Alex Nylander Was Out of NHL Chances. Then the Flames Called

There is something interesting about Alexander Nylander getting a professional tryout from the Calgary Flames. On the surface, it doesn't look like much. A 28-year-old forward who hasn't played an NHL game since 2024-25 is coming to training camp on a PTO. That's hardly the kind of transaction that gets anyone excited in August.

But Nylander is a little different from most players who arrive at camp this way. He is coming off a very good season. Nylander scored 24 goals and 53 points in 65 games with the Toronto Marlies last season, then added seven points in 24 playoff games as Toronto won the Calder Cup. That was the best AHL season of his career. And that creates an interesting question for Calgary.

The Flames aren't betting on what Nylander was. They're betting on what he might still become.

Nylander was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The Buffalo Sabres didn't draft him because they thought he might someday become a useful AHL scorer. They drafted him because they believed he had the skill to become an NHL difference-maker. That never happened.

He has played 126 NHL games with Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Toronto, producing 49 points. His most recent NHL opportunity came with the Maple Leafs, where he played five games in 2024-25 without recording a point.

But here's the thing about hockey careers: sometimes the player you thought was finished isn't finished at all. Nylander has continued to score in the AHL. Last season, he did it at a career-best rate. Now Calgary is giving him another opportunity to prove that some of that offence can survive against NHL competition. That's a pretty sensible gamble for the Flames.

Calgary doesn't have to believe Nylander will become a star.

That's the part I like about this move. The Flames don't have to decide that Nylander is going to become the player Buffalo thought it was drafting. They don't have to give him a big contract or promise him an important role. They can simply bring him to camp and see what happens.

Maybe his speed and skill give Calgary another offensive option. Maybe he can't handle the defensive responsibilities required at the NHL level. Maybe he ends up in the AHL and becomes an important scorer for the Wranglers. All three possibilities are useful information. And perhaps that's the best way to look at this PTO.

Nylander isn't being given another NHL chance because the Flames think they know exactly what he is. They're giving him one because, after a 53-point AHL season and a Calder Cup, they aren't completely sure they know what he can still become. For Calgary, that's a pretty good reason to take a look.