Calgary Flames forward Morgan Frost, centre, celebrates his goal on the Los Angeles Kings with teammates defenceman Zayne Parekh, left and forward Matvei Gridin during NHL action at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Gavin Young/Postmedia

Article content

It’s extremely quiet around the NHL right now, and that’s especially true of the Calgary Flames.

Article content

If you squint and look a month ahead, though, that’s when things should start heating up.

Article content

Article content

Is there anything going on between now and then? Maybe, but maybe not, too. A month’s not that long, though, so let’s take a look ahead at five lingering questions for the dog days of summer.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Article content

Honestly, we should all be expecting an announcement on this by the end of the week.

Article content

The Flames have technically been without a home for their radio broadcasts since Rogers announced it was shutting down Sportsnet 960 last month. There’s been no panic, though, and fans will be able to listen to games on the radio this season.

Article content

QR 770 has always seemed like the most likely landing place and it’s where we’re expecting the Flames to be broadcast going forward. They’re already the Stampeders broadcasting partner, do a nice job with their existing sports programming and Corus stations already broadcast the Elks and Oilers in Edmonton, as well as the Jets and Blue Bombers in Winnipeg.

Article content

Expect some very familiar faces on the air.

Article content

Article content

Article content

We’ll assume that some combination of Kevin Bahl, Simon Nemec, Zayne Parekh and Zach Whitecloud form their top two pairings. Then, you’ve got Yan Kuznetsov, who proved he was an everyday NHLer last year, Jake Middleton, Brayden Pachal, Joel Hanley and Hunter Brzustewicz.

Article content

Article content

That’s nine guys who will be competing for NHL minutes next season, so if Flames GM Craig Conroy wants to get creative and make a late-summer trade, he’s got pieces to play with on the blueline.

Article content

Article content

The team’s got a lot of wingers, too, and after rumours emerged that Connor Zary could be available on the trade market around the NHL Draft in June, it does feel like there are moves Conroy could make up front, too.

Article content

Ultimately, nobody should be expecting a flurry of end-of-August activity, but there remains a possibility that there could be a trade or two before camp kicks off.

Article content

Article content

You could argue the Flames already have too many players, so we really don’t expect Conroy to go out and offer a bunch of professional tryout agreements. It’s never really been his move and with a wave of young talent expected to make the jump to pro hockey after the upcoming NCAA season ends, the Flames GM needs to create roster space.

Article content

It’s the time of the year where people talk about PTOs, though, and when guys like Patrik Laine are available it’s at least worth mentioning.

Article content

Patrik Laine wears a hood over his helmet during Montreal Canadiens outdoor practice earlier this year. John Mahoney/Postmedia Network

Article content

Article content

Morgan Frost is ostensibly the Flames’ No. 1 centre heading into the 2026-27 season and there isn’t anyone who is biting at his heels for more playing time.