Flames sign veterans Mantha, Bean to help stabilize team during rebuild

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Calgary Flames:

2023-24 season: 38-39-5, fifth in Pacific Division; did not qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Anthony Mantha, F: The 29-year-old signed a one-year contract on July 1, and is expected to be featured amongst Calgary's top-six forwards. Mantha, who has scored 20 or more goals in three of his nine NHL seasons, had 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in 74 games with the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights last season. ... Jake Bean, D: The 26-year-old, who was the No. 13 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft after playing junior with Calgary in the Western Hockey League, signed a two-year contract on July 1 and could play in a top-four role on the Flames defense after spending the past three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bean had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 72 games in 2023-24. ... Kevin Bahl, D: The 24-year-old was acquired from the New Jersey Devils on June 19 in a trade that dealt away goalie Jacob Markstrom. Bahl had 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) and averaged 17:23 of ice time in 82 games with the Devils last season and could feature in top-four duty on the blue line. ... Ryan Lomberg, F: The 29-year-old, who started his NHL career with Calgary in 2017-18 and spent five seasons in total in the organization, returns to the Flames on a two-year deal having won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in June. He had seven points (five goals, two assists) in 75 regular-season games and drew into eight playoff games. He can provide energy in a fourth-line role.

Key departures

Jacob Markstrom, G: Markstrom, who was traded to the Devils, was 23-23-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 48 games as Calgary's No. 1 last season. ... Andrew Mangiapane, F: Mangiapane, who spent seven seasons with the Flames after being selected in the sixth round (No. 166) in the 2015 NHL Draft, was traded to the Washington Capitals on June 27 for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He had 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 75 games with Calgary in 2023-24, after scoring an NHL career-high 35 goals two seasons prior. ... A.J. Greer, F: Greer signed a two-year contract with Florida on July 1. The 27-year-old had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 59 games in his one season with Calgary.

On the cusp

Dustin Wolf, G: The 23-year-old, a two-time Baz Bastien Memorial Award winner as American Hockey League goaltender of the year, had 15 starts (17 games) with the Flames last season. He had a 3.16 goals-against average and .893 save percentage and is expected to graduate to full-time NHL duty to form a tandem alongside Dan Vladar. ... Matt Coronato, F: The 21-year-old winger, a first-year pro in 2023-24, could join the Flames full-time after scoring nine points (three goals, six assists) in 34 games. He also had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games as a rookie in the AHL. ... Jakob Pelletier, F: The 23-year-old was limited to 31 games last season between the NHL and AHL because of shoulder injuries but could be primed to make the jump after scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in 24 games with the Flames in 2022-23. He had three points (one goal, two assists) in 13 games in the NHL last season.

What they still need

The Flames are in a full-on retool after trading forward Elias Lindholm and defensemen Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov during the 2023-24 season, and Markstrom this offseason, but could add another veteran defenseman to help bolster competition on the blue line and give prospects Jeremie Poirier, Ilya Solovyov, Yan Kuznetsov, and Hunter Brzustewicz more time to develop in the minors.

They said it

"You want to bring in players that can help your club right now but also not block (young) players in the future. Who knows when guys are going to be ready? We don't want to just rush them in to rush them in. We want them to be ready. I think we want to be patient with our young guys, but we also want to give them opportunity at some point." -- general manager Craig Conroy

Fantasy focus 

Forward Andrei Kuzmenko put up impressive numbers in his first NHL season in 2022-23 with the Vancouver Canucks with 74 points (39 goals, 35 assists) in 81 games. He started off slow last season with the Canucks with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 43 games but had a resurgence after being acquired by the Flames. He finished his season in Calgary with 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists) in 29 games. Playing a full season with the Flames this year could set up Kuzmenko to have a fantasy bounce-back season, especially benefiting off top power-play placement. He could be a fantasy draft steal on a Flames team that lacked scoring last season, as they finished the year tied for 18th in the League in goals per game (3.09). -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Martin Pospisil -- Nazem Kadri -- Andrei Kuzmenko

Yegor Sharangovich -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Connor Zary -- Anthony Mantha

Jakob Pelletier -- Kevin Rooney -- Ryan Lomberg

Jake Bean -- Rasmus Andersson

Kevin Bahl -- MacKenzie Weegar

Joel Hanley -- Daniil Miromanov

Dustin Wolf

Dan Vladar