Which Flames may be hitting the waiver wire soon?

The Calgary Flames will need to make some decisions ahead of Sept. 28’s roster finalization deadline.

As it stands, the Flames’ roster sits at 41 players with NHL contracts, 18 more than the maximum of 23. The deadline to final rosters will be on Sept. 28 at 3:00 p.m. MT, meaning the Flames will need to place some players on waivers between now and then.

Recently, PuckPedia released a waiver watch tracker, which features players most likely to be cut by each of the 32 NHL teams, as well as other candidates.

Let’s take a look at the Flames’ players who are considered likely to be waived and other waiver candidates according to PuckPedia.

Players likely to be waived

There’s a solid chance that the Flames lose a handful of prospects before opening night. The eight waiver candidates are: Ben Jones, Michael Benning, Rory Kerins, Andreas Englund, Dryden Hunt, William Strömgren, Sam Morton, and Jake Livingstone.

The two notable names here are Kerins and Strömgren. Last season in the American Hockey League, Kerins scored 22 goals and 57 points in 56 games, a slightly better pace to his 33 goals and 61 points in 63 games during the 2024-25 AHL campaign. That said, Kerins has yet to break into the NHL as a regular, playing just nine games the last two seasons where he has four assists.

Like Kerins, Strömgren had a cup of tea in the NHL last season, being held pointless in three games. In the AHL, the 23-year-old Swede scored 11 goals and 47 points, a better point-per-game pace than his 14 goals and 49 points in 70 games during the 2024-25 season. Both players are deserving of an opportunity, especially with how this season will go. If they don’t make the roster to open the season and clear waivers, expect both of them to get a look.

Hunt led the AHL Calgary Wranglers in points last season, scoring 18 goals and 63 points in 52 games. Spending the 2021-22 season as a regular in the NHL, Hunt has struggled to break into the Flames’ lineup the past two seasons, amassing just eight games while spending most of the past two seasons in the AHL.

Morton was right up there in the Wranglers’ race, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 68 games. Similarly, he’s had his cup of tea at the NHL level, appearing in three games in 2025-26, but has yet to break into the lineup. With the Flames committed to the rebuild, will that change this season?

Benning was signed this past off-season after appearing in 18 games with the Florida Panthers in 2025-26. The right-shot defenceman scored two goals and six points, picking up another eight goals and 31 points in 57 AHL games with the Charlotte Checkers.

Livingstone was teammates with Benning with the Checkers in 2025-26. Over 52 games, he scored three goals and 17 points. He’s appeared in just five NHL games all the way back in 2022-23, but he was also teammates with Morton at Minnesota State University – Mankato.

Jones is another player with some NHL experience, appearing in 28 games with the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26. He scored a goal and three points last season, but added 12 goals and 32 points in 37 games. Jones is in a similar boat as Hunt and Morton, veteran players who jump between the AHL and NHL

Of the eight players, Englund has the most NHL experience, playing 2000 career games split between the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, and Nashville Predators. For the first time since 2021-22, most of Englund’s season was spent in the AHL, with the defenceman scoring three goals and 13 points in 52 games. He appeared in just three NHL games last season.

Out of these eight players, Strömgren and Kerins have the best chance of making the roster before the deadline, and also the best chance to appear for the team on a regular basis if they clear waivers.

Waiver candidates

PuckPedia lists five players who could be waiver candidates. While they’re projected to be on the opening-night roster, they aren’t a lock and are waiver eligible. These players are Brennan Othmann, Yan Kuznetsov, Adam Klapka, Brayden Pachal, and Maxim Tsyplakov.

One player who won’t be on waivers is Klapka. Last season, the 6’8”, 235 lbs Czech forward scored six goals and 18 points in 79 games. There’s a nice blend of skill and size, and with the team rebuilding, potentially losing Klapka for nothing is not ideal.

Othmann is another player unlikely to be waived. Formerly a top prospect, the Flames acquired Othmann from the New York Rangers before the 2026 trade deadline for Jacob Battaglia. The Pickering product will surely get an opportunity in the NHL this season.

Tsyplakov was acquired alongside Šimon Nemec in a trade shortly before the 2026 NHL Draft. The Russian scored 10 goals and 35 points in 77 games in his first NHL season back in 2024-25, but mustered just two goals and four points in 49 points split between the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. Prior to coming to North America, the 28-year-old forward scored 31 goals for Moscow Spartak during the 2023-24 Kontinental Hockey League season.

Kuznetsov became an NHL regular last season, appearing in 57 games where he scored four goals and 12 points. Pachal played a similar role for the Flames last season, appearing in just 39 games where he scored a goal and seven points in 39 games. Kuznetsov and Pachal may split time as the seventh defencemen in 2026-27.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFO Calgary, DFO Edmonton, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.