NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames, and the Utah Hockey Club

Calgary Flames pending UFA Dan Vladar

NHL.com: Calgary Flames pending UFA goaltender Dan Vladar.

“I would love to be back,” Vladar said. “I said it from the get-go. I appreciate what the organization gave me four years ago, coming here as basically a nobody, a guy with a couple games in the NHL. The Flames gave me an opportunity to become a regular NHL player. If it’s my last day or not, I don’t know. It’s always going to be a special place for me.”

Still months till Utah makes their name official

Cole Bagley: Utah Hockey Club president Chris Armstrong on their future name.

“We’re definitely in the home stretch and on track to announce that in the coming months here.”

“Not much more I can say about it today.”

The Utah Hockey Club will be looking to upgrade up front this offseason

Craig Morgan of NHL.com: The Utah Hockey Club has stacked their system with prospects and revamped their blue line last offseason. They improved from 77 points to 89 points this past season and will raise expectations for next year.

This offseason, Utah will look to improve its forward group. They could use a scoring winger and maybe a center.

“Finishing was a weakness of ours all year,” GM Bill Armstrong said. “We dominated at times. We were around it, but we had a hard time finishing on it, and it cost us a few games. It’s something we have to look at and see if we can improve, and see what’s out there to help us improve.”

There are some pending UFA winger that might be available, but with the rising cap, there is a likelihood that they could be re-signed by their respective teams. They might have to look at trades. They do like their centers, but Armstrong admits you can always use centers.

“I don’t know if we can add something in the summer. You have to look and see what teams are thinking. That will be really interesting to see what’s available.”

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