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Flames prefer bridge deal for pending restricted free agent Connor Zary: report
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) chases after Calgary Flames center Connor Zary (47) in the third period of their game at T-Mobile Arena.
Photo credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
May 9, 2025, 10:00 EDTUpdated: May 9, 2025, 01:24 EDT
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The Calgary Flames had a pretty good season overall – as far as seasons that involve no playoff appearances go – and the team’s progression was driven through the growth of young players such as Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato and Connor Zary.
As the Flames’ key young players progress, these gentlemen are gonna get paid as they leave their entry-level years. Recently Coronato inked a seven year deal that’ll pay him $6.5 million annually through 2032. Wolf is eligible for an extension as of July 1. And Zary is a pending restricted free agent following a season that was derailed by a pair of fluke injuries.
Over at Daily Faceoff, Anthony Di Marco had some reporting on Thursday that updated on Zary’s impending contract negotiations. Per sources, Di Marco is reporting that the Flames prefer a bridge deal for Zary rather than going long-term.
Here’s Di Marco:
According to a team source, the Flames’ preference is a bridge contract for the 2020 24th overall pick. Coming off of a relatively underwhelming 27 points in 54 games, there is still uncertainty whether Zary is going to be a center at the NHL level. There is also internal concern over all the injuries that Zary has dealt with, making more sense for the team to avoid a long term commitment. According to the source, a three year contract in the $3 million range (similar to that of Alex Newhook with the Montreal Canadiens) is what the team could be looking for.
Zary broke in as a full-time NHLer early in the 2023-24 season, jumping into the lineup (along with Martin Pospisil) in early November and basically making it impossible to take him out. He missed two chunks of games with lower body injuries during 2024-25 after a really strong start to the season, narrowly missing substantial knee injuries in January and March and not looking quite at his best in-between them.
A short-term bridge deal does make some sense, as an injury-free year would allow Zary to show what he can do and carve out a niche for himself the way Coronato was able to this season. But the Flames would be running the risk that Zary lives up to his potential as a dynamic play-making forward and his cap hit on a long-term deal is nudged upward as a result.
We’ll see how things unfold as general manager Craig Conroy juggles several RFAs this off-season.
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