Calgary Flames closing in on contract extension with Connor Zary: report
The Calgary Flames are reportedly close to locking down one of their most important young players.
Negotiations between the Flames and forward Connor Zary have taken quite a bit longer than a lot expected, but it finally sounds like the two sides are closing in on an agreement. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported on Tuesday morning that the Flames are closing in on a three-year deal with the 23-year-old.
Zary was an RFA this summer and is coming off his second season in the NHL.
Still work to be done, they're not yet at the finish line, but I'm told the #Flames are getting closer to a deal with RFA Connor Zary. Sounds like it may end up at 3 years.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) September 2, 2025
This would be a dramatic reversal in what has recently been reported on the contract talks. Just last week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that he heard the two sides were struggling to find common ground. This spurred some concern among Flames fans that the former first-round pick may not have a new deal in place for training camp later this month.
It was especially confusing as the Flames seemed to have no trouble extending some of their other RFAs this summer, including Matt Coronato, who signed a seven-year deal back in May.
Two other notable Flames RFAs, Morgan Frost and Adam Klapka, also inked a pair of two-year deals earlier in the summer. This left Zary as the last big RFA left for Flames GM Craig Conroy to sign.
Zary is considered a massive piece for this rebuilding Flames team. He was selected 24th overall back in the 2020 draft and has shown flashes of offensive brilliance, albeit in limited opportunities. He managed to appear in 54 NHL games last season, scoring 13 goals and 27 points. Zary’s rookie season was his best to date, finding the back of the net 14 times and picking up 34 points.
With business starting to pick up around the NHL, Flames fans should be happy to hear that a new deal appears to be on the horizon for Zary.