Flames Quick Hits: Benning, Livingstone & the Road to NHL Minutes
The Calgary Flames continue to make small but purposeful additions around the margins of their roster, and these moves tell you more about the organization’s current stage than any headline signing ever could. This is a team still sorting through depth roles, evaluating internal competition, and giving players on the bubble a chance to push their way into the conversation. Michael Benning and Jake Livingstone both fit that theme. They arrive on different paths but are chasing the same thing: a chance to earn an NHL roster spot.
Quick Hit #1: Michael Benning Gets a Chance to Push for More in Calgary.
The Flames added Michael Benning on a one-year, two-way deal, and it feels like the kind of move that opens a door rather than guarantees anything. At 24, Benning is still in that in-between stage where he’s not quite an NHL regular but no longer just a developmental project. This is a chance to prove he can stick.
Last season in Florida, he played only 18 NHL games but showed flashes of offensive touch, with two goals and four assists. For Calgary, the chance is there if he can string together a strong training camp. Nothing is being handed to him, but the path to more NHL minutes is clearer than it was a year ago.
Related: The Flames’ Biggest Case of “What Might Have Been"
Quick Hit #2: Jake Livingstone Gets Another Shot in a New System.
The Flames also added Jake Livingstone on a one-year, two-way contract, giving him yet another stop in what has already been a fairly winding development path. At this stage, it’s less about expectations and more about opportunity. He, too, gets another chance to reset in a different organization and see if a new environment unlocks anything more.
Livingstone spent last season in the AHL with Charlotte, putting up 17 points in 52 games. He hasn’t seen NHL action since his time in Nashville back in 2022-23. With Calgary’s defensive pipeline still fairly crowded, the path to meaningful NHL minutes looks narrow. For now, this is a depth move, and keeps him in the professional mix—one strong camp away from changing the conversation.
What This Means for the Flames.
Taken together, these are not moves that move the needle much. But they do reinforce what Calgary is clearly prioritizing right now: competition at the margins. The Flames are not just filling out an AHL roster or NHL depth chart—they’re creating pressure points where younger or fringe players have to earn every inch of opportunity.
It’s a quiet kind of roster building, but it matters. When you have multiple players like Benning and Livingstone fighting for limited NHL looks, it raises the internal standard without requiring big external swings. For Calgary, the hope is that a few of these “depth bets” will eventually become more permanent solutions.