 2023-24 season and into the summer. Instead, they wound up missing the playoffs by just a single point.

Head coach Ryan Huska played a big part in that, as he was able to get his team to buy into a defence-first approach. It wasn’t the sexiest style, but it was one that was necessary for the Flames to have success. Many around the league took notice, as Huska received four third-place votes for the Jack Adams Award, good enough to see him finish 11th amongst head coaches.

Flames & Kirkland Interested in Extension

It feels so long ago that it’s hard to remember it was still just this past season where Justin Kirkland quickly saw himself become a fan favourite in Calgary. The 28-year-old was finally able to carve out a full-time role for himself in the NHL, before an ACL tear ended his season in early December.

Kirkland is set to become a UFA in less than a month’s time, though him returning to the organization, perhaps as their fourth-line centerman, doesn’t seem to be out of the question. The 28-year-old recorded two goals and eight points in 21 games with the Flames this past season.

“Craig Conroy has talked in length about guys who want to be a member of the Calgary Flames, I can tell you Kirkland wants to be a member of the Flames,” Steinberg said on Flames Talk. “The Flames would like to keep him as well.”

Looking Ahead for the Flames

The biggest thing to keep an eye on for the time being for Flames fans surrounds Rasmus Andersson, who could be traded as soon as the draft. Aside from Andersson, keeping an eye out on both the pending UFAs, along with several remaining restricted free agents (RFAs), should make for an interesting next few weeks, and perhaps months.