The Calgary Flames announced on Thursday morning that three players – Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Jankowski and Dillon Dube – will be marching in the annual Calgary Stampede Parade on Friday morning.

The parade is the official kick-off to Calgary’s longstanding exhibition, rodeo and general city-wide party that runs July 5-14 at Stampede Park – which so happens to contain the Scotiabank Saddledome.

If you’re the type to read into things, Tkachuk’s participation is at the very least a sign that negotiations on his new contract are positive enough that he was willing to fly in from his hometown of St. Louis for a few days. Tkachuk is a restricted free agent presently, and his contract is widely expected to be the richest in franchise history in terms of AAV – likely matching or surpassing Jarome Iginla’s $7 million cap hit of years past.

Past Flames parade representatives include:

Also representing the broader Flames organization at the parade include Calgary Hitmen goaltender Jack McNaughton and several members of the NLL Champion Calgary Roughnecks.