All three AHL skaters with RFA status tendered offers
More proof the that when it comes to free agents and the Calgary Flames, next summer’s potential excitement is much higher.
The Flames on Friday officially announced they had tendered qualifying offers to three restricted free agents, forwards Ben Jones, Emilio Pettersen and Martin Pospisil (pictured above).
All three spent all of last season with the AHL Calgary Wranglers.
Jones, 24, collected 17 goals and 54 points in 71 games, while Pettersen, 23, netted 19 goals and 44 points in 61 games and Pospisil, 23, notched four goals and 10 points in 20 games.
With the franchise’s push to ice a younger lineup next season, the trio may have more opportunity to earn NHL ice time.
Flames who will become unrestricted free agents on Saturday are forwards Trevor Lewis, Milan Lucic and Nick Ritchie and defensemen Troy Stecher and Michael Stone.
Minor-league forwards Matthew Phillips and Dryden Hunt and defensemen Colton Poolman and Kristians Rubins are also UFAs. Rubins signed a one-year contract with MoDo in Sweden.
The Flames have made overtures to re-sign Phillips, who collected 36 goals and 76 points in 66 games for the Wranglers last season, however he would understandably look elsewhere after having limited big-league opportunities with the Flames —although the regime has completely changed.
Calgary has a plethora of players due to become UFAs next summer, a list that includes forwards Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund and defensemen Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington.
