The Calgary Flames have had their fair share of fan favourites over the years, and in 2025/26, many young names like Zayne Parekh, Dustin Wolf and Matvei Gridin emerged as players that could fill the void moving forward.
However, there was a clear fan favourite on most nights in Calgary, and that's veteran Ryan Lomberg, who was in his second stint with the Flames after he was initially picked up by the team for his MLB debut back in 2017/18. Following the Florida Panthers Stanley Cup win in 2023, Lomberg signed a two-year deal to return to the Flames, with the team looking to land him as a culture setting, physical presence in the lineup.
Over the past two years, that's exactly what he was, and while he had just 7 goals and 21 points across 137 games played, he knew what his role was, and that often led to him dropping the gloves, with 116 penalty minutes in those two seasons.
According to Sportsnet's Pat Steinberg however, it appears as though Lomberg will indeed be departing in free agency, and while it's not a big surprise, it will be a significant loss for the Flames and the city of Calgary.
A bit of news in that Ryan Lomberg is likely to test free agency per Pat Steinberg #Flames
— Gurpal Singh (@singh_g77) June 12, 2026
At 31-years-old, this move makes perfect sense for Lomberg, as he could be a culture setter that hangs around, but with the Flames several years away from even competing, he deserves to pursue an opportunity with a post-season contender. It's unclear as of right now which teams have interest in Lomberg, but given the type of player he is, a contending team could look to add him on a cheap deal to play a significant role on the fourth line.
As for the Flames, it may be upsetting, but the bottom-six was already getting clogged, and with Adam Klapka, Martin Pospisil, Rory Kerins, Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Strome, Tyson Gross and Connor Zary among others fighting it out for a role, this may be a blessing in disguise.
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