Report: Calgary Flames and Connor Zary closing in on 3-year contract

A bridge deal was always the obvious route

Despite how long this has been drawn out, it always seemed like the obvious bet would be on a 3 year agreement between the Flames and their young pivot. Zary has no incentive to sign a long-term deal after an injury-plagued season, and the Flames have no reason to commit long-term right now. For that reason, a bridge always seemed to be the easy choice.

Fellow 2020 first round pick Tyson Foerster signed a two-year bridge this year, which was likely one of the major comparisons for Zary’s new deal. He would’ve been in tough demanding anything more, given he has zero leverage in this situation as an RFA.

While getting Zary locked up at a bridge contract AAV for three years will be nice, it could come back to haunt the Flames down the line if he’s due for a big extension and has much more leverage next time around. The last thing this franchise needs is another star player walking themselves to free agency.