Calgary Flames Begin Extension Talks With Young Forward

The Calgary Flames have plenty to focus on this off-season with a batch of unrestricted 2024 free agents like Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Mikael Backlund among others, but according to General Manager Craig Conroy, those aren’t the only players they are looking at.

In an interview on Monday morning, Conroy revealed that early extension talks between the Flames and former second-round pick Dillon Dube have begun, as he is a restricted free agent for next year, and while it doesn’t seem like anything is close, talks have at least started. Given the current state of the Flames, it is understandable that they would like to extend Dube, as he is just 24-years of age on a team looking to get younger, but given his lack of production at the NHL level, it may be wise of them to hold off an extension another year.

In 282 NHL games thus far, Dube has tallied 54 goals and 66 assists for 120 points, with his career best season coming in 2022-23 when he scored 18 goals and 27 assists, primarily playing on the top line alongside Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli. He’s very likely not going to be afforded the same top line minutes again in 2023-24, so it will be a pivotal season wherever he ends up playing to prove that he is worthy of a long-term extension in Calgary.

Still, he was a Team Canada captain at the World Juniors, and Calgary see plenty of leadership potential in him, and at 24-years old with all that NHL experience, he can continue to grow and improve, but at this point, any extension that goes beyond $3 million AAV would be a mistake for Calgary.

So what do you think Flames fans? Should Calgary be looking to extend Dillon Dube right now? What did you make of his career year in 2022-23? Is he going to improve and become a top-six forward? If not, what do you think his future as a Flame will be? As always, let us know all your thoughts in the comments below.