CALGARY — The Calgary Flames have placed centre Connor Zary on waivers after opening the 2026-27 regular season with three straight defeats by a combined score of 16-3, with general manager Craig Conroy making the curious call early in the campaign. Zary cleared waivers with no team stepping up to claim him, a outcome linked more to his $3.7 million annual salary than to his ability.
At 25 years old, Zary may have reached his competitive ceiling, but he remains an NHL-level talent who has produced 87 points in 193 regular-season games and recorded an assist in two appearances before being sent down. He is under contract for another full season after this one, while the Flames are still in the early stages of an extensive rebuild, which makes the timing of the move difficult to justify when less than five per cent of the season has been played.
A report from Sportsnet's Eric Francis indicated Zary could possibly be traded rather than kept in the AHL all season now that he has cleared waivers, with any deal likely to hinge on how much of his contract Conroy is willing to retain to fit under a rival's salary cap. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been mentioned as a potential landing spot, where general manager John Chayka has more than enough cap space to fully absorb his contract, though every dollar saved on salary is a dollar he can spend elsewhere and could prompt Toronto to attach another draft pick if Calgary retain a significant portion.
The Seattle Kraken offer a cautionary parallel, having previously waved the white flag on a player in Morgan Geekie, who they allowed to leave for nothing as a free agent before he blossomed with the Boston Bruins. The Kraken could take a chance on Zary to see if he can develop into an important piece of their puzzle, and that is the risk Calgary are running — an unforced error that could see them throw the baby out with the bathwater if a rival unlocks value they have discarded so early.