Flames re-sign RFAs Glenn Gawdin and Justin Kirkland

A little bit of mid-week news, folks. The Calgary Flames have announced two re-signings, as they’ve re-upped with restricted free agent forwards Glenn Gawdin and Justin Kirkland on one-year deals.

Per our pal Pat Steinberg, Gawdin’s deal is worth $750,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL. Kirkland will make $750,000 at the NHL level and $120,000 at the AHL level.

Gawdin’s heading into a big season, as the right shot centre should be a strong candidate to replace Derek Ryan as the Flames’ fourth line centre. He’s been a superb AHL two-way presence since going pro in 2018 after a strong WHL career with the Swift Current Broncos. He played seven games with the Flames last season. As we reported earlier this month, Gawdin is slated to become a Group 6 free agent on July 1 unless he plays 73 games for the Flames this coming season.

Kirkland is likely going to be relegated to AHL depth, as he’s been since joining the Flames organization in 2019. He won’t play a ton, especially with a lot of promising youngsters at the AHL level this season, but the 25-year-old has played a lot of pro hockey and having him around as a mentor and resource for his younger teammates could prove invaluable as the Flames attempt to turn those promising prospects into bonafide NHL players. Kirkland is also slated to become a Group 6 free agent on July 1 (unless he plays 80 games for the Flames this coming season).

With these signings, only two RFAs remained unsigned: Dillon Dube and Connor Mackey.