One-time Stanley Cup champion doesn't intend to re-sign with Flames

The day keeps getting worse for the Calgary Flames.

Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli has reported that forward Tyler Toffoli does not plan on re-signing with the club.

Earlier on Thursday, Seravalli reported that Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Noah Hanifin are not expected to re-sign with the club once their contracts are up after the 2023-24 season. Toffoli is set to also enter the last year of his contract, with an AAV of $4.25 million.

The trade route could be an option for all four as the team might be headed to a full rebuild just two years after winning the Pacific Division title. Last summer, Johnny Gaudreau left for Columbus, while Matthew Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. Tkachuk is a finalist for the 2023 Hart Trophy as league MVP, while Huberdeau saw his offensive output drop by 60 points with one fewer game played.

Toffoli is fresh off his best NHL campaign, scoring 34 goals and 73 points in his first full season with the club. It was the first time the 2014 Stanley Cup champion had ever broken the 30-goal or 70-point barriers. The Scarborough, Ontario, native was acquired from Montreal ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

In 733 games over 12 years, Toffoli has 227 goals and 466 points with Los Angeles, Montreal and Calgary.

CapFriendly says the Flames have $1.25 million in available cap space this summer. The team has five pending UFAs, but they all serve as depth players.

It’ll be interesting to see if the team looks to bring players up from the Calgary Wranglers AHL team, such as Jakob Pelletier, Connor Zary or Jeremie Poirier. The team is headed into its first season with Ryan Huska as coach and Craig Conroy as GM after making wholesale changes this summer.

Either way, Thursday was a day to remember for Flames fans — and for all the wrong reasons.