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Calgary Flames could lose Kirkland for nothing in latest move

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Nov 12 2025, 7:53 pm
Calgary Flames could lose Kirkland for nothing in latest move
David Kirouac/Imagn Images

The Calgary Flames are dead last in the NHL and are making moves to shake up the roster a little bit.

While last season was a fun one for forward Justin Kirkland, becoming a bit of a fan-favourite and earning the nickname “Costco,”Ā it appears his time in Calgary could be coming to an end.

Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reported on social media on Wednesday that the Flames have placed the 29-year-old on waivers. This opens up the possibility that he could be claimed by any of the other 31 NHL teams.

Kirkland has struggled to be an NHL regular over the course of his career, appearing in just 21 games last season due to injury, and nine this year. Throughout that span, he has mustered just two goals and nine points.

Calgary opted to bring Kirkland back for another season over the summer, signing him to a cheap one-year deal.

The Winnipeg native was struggling to crack a Flames lineup that currently has a brutal 4-12-2 record, signalling that he may not be the depth NHL forward that Calgary had hoped he would become. If he clears, Kirkland will be sent down to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.

His defining moment with the Flames came last season, as he scored a game-winning shootout goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Kirkland also notched his first-ever NHL goal last season in a game against the arch-rival Edmonton Oilers, which is never a bad thing for a Flames player. However, that would be just his first of two goals that he scored in a Calgary uniform.

This is the third time in his career that he has been placed on waivers, having gone through it with both the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes. Kirkland cleared on both of those previous occasions; we’ll have to wait and see if he can do it a third time with the Flames.

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