Calgary Flames put two players on waivers and could lose Connor Zary for nothing
The Calgary Flames’ dreadful start to the 2026-27 season has resulted in some major changes to the roster.
After sitting out the second game of the season as a healthy scratch against the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames announced Monday morning that Connor Zary has been placed on waivers. All 31 other NHL clubs will now have 24 hours to place a claim on him.
Zary’s future with the Flames organization has looked bleak for some time. There had been reports that GM Craig Conroy was shopping him this offseason while looking for a second-round pick in return. Ultimately, a deal never came to fruition.
The Flames selected Zary 24th overall in the 2020 draft, and for some time he looked to be a big part of the future. He impressed as a rookie back in 2023-24, registering 14 goals and 34 points in 63 outings.
After that strong rookie season, things started to go south.
Zary suffered a pair of serious knee injuries during the 2024-25 campaign that limited him to just 54 games. He hasn’t looked like the same player since, finishing the 2025-26 season with only 12 goals and 25 points.
Not helping matters is that Zary never seemed to find a comfortable spot in the lineup under head coach Ryan Huska. He was juggled throughout lines constantly in 2025-26, while showing very few signs of the player he was in his rookie season.
Any team looking to claim Zary would be responsible for his entire $3.775-million cap hit, which remains in place until the end of the 2027-28 season.
While not as big of news, the Flames also announced that Brayden Pachal has been placed on waivers. The depth defenceman logged just 39 games last season and has yet to get into the lineup in 2026-27.
Pachal, 27, is in the second year of a two-year contract that carries a $1.187-million cap hit.
While Pachal’s chances of getting claimed are slim, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team with some cap space take a chance on Zary in hopes of getting his once promising career back on track.
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