With one deal done, what's next for Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy to do?
Article content
The unrestricted free agents
On locker clean-out day at the Saddledome, Dan Vladar revealed that he's been talking contract with the Flames for months already, reiterating his desire to stick around as Wolf's backup. Will he put pen to paper soon, or will the 27-year-old Vladar be tempted to find out what sort of opportunity and loot he may be offered in unrestricted free agency? With Frederik Andersen staying for another season in Carolina, the goalie market is thin. Justin Kirkland and Joel Hanley have also expressed that they'd love to re-sign with the Flames. Kirkland, who was one of the NHL's feel-good fall stories before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury, should appeal as a guy who can provide some versatility in a bottom-six forward role and can snipe in the shootout. Hanley was an unsung hero on the blue-line but he is also 33, so Conroy may be better off shopping for a permanent partner for MacKenzie Weegar.
Decision due on draft pick
It's no secret the Flames are desperate for right-shot centres, but are they second-guessing Jaden Lipinski's potential as a pro? Perhaps they feel his progress has stalled since he was selected in the fourth round in 2023? Conroy & Co. have a few more weeks to determine if they will offer an entry-level contract to Lipinski or instead wish him all the best. If he isn't signed by June 1, he would re-enter the draft. Lipinski, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, scored 17 goals and totalled 58 points in 59 outings as an overager this season with the Vancouver Giants. He was also one of the WHL's best faceoff men, winning 58.2 percent of his draws. But can he push his pace enough to be a future factor for the Wranglers and, eventually, the Flames?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
NHL, NHLPA in ‘really good shape' on talks for new CBA: Bettman
EDMONTON - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league and its union are in 'really good shape' with negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Speaking ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final rematch between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, he added that this round of talks with NHL Players' Association executive director Marty Walsh are 'no comparison' to past CBA discussions.
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Draisaitl nets OT winner, Oilers top Panthers 4-3 to take Game 1 of Stanley Cup final
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Florida Panthers in the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Leon Draisaitl capped a two-goal effort with the overtime winner to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday. Connor McDavid picked up his second assist of the game chipping a pass in front to Draisaitl who scored a power-play goal with just 31 seconds remaining in extra time. Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Oilers, who lost the first three games of last year's Cup final against Florida before storming back to force Game 7, where they suffered a narrow 2-1 loss. Stuart Skinner made 29 stops in net for the win. Sam Bennett had a pair of goals and Brad Marchand also scored for the Panthers, who are playing in their third consecutive Stanley Cup final. Sergei Bobrovsky made 42 saves in the loss. Edmonton got off to a tremendous start with a goal just 66 seconds into the opening period. A big rebound from a Kasperi Kapanen shot came out to Draisaitl and he sent his eighth of the playoffs into a wide-open net. It was the fastest goal to start a Cup final in nearly 50 years. Draisaitl didn't score once in last year's final. Florida tied the game at 10:49 of the first period as a Carter Verhaeghe shot ticked off of a sprawling Bennett and past Skinner. The Oilers unsuccessfully challenged the goal, saying Bennett interfered with their goalie on the play, but a quick review went in Florida's favour. It proved costly, as the Panthers struck again just over a minute later on the ensuing power play, with Nate Schmidt making a nice feed to the side of the net to Marchand, who potted his fifth. Florida took a two-goal lead just two minutes into the second period as Schmidt made a nice feed to give Bennett a free lane to the net and he beat Skinner stick-side for his 12th of the playoffs. Bennett set a new franchise record for post-season goals and tying an NHL record for road goals in a playoffs with 11. Edmonton responded just 1:17 later as Arvidsson sent a shot through traffic that ticked off Bobrovsky and in for his second. The Oilers tied the game up with 13:27 to play in the third period as McDavid sent it back to a pinching Ekholm who scored his first. Ekholm was playing in just his second game of the post-season after missing two months with injury, becoming the 20th Oiler with a goal in these playoffs. Edmonton outshot Florida 14-2 in the third period. It was the 19th Game 1 to go to overtime in Stanley Cup final history, with 14 of the 18 winners of those OT contests going on to win the series. NOTES It is just the second Cup final rematch in the past 40 years since Edmonton played the New York Islanders in 1983 and 1984, and first since Detroit and Pittsburgh played each other in 2008 and 2009. The team that lost the first half of the two previous rematches came back to win in the second meeting… Clubs that win Game 1 have gone on to win the Cup 76.5 per cent of the time (65-20), including all of the past four years. UP NEXT Game 2 takes place on Friday in Edmonton. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025. Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
McDavid: Oilers' goalie Skinner ‘gave us a chance to win' Game 1 over Panthers
Florida Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen, left, is stopped by Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner during the first period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in Edmonton, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Connor McDavid went straight to the point in summing up Stuart Skinner's performance in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. 'Great again,' the star captain of the Edmonton Oilers said after his team's 4-3 overtime win over the Florida Panthers to win the series-opening game. Call it nine games of greatness now, ever since Skinner returned to the net after Calvin Pickard was lost to injury two games into the Oilers' second-round playoff series with the Vegas Golden Knights. Pickard had replaced Skinner in the Oilers' net after the team's first two games of the playoffs, both high-scoring losses to the Los Angeles Kings. '(Skinner) gave us a chance to win,' McDavid told reporters of the starting goalie's performance Wednesday night before a loud Rogers Place crowd. 'That's all you ask of your goalie. He made some big saves there in the second and in overtime.' Oilers vs. Panthers Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov (16) and Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard (2) battle in front as goalie Stuart Skinner (74) makes the save during the third period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup final in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (JASON FRANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS) They were big, all right. On the biggest stage of the hockey world. Against the same team Edmonton played in last year's Stanley Cup final and lost by a goal in the seventh and deciding game. While the Panthers took the lead on a first-period power play gifted to them courtesy a failed coach's challenge by Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch on their previous goal – then went up 3-1 on a clear, point-blank look by forward Sam Bennett on his team's eight shot of the game – Skinner held down the fort the rest of the way. Skinner said in the Oilers' dressing room after the game he simply thought of his performance as his job, which is – and you've heard it before – 'to give my team a chance to win.' 'That's what I've got to do,' Skinner said. 'It doesn't really matter how the last period goes, or how the last goal goes in, or the last great save I made, it's all about kind of what you do from there.' He withheld a barrage of Panthers shots the rest of the second period, turning aside 16 more to help allow the Oilers to claw their way back into the game. 'That's all you ask of your goalie. He made some big saves there in the second and in overtime.' — Connor McDavid 'I knew that they were going to have a push, especially in the second period, because you knew that we out shot them pretty good in the first,' Skinner said in the Oilers' dressing room. And with Edmonton coming on in the third period, turning the tables on Florida with a dominant 20 minutes to outshoot them 14-2 and tie the game with six minutes left in it, it set up one last-ditch effort by the Panthers when extra time began. Stuart Skinner Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner stops Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart (13) during the first overtime period in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in Edmonton, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS) Florida poured on the shots, getting two on net and missing four – including a good chance by Sam Reinhart in close – inside the first minute spent entirely in Edmonton's end. But the Panthers grip on extra time evaporated a couple of minutes later and the Oilers came to life. Halfway through overtime, Edmonton grabbed the momentum, and although Florida managed four more shots, the Oilers won the quality chances battle, with Leon Draisaitl scoring the winner on the power play with 31 seconds left. 'The way that we were able to finish it in a timely manner is massive,' Skinner said. 'You saw that in our faces when we celebrated.'
