After making his NHL debut at the ripe age of 27 in 2023-24, Devin Cooley has earned himself a two-year, $1.55M contract ($775K AAV) from the Calgary Flames. The Californian netminder appeared in six games for San Jose at the end of the 2023-24 season, posting a 2-3-1 record, 4.98 GAA and a .870 SV%.
Sharangovich will remain in Calgary after signing a five-year contract extension worth $28.75 million ($5,750,000 AAV) on Monday. The 26-year-old had an incredibly successful first season in Calgary in 2023-24 after spending three seasons in New Jersey, with 31 goals, 59 points and a -29 plus/minus through 82 games played.
Tsyplakov just finished his seventh season with Spartak Moskva (KHL) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders with an AAV of $950,000. The 25-year-old undrafted free agent was a hot ticket on the free agent market this off-season after scoring 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games played with Spartak in 2023-24.
Ignatjew is an undrafted 24-year-old goalie from Finland. He has spent the last two seasons with Mora IK (Swe-1) and was terrific in the 2023-24 campaign, posting a 2.16 GAA and .918 SV% in 12 games (6-6-0).
Morton turned heads in his Senior season at Minnesota State University (Mankato) and earned himself a one-year, two-way contract worth $950,000 with Calgary that starts in the 2024-25 season. The 24-year-old undrafted forward had 24 goals, 34 points and 10 PIMs in 37 games in his final NCAA season and will join the Calgary Wranglers for the remainder of the season.
Brzustewicz was the third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and has earned himself a three-year, entry-level contract. The 19-year-old is in his second season with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL and has 85 points (12G / 73A) in 65 games this year.
The extension carries an average annal value of $1 million. Pospisil has four goals and seven assists in 34 games with the Flames this season, playing predominantly on a line with Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary.
Backlund had 19 goals, 37 assists, 36 PIMs, 260 SOG, and a +24 plus/minus in 82 games in 2022-23 with Calgary and has signed a two-year contract extension worth $9.0 million ($4.5 million AAV). Along with the new contract, Backlund has been announced as the Flames' 21st Captain in team history. The 34-year-old centre is entering his 16th NHL season as a Flame and has 185 goals, 492 points and a +66 plus/minus in 908 career NHL games played.
Frost had 19 goals, 27 assists, 155 SOG, 24 PIMs, and a -12 plus/minus through 81 games in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $4.2 million extension ($2,100,00 AAV). The 24-year-old took a big leap forward last season after never averaging more than 14 ATOI as he bumped his totals to 16:20 TOI and played 26 more games than his previous high. After being drafted in the 1st round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft (27th overall) Frost has amassed 26 goals, 69 points, 271 SOG, and 42 PIMS across 158 games and five four seasons.
Bahl had two goals, six assists, 27 SOG, 35 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 42 games in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.1 million contract extension ($1,050,000 AAV). The towering 23-year-old defenseman was Arizona's 2018 second-round pick (55th overall) and will be entering his fourth season in New Jersey in 2023-24. Through his previous three, he has three goals, 11 assists, 48 SOG and 45 PIMs through 66 career games played.
Honzek was the Flames 2023 1st round selection (16th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $950,000. The 18-year-old forward had 23 goals, 33 assists, 16 PIMs and a +17 plus/minus through 43 games with Vancouver (WHL) in 2022-23.
After five years in the Golden Knights' organization, Jones signed with the Flames last July and finished third in Calgary Wranglers scoring with 54 points (17G / 37A) in 71 AHL games. With Matthew Phillips now with the Capitals, Jones will be a key member of the Wranglers lineup in 2024.
Pospisil was a fourth-round pick of the Flames in 2018 and he has played exclusively for their AHL team. In 2023, he finished the season with 10 points (4G / 6A) in just 20 games.
The 2023 season was a whirlwind for Hunt. He started the season with the Rangers, was claimed off of waivers by the Avalanche, traded to the Maple Leafs and then traded to the Flames. He finished the season with three goals in 37 NHL games and 24 points (9G / 15A) in 32 AHL games between the four franchises. He'll once again be a fringe NHLer for the Flames in 2024.
Cooley went 15-8-2 with a 2.93 GAA and .909 SV% in 26 games with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) in 2022-23. For the 2023-24 season, expect Cooley and Dustin Tokarski to handle most of the AHL duties for the Sabres.
Hanley had two assists, 14 SOG, 15 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 26 games with Dallas in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract extension worth $1.575 million ($787.5K AAV). The 32-year-old defensemen has spent the last five seasons in Dallas and has two goals, 24 points, 33 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 151 career games played.
