Alex Nylander has turned a professional tryout into a contract with Calgary.
A month after signing a PTO, Nylander landed a one-year, two-way deal worth $850,000 at the NHL level, according to Pat Steinberg of Flames Now 770. The Flames later confirmed the agreement. Nylander has appeared in two preseason games and picked up one assist, and he could dress for Calgary’s final preseason game on Saturday before the team assigns him to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to start the season.
The deal gives Nylander another NHL home, and this one will be his sixth franchise since he entered the league with the Sabres’ affiliate, the Rochester Americans. The former eighth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft is 28 and finished his 2025-26 season on a one-year contract with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate.
He produced 24 goals and 53 points in the AHL last season, improving on his previous career-best of 50 points from his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2022-23. Nylander also added 6 goals and 7 points in 24 playoff games as the Marlies went on to win the Calder Cup, the first award in North American hockey of his career and easily the strongest season he’s had as a pro.
Nylander has been a steady presence in the AHL over the last eight seasons. In 459 games, he has 307 points, which puts him inside the Top-30 among active players in AHL scoring since 2016. His NHL work has been far less consistent, though his best season came in 2019-20, when Buffalo traded him for Henri Jokiharju and he totaled 26 points in 65 games for the Hawks.
He has not had an NHL stretch since 2024, when Toronto brought him up for five games before that recall ended on Dec. 12 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. With the Leafs trying to reload for a run in the Atlantic Division, there wasn’t much room for him to fight for a bottom-six job there. In Calgary, though, there may be a path to more opportunity if he sticks, especially with the uncertainty around the Flames’ forward group.
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Flames Just Added Another Rebuild Gamble Fans Will Debate
The Flames have added another low-risk piece to their forward group by signing Alex Nylander to a one-year, two-way contract. The winger had already been around the team on a professional tryout before training camp, so this was less a surprise than a formalization of a move Calgary had clearly been considering as it continues sorting through options and depth.
Nylander brings a mix of NHL and AHL experience, and he arrives with some recent winning pedigree after helping the Toronto Marlies capture the Calder Cup last season. His path also carries a little extra local connection, since he was born in Calgary and comes from a familiar hockey family, which only adds to the intrigue as fans try to figure out where he fits in a rebuild still looking for useful bets that might pay off later. [Read more 🡒]
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Detroit stepped in and claimed Englund off waivers, adding another experienced NHL depth option to its back end. For Calgary, it is a reminder that the preseason competition did not settle every question on defense, and the organization is still sorting out how the group will look after a camp decision opened up another vacancy. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Final Roster Cuts Just Put Calgarys Depth Under Pressure
The final roster trimming has started to sharpen the edges of Calgarys camp decisions, with the Flames making a batch of moves ahead of the 2026-27 season. Defenseman Andreas Englund hit waivers as the club continued sorting out its lineup, while a group of younger and depth players also came under the microscope as the front office worked toward its opening-night picture.
Mike Benning, Jake Livingstone, Dryden Hunt, Ben Jones, Rory Kerins, Sam Morton and William Stromgren all cleared waivers and were sent to the AHLs Calgary Wranglers, leaving the Flames with a clearer look at who stays in the big-league mix and who continues developing in the system. It is the kind of roster housekeeping that can pass quickly in the standings-driven grind of camp, but it also puts a spotlight on how thin the margin can be for depth players trying to hold onto NHL jobs. [Read more 🡒]