Flames sign forward Dryden Hunt to two-year, two-way contract extension

The Calgary Flames have agreed to terms on a new two-year, two-way contract extension with pending unrestricted free agent forward Dryden Hunt, the club announced Friday afternoon.

Hunt, 29, collected three assists in five NHL games with the Flames in the 2024-25 regular season. He spent most of the year with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, racking up 16 goals and 49 points in 49 games.

Per the club’s release, Hunt’s new contract with the Flames carries an $825,000 cap hit at the NHL level. The Cranbrook, BC product will be eligible to become a UFA again in 2027, when he’ll be 31 years old.

Hunt, who also lives in Calgary during the summer, will enter his third full season in the Flames organization in 2025-26 and his fourth overall after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Radim Zohorna in December 2022.

A quintessential journeyman in every sense, Hunt has now played for 10 different pro teams (six in the NHL, three in the AHL, and one in the ECHL) since turning pro in the Florida Panthers organization back in 2016. Through 235 career NHL games, the 6’0″ left wing has collected 18 goals and 54 points to go along with 121 penalty minutes.

Hunt set career highs in games played (76), goals (6), assists (11), and points (17) with the New York Rangers in 2021-22 and also skated in three of his five career playoff contests. He has also played with the Panthers, Maple Leafs, Arizona Coyotes, and Colorado Avalanche.

With Hunt now under contract for the next two seasons, the Flames still have a handful of free agents remaining to deal with this summer. While it doesn’t look like Anthony Mantha or Tyson Barrie will be back in 2025-26, the Flames could still retain the services of UFAs Justin Kirkland, Kevin Rooney, Joel Hanley, or Dan Vladar, and they’re expected to bring back RFAs Kevin Bahl, Morgan Frost, and Connor Zary, among others.