When the Calgary Flames waived Connor Zary on Monday along with two other NHL players, the league anticipated that at least one of them would be claimed.
It didn’t occur.
On Tuesday, all three athletes who were placed on waivers passed without being picked. Matthew Robertson of the New York Rangers, Brayden Pachal of Calgary, and Zary all went through unclaimed, allowing them to be assigned to their AHL affiliates.
Columbus Blue Jackets winger Mikael Pyyhtia and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jansen Harkins were both put on waivers in separate transactions.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Zary was not claimed. At the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the 25-year-old forward was chosen by the Flames as the 24th overall pick in the first round. He has played in 193 NHL games in his career, all with Calgary, scoring 39 goals and 48 assists for 87 points over parts of three seasons on the big club’s roster.
How teams across the league perceive his trajectory is questioned when a player of that caliber and output goes completely unclaimed. Additionally, it indicates that the Flames will continue to have complete authority over his rights, which may have been the result Calgary was hoping for all along. Nonetheless, opposing clubs appear unwilling to sign him to a contract that expires at the conclusion of the 2027–28 campaign and has a $3.775 million cap hit. On July 1, 2028, he will be an RFA.
The former first-round selection, who had a lot of promise, is really unlucky in this regard. Especially Pyyhtia, who began the Jackets’ season on the injured reserve list, the same might be said of both players on the wire today.
NHL front offices always take a calculated risk when it comes to the waiver wire. Waiving a former first-round pick like Zary posed a genuine threat, but it seems the Flames handled it without losing an asset.
We will have to see what’s next for these three players. How their various teams manage their rosters going into the regular season and how training camp plays out will determine whether they stay in the AHL for longer periods of time or get callbacks later in the year.
