Four Calgary Flames Depart Already In Free Agency
By Nathan Smith
The Calgary Flames have been very quiet thus far in free agency due to their salary cap situation, making just one move thus far, but they’ve also watched several former Flames walk away in free agency already.
On July 1, day one of free agency, the Flames saw Trevor Lewis (LA), Troy Stecher (ARI) and Milan Lucic (BOS) all depart through free agency, and while Lewis and Lucic were likely never coming back to Calgary, it’s definitely caught some people by surprise that they couldn’t keep the young, energetic Stecher in town. Either way, the Flames are running low on salary cap space, and until they can make some trades, there won’t be many more free agent moves, and given the disappointing seasons of Lewis and Lucic, it’s safe to say that the moves benefit both sides in a big way.
NEWS | The Capitals have re-signed goaltender Hunter Shepard to a two-year, two-way contract, defenseman Dylan McIlrath to a two-year, two-way contract, forward Pierrick Dubé to a two-year, two-way entry level contract and forward Matthew Phillips to a one-year, one-way contract.
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 2, 2023
On Sunday, Flames fans were disappointed to learn that young Matthew Phillips would be walking away from the franchise after being given just three NHL games across his career in Calgary due to the ideology of their former Head Coach. Despite scoring 76 points in just 66 games, Darryl Sutter refused to play the undersized winger, even with his team struggling offensively, and now, he has joined former AHL Coach of the Year Mitch Love in Washington, and if given the opportunity, Phillips no doubt has the talent to thrive at the NHL level.
So what do you think? Did you want to see any of these names return? Was this a bad move by Calgary letting them go? What other moves can we see the Flames make in the coming days and weeks? As always, let us know all your thoughts in the comments below.