July 1 usually comes with a splash around the NHL. Some teams chase the biggest names, others take wild swings, and a few spend the day trying to patch holes before the market dries up.
Under Craig Conroy, the Calgary Flames have gone a different route. Through his first two free-agency periods as general manager, the pattern has been clear: short deals, modest money, and very little long-term commitment. If that history holds, 2026 figures to follow the same script.
In 2024, Conroy was busy by his standards, signing four players on July 1, but every one of them came on a low-risk contract.
The biggest bet was Anthony Mantha, who signed a one-year deal at a $3.5 million AAV. It was the kind of move that made sense for a retooling team: Mantha had just put up 44 points, had been traded for second- and fourth-round picks only months earlier, and looked like the type of player who could be flipped again if things went right.
Calgary clearly had a plan in mind, too, hoping he could click with Jonathan Huberdeau and produce enough offense to become trade bait at the deadline. For a while, it worked.
Mantha had four goals and seven points in 13 games before a serious knee injury ended his season in November. He eventually left in free agency for nothing.
Ryan Lomberg’s deal looked expensive on paper - two years at a $2 million AAV - but it was never really about box-score production. He had finished the previous season with just seven points, yet the Flames wanted the energy, the personality, and the veteran presence.
In a rebuild-minded environment with plenty of cap space, it was a perfectly understandable swing. Lomberg ended up becoming a fan favourite during the life of the contract.
Jake Bean was another short-term add, landing a two-year deal worth $1.75 million AAV. The logic was simple enough: add some depth to the blue line and keep the price down.
The reaction when the signing was announced was basically a shrug - sure, I guess? - and the results never improved from there. Bean struggled badly throughout the deal and missed most of the 2025-26 season because of injury.
The good news, at least in the source’s framing, is that Joe Iginla has since taken over his nepo baby role in the organization.
The final July 1 move in 2024 was strictly for the AHL side of things. Martin Frk signed a one-year deal at $775,000 AAV and turned into a strong pickup for the Wranglers, putting up 60 points in the AHL in 2024-25 while helping mentor younger players such as Rory Kerins and William Stromgren.
The 2025 class was even smaller. Calgary signed only three players, and just one of them was an established NHL name.
Joel Hanley came back on a two-year deal at $1.75 million AAV after it had seemed likely he would test the market. The Flames had been aiming higher, with Ryan Lindgren as the hoped-for upgrade, but when Lindgren turned down their contract offer, the team circled back to Hanley.
The deal fit Conroy’s usual profile: short and inexpensive. The bigger question was whether Calgary even needed him, given how crowded the blue line already was.
There’s even a real chance he won’t be in the NHL in 2026-27, the final season of the contract.
Backup goalie Ivan Prosvetov was the next low-cost gamble. With Dan Vladar gone to chase more playing time elsewhere, the Flames hoped Prosvetov could back up Dustin Wolf for $950,000.
That move never got off the ground. He was rough in preseason, failed to make the roster out of camp, and then posted an ugly .887 save percentage with the Wranglers.
He didn’t play a single game for Calgary.
Nick Cicek rounded out the July 1 activity with a one-year deal worth $775,000. He had just come back from Europe and was viewed as depth for the Wranglers more than anything else. He played 70 games for the team and did not appear in the NHL in 2025-26.
That’s the broader Conroy pattern in a nutshell. He has not handed out a contract longer than two years, and he hasn’t gone beyond $3.5 million AAV on any deal.
Nothing in his free-agency track record suggests he’s about to change course. The Flames appear committed to building through the draft, not by chasing the biggest names on July 1.
In Other News...
Former Flames Forward Dillon Dube Just Took An Unexpected NHL Step
Dillon Dubes return to the NHL keeps taking shape after a season spent with Springfield in the AHL, where the former Flames forward worked to rebuild his game and his standing in pro hockey. The 27-year-old has already logged time with Calgary and overseas with Dinamo Minsk, so this latest move is another notable turn for a player whose career path has been anything but ordinary.
For Calgary fans, Dubes name still carries some familiarity because of what he once was in a Flames sweater and the promise he showed earlier in his career. Now he gets a fresh chance on a one-year, one-way deal worth $850,000, a reminder that there is still a market for him at the highest level as he tries to establish where he fits next. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Development Camp Roster Just Raised Excitement And One Concern
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Among the names drawing the most interest are the clubs top 2026 picks, including Carson Carels, Jack Hextall, Chase Harrington and Tobias Trejbal. There is also a local wrinkle in Kent Anderson, a Calgary product who will be with the AHL Wranglers next season, adding a little extra hometown flavor to the group. The one concern in the announcement is the absence of an injured player from on-ice sessions, a reminder that even a prospect camp can be shaped by health before anyone has a chance to make an impression. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Just Added More Competition Than Fans Might Expect
The Flames added a batch of familiar depth on two-way NHL contracts, bringing in Ben Jones, Jake Livingstone, Mike Benning and Andreas Englund as the organization continues to stock up around the edges of the roster. Jones is the most recognizable name for Calgary fans, since he is back in the system after stops with Minnesota and Iowa, while Livingstone and Benning are both getting one-year looks after recent NHL and AHL experience.
Englund gives the group a different kind of resume as a veteran with 200 NHL games behind him, and the mix suggests Calgary is trying to create real competition at multiple levels heading into camp. The interesting part now is how these additions sort themselves out once the lineup battles begin, especially with several players arriving on deals that keep the door open for both the NHL club and the farm team. [Read more 🡒]