Craig Conroy has now put a hard stop on the speculation: Jonathan Huberdeau won’t be ready for the start of the 2026-27 regular season.
That leaves a noticeable opening on the left side of the Calgary Flames’ forward group, and while Conroy has made it clear he expects Huberdeau back down the road, the immediate question is who absorbs the extra minutes now. The answer could come from a handful of players already in the mix.
Yegor Sharangovich is the first name that jumps out. He hasn’t matched the five-year extension he signed after his 31-goal, 59-point season in 2023-24, and his path may have looked different if he hadn’t been taken off the Flames’ No. 1 power-play unit soon after that deal was done. Even so, he has still reached 15 goals in each of the last two seasons and could get to 20 for the third time in his career if his ice time climbs in 2026-27.
There were some encouraging signs from Sharangovich late last season, too. He produced at a half-point-per-game pace in March and showed chemistry with Ryan Strome.
His penalty-kill usage also grew, and that role figures to remain relevant now that Blake Coleman is no longer with the organization. A return to PP1 may not happen, especially with Simon Nemec now in the picture and the possibility of two defensemen on the top unit.
But Calgary does not have many other pure shooting threats, and Sharangovich has to be part of the solution if the Flames want to squeeze the most out of the final four years of his contract.
Connor Zary is another player who could benefit from the reshuffling. His ice time dropped to 14:22 per game in 2025-26, the lowest of his three NHL seasons, and he’s now in the second year of a bridge deal that runs through 2028 and carries a $3.775 million cap hit. Trade chatter followed him around for parts of the offseason, but the Flames appear willing to let that play out.
The path is clearer now than it was a year ago. With Huberdeau, Coleman and Nazem Kadri all out of the picture, the forward group is far less crowded.
That should help Zary, who at times last season seemed close to being pushed out. He’s 24, has good size and excellent hands, and he’s already shown he can hold his own against quality NHL competition.
He scored at a half-point-per-game pace or better in each of his first two seasons with Calgary and often looked like one of the team’s most dangerous players. Given the injuries and skating questions that have followed him, a little more runway at center would make sense.
If not there, then maybe the Flames can give him a longer look on the wing alongside Matt Coronato or Matvei Gridin.
Maxim Tsyplakov is the wild card in the group. Flames fans know Sharangovich and Zary well by now, but Tsyplakov arrived from the New Jersey Devils in June as part of the Nemec trade and has barely been part of the conversation since. That said, he was once one of the more intriguing Russian free-agent signings in recent memory, and his mix of size and skill gives him a real chance to matter.
He’s on a one-year deal with a $2.25 million cap hit before reaching unrestricted free agency. Best-case scenario, he rediscovers the form that produced 10 goals and 35 points with the New York Islanders in 2024-25 and becomes a useful power forward.
Worst case, he’s a cap dump who eventually heads back home within the next nine months. His second NHL season went off the rails, with just two goals and four points in 49 games split between the Islanders and Devils, but the year before that he flashed enough in a top-nine role to make you think there’s still something there.
And for a team that could use more size up front, a 6’3″ winger is at least worth a look.
Then there’s Sam Honzek, who may be the most interesting name of the bunch. His 2025-26 season was interrupted by a freak collision with captain Mikael Backlund, but before that injury he had started to look right at home on Calgary’s shutdown line with Backlund and Coleman. Now there should be a real opportunity for the 2023 first-round pick to get a longer run on one of the Flames’ top units.
Honzek might be the best skater here, and he may also be the most adaptable. He can line up anywhere up front and contribute at both 5-on-5 and on special teams.
Before getting hurt, he was posting some of the strongest play-driving numbers on the team, and a return to the Backlund line with Joel Farabee on the other wing would make sense. Still, there’s another path that could be even more intriguing: putting Honzek with Gridin.
His ability to win pucks, create space and support more skilled linemates could fit nicely with a younger talent base. He scored at a WHL pace that justified his first-round selection in the first place, and this might be the right time to see what he can do with players who carry similar upside.
In Other News...
Canadiens Just Made Calgary Watch One Roster Situation Even Closer
Montreals latest summer moves have added another layer to a situation the Flames will want to keep an eye on. General manager Kent Hughes brought in Chris Kreider on a one-year deal and also locked up Zachary Bolduc on a four-year contract, continuing to shape the roster while the Canadiens sort through their remaining business.
Arber Xhekaj is still unsigned, and that is the part that leaves the biggest ripple effect for anyone tracking the market. Montreal has already checked off several key items, but with one notable restricted free agent still waiting, the Canadiens are in that familiar late-summer holding pattern where one more contract can alter the rest of the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Prospect Camp Is Already Revealing A Battle Of Alberta Test
The Flames prospect camp kept moving at the Scotiabank Saddledome with another day of high-paced drills and unit work, the kind of early September session that starts sorting out who can keep up when the pace rises. Coaches, including Brent Sutter, spent plenty of time guiding both goalies and skaters as the group prepared for the NextGen Showcase, where the next test comes against the Edmonton Oilers prospects on Monday evening.
Those sessions also began to sketch out the line and pairing combinations Calgary will carry into the showcase, with a few notable names surfacing in the mix as the camp tightens around game prep. In goal, the rotation gave the staff a chance to take a longer look at the options before the Battle of Alberta setting adds a little more edge to what has already been a competitive week. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Prospect Camp Shows How Calgary Is Building Differently From Edmonton
Calgarys prospect camp is offering a tidy snapshot of how the Flames have chosen to build under Craig Conroy. Since he took over as general manager in May 2023, the organization has leaned heavily into the draft, stockpiling picks and bringing a deeper crop of early-round talent to rookie camp than its provincial rival. Edmonton has gone a different route, relying more on free-agent additions out of Europe and college hockey, even as both clubs round out their camps with trade pickups, AHL signings and try-out invites.
For the Flames, the result is a camp that looks increasingly like a long-game project rather than a quick patchwork fix. There is still plenty of mix-and-match at this stage, and the roster is hardly built from draft picks alone, but the emphasis is clear enough to notice. The interesting part is how that approach shows up on the ice and in the depth chart, especially when Calgarys camp roster is measured against Edmontons and the comparison starts to reveal more than just a philosophy. [Read more 🡒]