CALGARY — The Calgary Flames were among the quieter teams to start NHL free agency Tuesday, but general manager Craig Conroy acquired a goalie to replace the departed Dan Vladar and extended defenceman Joel Hanley's contract.
The Flames signed Russian netminder Ivan Prosvetov to a one-year, one-way contract worth US$950,000.
The GM wanted to beef up that position behind Dustin Wolf, who won the starter's job as a rookie this past season. His backup Vladar signed a two-year, $6.7-million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
"We do think we need to have that depth with losing Dan today," Conroy said at Scotiabank Saddledome before the club announced Prosvetov's deal.
Prosvetov, 26, spent the 2024-25 season with CSKA Moscow of the KHL where he posted a 2.32 goals-against average, a .920 save-percentage along with four shutouts and a 20-16-2 record. He was the league's goalie of the month in November after posting five wins along with three shutouts.
He recorded a .918 save-percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average in five playoff games for Moscow. Prosvetov was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2018, and played two dozen NHL games with Arizona and the Colorado Avalanche between 2021-2024.
Calgary and Hanley agreed to a two-year, $3.5-million extension. The Flames also signed 25-year-old defenceman Nick Cicek to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.
The Flames had already connected on a big post-season swing by signing 25-year-old defenceman Kevin Bahl to a six-year, $32.1-million extension Saturday.
Calgary certainly has the cap room at almost $20 million, according to Puckpedia.com, if the Flames feel spendy again.
Hanley of Keswick, Ont., played a career-high 53 games for Calgary last season. The 34-year-old contributed two goals and seven assists and was a career-best plus-12 while averaging 18 and a half minutes of ice time per game.
"We have a lot of depth at forward. On defence, there's good young players, but not maybe as much," Conroy said. "We needed some more depth back there.
"To have Joel, to know what he can do with MacKenzie Weegar, he can play all up and down that lineup. The way he is in the room and the kind of person he is, it just made perfect sense to us."
Calgary claimed the five-foot-11, 186-pound Hanley off waivers March 5, 2024. The left-handed shot has five goals and 33 assists in 246 career NHL games with Calgary, Dallas, Arizona and Montreal.
Conroy, entering his third season as Calgary's GM, indicated he looked at other potential additions Tuesday, but deals didn't materialize.
"There's people we targeted, and once those guys were gone, we've always said we have a plan, we have to stick to it, and we can't deviate just because other teams are signing players," Conroy said.
"There were some players that we liked and thought 'these would be good fits.' It's a puzzle and you don't want to just put a different piece in the wrong spot. You want to make sure it fits."
Conroy hinted he was in the market for under-26 players to complement other Flames in that range — Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka and Martin Pospisil.
Veteran Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson with a year remaining on his contract was pulled into the trade-rumour mill heading into free agency.
The 28-year-old Swede, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Flames, completes a six-year, $27-million contract in 2025-26.
Andersson has a modified no-trade clause, according to Puckpedia.com, which means he can choose his destinations in the event of a trade. But Conroy didn't sound like a man actively shopping Andersson on Tuesday.
"Right now, he's totally fine with playing for the Calgary Flames. That was the last conversation, and he's always said that he's a Calgary Flame," Conroy said. "When he comes back in September, he'll say the same thing to you guys.
"I'm not stressed or feel pressure about it and we actually need Rasmus to be here and be a good player for us."
Vladar spent the past four seasons and started 95 games in Calgary. The 27-year-old Czech started a career-high 29 games this past season behind Wolf.
Vladar went 12-11-6 with a goals-against average of 2.80 and a save percentage of .898 in 2024-25.
Calgary's No. 3 Devin Cooley went 21-17-5 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage for the AHL's Wranglers.
Winnipeg's Cicek had three goals, 14 assists and 79 penalty minutes in 50 games for Germany's Mannheim Eagles. The six-foot-three, 200-pound defenceman also had a goal and an assist in 10 playoff games.
He played major junior hockey for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks and has appeared in 16 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
