Walker Duehr’s splash into the NHL in the 2022-23 season, earned him a more regular spot for the Flames in the year following. He earned his contract extension and ended up being signed to a multi-year one-way contract with the Flames.

Now that we’ve arrived at the final season of that contract, will he earn himself another extension with the Flames? Or will he be released to explore other NHL or AHL opportunities?

Duehr enters his fourth season in the NHL this Fall. His debut was back in the 2021-22 season against the Ottawa Senators on November 14th. He didn’t get any other chances that season but did turn into a part-time NHLer for the Flames in 2022-23. He went from one game to 27 and netted his first NHL goal on January 12, 2023, against the Saint Louis Blues in just his third game in the league.

After this, he would consistently get a few points every three or four games or so. This stretch of 27 games is what put him on the map in Calgary as a potential depth forward with size and scoring abilities to help the team. In the remaining months of that season, he put up seven goals and four assists for a total of 11 points.

The swagger we got out of Duehr in the second half of the 2022-23 season didn’t quite look the same in the 2023-24 season. He earned and signed his contract extension in 2023 and played the most NHL games of his career in a single season after that. He skated in 40 games but only registered seven points consisting of two goals and five assists.

His production this time around was few and far between and his last goal was on March 12, 2024, against the Colorado Avalanche. There was a stretch of a couple of games in January where Duehr cleared waivers and went down to the Wranglers. He had one assist in this brief stint then returned back to the Flames.

Duehr has made the climb season over season to play more games. If he were to exceed expectations, he would play in nearly every game in the upcoming season. To do that, he would also need to be impactful enough to consistently earn that spot in the lineup over other available players.

Duehr would need to take the pace of his scoring back to the pace he was on in 2022-23. If that same percentage of production carried over into a full season, he would need approximately 17 goals and 10 assists in the upcoming season.

If what you see is what you get with Duehr, his upcoming season may be strikingly similar to last season. He’d have the opportunity to play in about half of the games and not be a high producer but still make it to the scoresheet here and there. He would leverage his physical game and be a depth forward typically found on the fourth line. His number of games may decline from 40, but he would still play enough to be considered a part-time player.

Worst case scenario this season, Duehr is stripped of games in the NHL. Whether that be by being outplayed for a spot or even another possible send-down to the AHL. What may happen if they do not see that additional spark from 71, is a transition over from development to trading tools. He could be thrown into a trade sometime this season or picked up on waivers on an AHL assignment.

Training camp, pre-season and the first few months of the season are going to be huge for him. He likely went into the summer with a training plan and a clear vision from the coaching staff so this season is more going to be about finding his legs and confidence again to make the fight for an NHL spot a difficult one.

Walker Duehr is a master of his own fate at this point in his career. He has given the Flames enough to go off of to prove he can play at an NHL level. However, he would benefit more from a solidified spot with a consistent line, especially with the known availability of spots for young guys to excel in this “re-tool” era.