Back in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames made some big splashes, and with early returns on Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin looking promising, it could turn out to be a major event for the future of the organization.
On top of that pair, the Flames also drafted Andrew Basha, Kirill Zarubin and Henry Mews among others, with the organization optimistic that we may see plenty of NHL games between that trio. In the sixth-round, they also landed intriguing centre Hunter Laing, who was coming off a 25 point season with the Saskatoon Blades at the time of being drafted.
While the production wasn't overly promising, given his size (6-foot-6, 206 pounds), it was easy to see why Craig Conroy wanted to take a shot on him with the No. 170 overall draft pick. However they never signed Laing to an Entry Level Contract, and now, at 20-years-of age, he's set to re-enter the NHL Draft after it was confirmed on Monday that the Flames will not be signing him ahead of the deadline to do so, per Sportsnet's Pat Steinberg.
#Flames will not be signing 2024 sixth-round pick Hunter Laing.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) June 1, 2026
As June 1 is the signing deadline, Laing’s rights expire and he’s now eligible to enter the 2026 NHL Draft.
In two years since the draft, Laing's production has taken a major step forward, as he posted 49 goals and 103 points between Saskatoon and Prince George since 2024/25, but clearly, the team don't see him as a valuable enough asset moving forward to sign him to a deal. Sure, there could be more to the story, but given his size and his relatively solid production over the past two seasons, this is certainly a surprise move, as the Flames could have had a very solid future NHLer on their hands in Laing.
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