CALGARY — Ryan Lomberg, shirtless and beer-soaked, did everything he could to take in the celebrations with the Florida Panthers and their fans on a stormy Sunday afternoon.
He crowd-surfed among the masses. He drank beer out of a mini Stanley Cup. He walked around with a championship belt and poured beer over a television reporter. Lomberg wanted to savour every moment of winning the sport’s ultimate prize, which occurred one week earlier at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers. He did his part to avoid the inevitable, even ducking his agent for days after the Cup Final win so he could celebrate without worry.
Crowd surfing at the parade 😭
Name a more Ryan Lomberg activity pic.twitter.com/sBRFYvDv1c
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 30, 2024
“It’s been weird for sure,” Lomberg said. “A roller coaster of emotions, I would say. Definitely way more ups than downs. Obviously bittersweet having to leave this group and this city and this organization. They’ve done so much for me. When I first signed here, it was my first real shot at being an NHLer and a steady NHLer. Winning with this group and the bond that comes with that, it’s special. Because now this group that from the looks of it is going to be pretty broken up, we’re going to live on together for the rest of time because we have that moment together.”
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Lomberg knew there was a “pretty big” possibility he’d be in a different uniform next season. But at least his new jersey is familiar to him. He spent the first 11 games of his NHL career with the Flames before joining Florida ahead of the 2020-21 season and was among a handful of signings Calgary made during the opening day of the free-agency period.
None of them, however, will move the needle beyond this city. The Flames weren’t expected to do that anyway, leaving teams like Nashville, New Jersey and Seattle to splash the cash.
It’s the correct strategy for the team’s rebuild.
“We’re trying to stay competitive every night,” GM Craig Conroy said. “We want to bring in young guys that get an opportunity to not just come to the NHL and get beat, but compete and win. That’s all part of it. That’s what happened this year and you’re probably going to see more of that next year. In who knows when, hopefully sooner than later, we’ll be a team that you look (at) in free agency and say ‘Well, the Calgary Flames.’ When the time is right though. And right now, it just wasn’t that time.”
The longest deal Conroy signed on Monday was a five-year extension for Yegor Sharangovich with a $5.75 million AAV. The team’s leading goal scorer is now signed through 2030. Outside of that, there was Lomberg’s two-year, $4 million deal. Anthony Mantha signed a one-year, prove-it deal with a $3.5 million AAV. Defenceman Jake Bean signed a two-year deal with a $1.75 million AAV, coming to the organization after his father, John, retired from his post as president and CEO. Goaltender Devin Cooley joined on a two-year deal that will mainly provide AHL reinforcements and some competition to goaltenders Dan Vladar and Dustin Wolf. Finally, Martin Frk joined on a one-year, two-way deal.
It’s the ideal strategy for a team that wants to give as many opportunities to its young players while still being able to surround them with capable veterans. He still has tons of cap flexibility to play with, holding almost $21 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly. If the veterans pan out, they can become tradeable assets down the road or could always remain on digestible contracts. More importantly, the Flames won’t be in cap trouble in future seasons.
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“If you lock into a long-term deal and there isn’t chemistry or it’s not a fit here in Calgary, then you’re just kind of in a tough spot,” Conroy said.
Bean is an example of a younger player who could benefit from an enhanced opportunity and getting to play in his hometown. His admiration for the 2004 Flames team that went all the way to the Cup Final was obvious. But he still holds a soft spot for them as a player, enjoying the Flames’ 2022 opening-round Game 7 overtime win over the Dallas Stars.
Bean wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer from the Columbus Blue Jackets after scoring 13 points in 72 games. However, he feels his upside is still there.
“I feel like my game’s in the best spot that it’s ever been,” Bean said. “I feel like I’ve grown every year so far in the NHL. It feels like, really, the right time for me to come to a spot where I feel I can really make an impact.”
Bean’s signing could also spell the end of Oliver Kylington’s time with the Flames. According to Conroy, the contract length seems to be the sticking point between both sides.
“We went to him with what we thought was a great deal. They came back with what they were looking for,” Conroy said. “At that point, you just have to make a decision. I wish Oliver all the best. I never want to say it’s completely closed but probably more so right now.
For a player like Mantha, there’s an opportunity for him to achieve some success in a top-six role. The expectation is that he’ll generate some chemistry with Jonathan Huberdeau, who he’s skated with in the past during his downtime, and be a power-play option. Both he and Lomberg still expect the team to be competitive.
“I know, a lot of people say they’re in the rebuild stage, or they’re kind of shifting a lot of pieces around the team,” Mantha told The Athletic. “But for me, it’s a great opportunity to just go in there and play some good hockey. From there, you never know what could happen as a team. We could legit be great for the first half of the year and you kind of need to play even better to keep pushing for that playoff spot. There’s a lot of young players and they could learn a lot.”
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“I look around that locker room and I don’t see why we’ve we aren’t considered a competitive team right away,” Lomberg said. “Top to bottom, (there’s) some extremely high-class, high-tier players. I’m excited to get in that locker room and bring what I bring. Be energetic, be positive, be relentless, be physical and be somebody who gives his all for his teammates every day of the week. Never back down and never stop fighting.”
Despite the optimism from the new signings, the Flames will need all the time they can get before they can truly be competitive again. For Flames fans who were hopeful about the 2021-22 roster, those days are falling further into the past. The good news for Conroy is that he won’t have to gut the team as much as he did the last 12 months. Not that there won’t be subtractions and cases to follow — Andrei Kuzmenko, for example, will enter training camp without a new contract — but there will be more priority on additions going forward.
Conroy remains in the market for a young player between the ages of 18 and 23 who can help the roster and won’t be afraid to use draft capital to land a player who the Flames can keep long-term. That should be his next order of business this summer.
“Last year, we had all the UFAs. There were so many UFAs,” Conroy said. “We’re not in that situation anymore. We are trying to build and add pieces. And even the guys we’ve signed today. If everything goes the way (it should) and it’s a good fit and they like it here, and it’s a good fit for them, we could do more contracts. We extend. We have cap room. If there’s a trade we’re going to be flexible to be able to do anything. We have draft capital and we have some players. I don’t have a crystal ball but there’s opportunity to make moves going forward for sure. We have flexibility.”
(Top photo of Anthony Mantha: Zak Krill / NHLI via Getty Images)
Julian McKenzie is a staff writer for The Athletic's NHL vertical and is based in Calgary. He also hosts The Chris Johnston Show with The Athletic's Chris Johnston. Julian's work can also be found in the New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, CTV Montreal, The Canadian Press, TSN 690, the Montreal Gazette, The Sporting News and in other publications. Follow Julian on Twitter @jkamckenzie
