Connor Zary’s cleared to head into Calgary Flames training camp, and that simple update opens the door to something a lot bigger for both player and team.
Zary had missed Calgary’s season finale because of an undisclosed injury, so there was at least some uncertainty hanging over his summer. That’s gone now. He’s healthy, he’s available, and he gets a clean shot to show the Flames he deserves more than the role he had last season.
The 2025-26 campaign was solid, but not the leap many expected. Zary put up 12 goals and 25 points in 74 games, with 110 shots and 45 hits.
He was involved. He competed.
He just didn’t produce with enough consistency to force his way into the kind of offensive role Calgary would love to hand him.
At 24, that next step has to start showing up somewhere more meaningful than the idea of upside. There’s clearly something to work with here.
The Flames wouldn’t be interested in him otherwise. But a top-six job isn’t going to be awarded on promise alone.
Zary is going to have to earn it in camp.
That’s where the opportunity gets interesting. Calgary needs more offence, plain and simple.
It needs players who can create when the game tightens up and someone has to make a play. Zary is still one of the more intriguing winger options on the roster because he brings size, skill and a willingness to compete.
What he has to add now is consistency. More chances.
More time in dangerous areas. More evidence that the coaching staff should keep moving him up the lineup.
Those are the little things that separate a player who flashes from one who actually becomes a real part of the solution.
The encouraging part for Calgary is that Zary can begin camp without playing catch-up. He won’t be limited by the injury that ended his season, and he can focus fully on hockey from day one. That gives him a fair chance to show there’s more in the tank than what last season revealed.
It doesn’t mean a breakout is guaranteed. But it does mean the Flames get to find out what happens when Zary is given a little more responsibility.
Calgary isn’t simply looking to plug a hole on the wing. The team needs someone who can make the forward group more dangerous.
Zary has a chance to be that player. Now he has to prove it.
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Jonathan Huberdeau's Deal May Not Be The Flames Problem Fans Think
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As the salary cap climbs and Calgary moves through a rebuilding phase, the contract has become more manageable than many fans assume, even if it still carries plenty of baggage from a hockey standpoint. In fact, when compared with other big-money bets around the league, Huberdeaus deal looks less like a franchise-breaking burden and more like one part of a messy cap sheet the Flames can live with for now. [Read more 🡒]