The Calgary Flames organization is bringing back a good soldier for another two seasons. On Friday afternoon, the Flames announced that forward Dryden Hunt has been re-signed to a two year, two-way deal with an $825,000 cap hit at the NHL level.

The 29-year-old Hunt was born in Cranbrook but has settled in the Calgary area. He was a Western League product that went undrafted after five seasons, split between Regina, Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw. But he caught on as a free agent with the Florida Panthers, signing an entry-level deal near the end of his 20-year-old season.

Since then he’s turned that opportunity into a pretty decent career. A left shot forward that can play either wing, he’s played 235 NHL games (with Florida, Arizona, the NY Rangers, Colorado, Toronto and the Flames) and another 318 AHL contests (with Springfield, Toronto and the Wranglers).

Hunt joined the Flames prior to the 2023 trade deadline via a trade with Toronto, with Radim Zohorna going the other way. He signed a two-year contract on July 2, 2023 – the second day of free agency – to remain with the Flames organization, and this new deal will extend his stay by another pair of seasons.

Is Hunt a sure-fire NHL player? At this point, perhaps not. But he’s shown himself to be a really useful, versatile player at the NHL level who’s earned the trust of head coach Ryan Huska. If you need a veteran to call up to be an extra body and perhaps slot in on short notice, Hunt can perform that role well. When he’s on the AHL roster, he’s proven to be a really reliable scorer, checker and all-around strong performer for the Wranglers. He had three points in 5 NHL games in 2024-25, along with 49 points in 49 AHL games.

With several young forwards potentially making the jump to the AHL level from elsewhere – such as Andrew Basha, Matvei Gridin and Aydar Suniev – Hunt is perhaps the ideal type of veteran player for the Flames to hold onto.