Oliver Kylington plans to play with Calgary next season

The 25-year-old defender had missed all of the 2022-23 season due to personal reasons. The reasons have been undisclosed all season without any reports or indication as to what they are, so it will either remain that way or they may surface when Kylington returns to the team if it’s something he’s willing to divulge.

Kylington did not play any hockey last season, even outside of the NHL. He’s coming off a career year with the Flames in 2021-22, where he had 9 goals, 22 assists, and 31 points in 73 games on the blueline for them. He put up a goal, two assists, and three points in 12 games in the playoffs as well.

Kylington was a second-round pick for the Flames in 2015, and he has spent the entirety of his eight-year professional career in the Flames organization. He will be entering the final year of his two-year deal with a $2.5 million cap hit when he returns and will be an unrestricted free agent when it expires. It’s not confirmed at this time if his contract will slide for a season due to missing the whole year or not.

While his absence wasn’t the only reason the Flames had a disappointing season, it likely played a part. The Flames missed out on the playoffs by two points with a 38-27-17 record, rarely finding the consistency to truly secure a spot all year. This was after an incredible 111-point season in 2021-22 that saw them win in the first round before bowing out in five games to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Flames have already seen a major overhaul of their infrastructure as a result, as they’ve already mutually parted ways with general manager Brad Treliving and earlier on Friday also fired head coach Darryl Sutter. They don’t have any major free agents this season, with only Milan Lucic, Nick Ritchie, Trevor Lewis, Troy Stecher and Michael Stone as pending free agents, but will have to look at starting on extensions for several key players expiring in 2024, including Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev among others.