CALGARY — The Calgary Flames were among the quieter teams to start NHL free agency Tuesday, but general manager Craig Conroy indicated the club will acquire a goaltender soon.
The departure of backup Dan Vladar for the Philadelphia Flyers had the GM wanting to beef up that position behind Dustin Wolf, who won the starter's job as a rookie this past season.
"We're going to add one more goalie for sure because we do think we need to have that depth with losing Dan today," Conroy said at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Calgary and defenceman Joel Hanley agreed to a two-year, US$3.5-million extension. The Flames also signed 25-year-old defenceman Nick Cicek to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
The Flames had already connected on a big post-season swing by signing 25-year-old defenceman Kevin Bahl to a six-year, $32.1-million extension Saturday.
And Calgary certainly has the cap room at almost $20 million, according to Puckpedia.com, if the Flames feel spendy again.
Hanley of Keswick, Ont., played a career-high 53 games for Calgary last season. The 34-year-old contributed two goals and seven assists and was a career-best plus-12 while averaging 18 and a half minutes of ice time per game.
"We have a lot of depth at forward. On defence, there's good young players, but not maybe as much," Conroy said. "We needed some more depth back there.
"To have Joel, to know what he can do with MacKenzie Weegar, he can play all up and down that lineup. The way he is in the room and the kind of person he is, it just made perfect sense to us."
Calgary claimed the five-foot-11, 186-pound Hanley off waivers March 5, 2024. The left-handed shot has five goals and 33 assists in 246 career NHL games with Calgary, Dallas, Arizona and Montreal.
Conroy, entering his third season as Calgary's GM, indicated he looked at potential additions Tuesday, but deals didn't materialize.
"There's people we targeted, and once those guys were gone, we've always said we have a plan, we have to stick to it, and we can't deviate just because other teams are signing players," Conroy said.
"There were some players that we liked and thought 'these would be good fits.' It's a puzzle and you don't want to just put a different piece in the wrong spot. You want to make sure it fits."
Conroy hinted he was in the market for under-26 players to complement other Flames in that range — Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka and Martin Pospisil.
Veteran Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson with a year remaining on his contract was pulled into the trade-rumour mill heading into free agency.
The 28-year-old Swede, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Flames, completes a six-year, $27-million contract in 2025-26.
Andersson has a modified no-trade clause, according to Puckpedia.com, which means he can choose his destinations in the event of a trade. But Conroy didn't sound like a man actively shopping Andersson on Tuesday.
"Right now, he's totally fine with playing for the Calgary Flames. That was the last conversation, and he's always said that he's a Calgary Flame," Conroy said. "When he comes back in September, he'll say the same thing to you guys.
"I'm not stressed or feel pressure about it and we actually need Rasmus to be here and be a good player for us."
Vladar agreed to a two-year contract worth $3.35 million annually, the Flyers announced in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The 27-year-old Czech spent the past four seasons and started 95 games in Calgary.
Vladar started a career-high 29 games this past season behind Wolf, who was runner-up for the Calder Trophy that goes to the NHL's top rookie. Vladar went 12-11-6 with a goals-against average of 2.80 and a save percentage of .898 in 2024-25.
Calgary's No. 3 Devin Cooley went 21-17-5 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage for the AHL's Wranglers.
Winnipeg's Cicek had three goals, 14 assists and 79 penalty minutes in 50 games for Germany's Mannheim Eagles. The six-foot-three, 200-pound defenceman also had a goal and an assist in 10 playoff games.
He played major junior hockey for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks and has appeared in 16 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
