Calgary Flames sign Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin, and Étienne Morin to ELCs
The Calgary Flames have signed a trio of top prospects to entry-level contracts, the club announced Friday afternoon.
During the second day of their prospect development camp at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, the Flames agreed to terms on three-year, entry-level contracts with 2024 first-round picks Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin, as well as 2023 second-round pick Étienne Morin.
According to Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, Parekh and Gridin both signed contracts carrying an NHL AAV of $975,000, while Morin’s deal is worth $903,400 per season in the NHL.
SIGNED ✍️
The #Flames have signed Zayne Parekh to an entry-level contract!
The Flames selected Parekh with their own first-round pick (No. 9 overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old led all OHL defensemen with 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games with the Saginaw Spirit during the 2023-24 regular season.
Gridin, 18, joined the Flames by way of the No. 28 overall pick (originally Vancouver’s). The Kurgan, Russia product had originally committed to the University of Michigan during his tenure with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks but is now going the major junior route after being selected first overall in the CHL Import Draft.
Morin, 19, collected 12 goals and 49 points in 58 games with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in the 2023-24 season. The Flames selected Morin in the second round (No. 48 overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft after he collected 89 points in 79 games over the 2022-23 regular season and playoffs combined.
The Flames have now signed two of the six players they drafted in 2023, with Morin joining Sam Honzek in that group; the other four — Aydar Suniev, Jaden Lipinski, Yegor Yegorov, and Axel Hurtig — are all currently attending the Flames’ development camp.
Parekh and Gridin were the first two players the Flames selected in the 2024 draft. The Flames proceeded to add eight more prospects to their system in rounds two through seven: Andrew Basha, Jacob Battaglia, Henry Mews, Kirill Zarubin, Trevor Hoskin, Luke Misa, Hunter Laing, and Eric Jamieson.
After finishing 24th in the National Hockey League in the 2023-24 season, the Flames have continued the teardown they begun in earnest when they traded Tyler Toffoli one year ago. The Flames have already traded Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane this summer, making it seven major roster players who have left Calgary over the last 12 months.