A few updates from GM Craig Conroy; “The door is closed a little bit” on Kevin Rooney and Anthony Mantha returning. Both pending UFA’s. Contract is on the table for UFA Dan Vladar, but team knows he’s looking for a chance at more playing time. #Flames
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Kevin Rooney and Anthony Mantha likely headed to free agency, offer on table for Dan Vladar: Conroy
Photo credit: © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy held court with members of the local media on Thursday afternoon in advance of Friday’s opening round of the 2025 NHL Draft. The most newsworthy tidbits regarded the statuses of a handful of pending unrestricted free agents.
(Stick-taps to Sportsnet 960 The Fan’s Pat Steinberg for tweeting out some tidbits. As the kids say: thanks, Pat!)
With the re-signing of veteran forwards Dryden Hunt and Justin Kirkland, the next most prominent pending unrestricted free agents are Kevin Rooney, Anthony Mantha and Dan Vladar.
We’ve heard some discussion on Vladar’s status before, with Steinberg on Flames Talk recently outlining that Plan A for the club is to hold onto Vladar, hence the club making him a contract offer, but working on a Plan B in the event Vladar opts to try the open market. The fact that Vladar has yet to pull the trigger on re-signing with the club may (or may not) be a clue about where his desires lie for the coming season(s).
In terms of Rooney and Mantha: with the Flames signing Adam Klapka (and him now requiring waivers) and re-upping Kirkland, the question we would pose is “where would they fit in the Flames lineup?” Those two forwards testing the open market makes complete sense, both for the team and the players.
In terms of the topic du jour around Calgary, the future of Rasmus Andersson, Conroy didn’t have very much to update on.
On Rasmus Andersson, GM Craig Conroy: "Ras has another year on his contract. I talked to Ras this morning and we’re all good. If he’s a Calgary Flame in September, he’s a Calgary Flame.” Suggested there's nothing imminent one way or another. #Flames
As he noted last week on Barn Burner, Conroy indicated there’s no hurry for the Flames and if Andersson is still under contract when the Flames come back in the fall, he knows Andersson will be a good teammate. He noted that bringing back Andersson in the fall would be different than coming into the fall with five pending UFAs, as he experienced in 2023-24.
The 2025 NHL Draft is Friday and Saturday from Los Angeles. Free agency opens on July 1.
Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you’re tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.
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