Grading the Flames’ 2-Year Extension for Dryden Hunt

Hunt was undrafted by an NHL team, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) until his age-21 season with the Regina Pats, Medicine Hat Tigers, and Moose Jaw Warriors (from ‘How a former Flames tough guy helped Dryden Hunt achieve his NHL dream,’ Calgary Sun, 10/24/23). His point totals in the WHL increased year-over-year until his overage season, 2015-16, where he put up 116 points in 72 games and earned himself an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, then the affiliate of the Florida Panthers. He spent four years in the Panthers’ system, earning himself 61 NHL games, before being left an unrestricted free agent and bouncing around the rest of the league. 

The Flames acquired him in 2023 via trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Radim Zohorna; he spent the rest of the 2023-24 season playing for the Wranglers. In his 235 career NHL games, he has 18 goals and 36 assists, for 54 total points, as well as 121 penalty minutes.

In the two-and-a-half seasons Hunt has spent in Calgary, he’s played 33 games with the Flames. While his NHL point totals are unspectacular, his AHL totals are a different story — he’s nearly a point-per-game player with the Wranglers, putting up 86 points in 89 regular season games and eight points in 11 playoff games. 

Extension Grade: B-

Hunt is primarily an AHL-level player, and at this stage in his career — he’s 29 — it’s unlikely he’ll ever carve out more than a fringe role at a level higher than that. That being said, the hockey season is a very long one, and when the field of healthy players inevitably thins out, a player like Hunt, who is on a cheap contract and can easily fill ice time, is a useful one to have. 

Hunt has proven over his nine-year pro career that he can carry water at the NHL level; in case of emergency, a player who is known to not be an active detriment is better than taking a chance on someone completely unproven. This is what Hunt provides — unlike many other depth players, he doesn’t have a carved-out role, like a shooter or a power-play specialist. He’s a relatively versatile utility winger who doesn’t exactly lead the team on its way to success, but almost never causes them to lose or trail either.

This contract is, however, a tad rich for the use of a roster slot. The NHL cap hit is above the minimum salary, but it’s also a two-way contract which wouldn’t incur burying penalties even if it was over the buriable limit. This type of player is usually not more than a minimum-salary player, and if Calgary wants to eventually move Hunt’s contract to clear the roster spot, that extra $100,000 might make some GMs, especially those of teams that are much closer to the salary cap than Calgary, balk. The term is also a potential detractor from the trade value of the contract; if a depth player becomes unreliable, then their contract is much less appealing if it’s got an extra season tacked onto it. If GM Craig Conroy opts to trade Hunt, he would likely have to wait a season for maximum return.

There is also a chance that the Flames opt to keep Hunt for the rest of the contract. By offering him more than NHL minimum salary (even if it’s a two-way deal), they’ve shown Hunt that they like what he has to offer, even if what he’s offering at the Flames’ level is mostly a “press in case of emergency” button. They pressed that button five times this season, and they’ll probably need to press it again next season. When they do, at least they know and trust who they’ll be getting. In the meantime, the Wranglers have a top AHL scorer.