The Calgary Flames have given up on Connor Zary.
His first-round draft pick status evidently didn’t matter to the Flames any longer, based on the roster move they made on Monday.
Zary has been placed on waivers.
That leaves him there to potentially be claimed by any of the other 31 teams in the NHL.
Yes, if Zary passes through waivers he could end up in the AHL.
But given his draft pedigree, there’s plenty of speculation that that won’t happen.
The Flames have placed former 1st-round pick Connor Zary on waivers š³
Calgary is in desperate search of offence as they’ve only scored 3 goals in 3 games to start the season, while allowing 16 goals against š¬ https://t.co/Sjr0FYMkQq
ā Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 5, 2026
Why Flames Waived Connor Zary
Zary has simply not lived up to the hype he had when he entered the NHL.
The Saskatchewan native was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft after playing his junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers.
The center has struggled to put the pieces together at the highest level, though.
Zary didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2023-24 season. That year, he had 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in 63 games.
Zary regressed in 2024-25 to 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 54 games.
Then in 2025-26, Zary played a career-high games total with 74 but had career-worst totals in goals (12), assists (13), points (25) and plus-minus (negative-9).
Last season, Zary scored on the fewest percentage of shots in his NHL tenure. He also averaged the least ice time of his career.
Zary even blocked the fewest shots in his career despite playing by far the most minutes he had in a season in the NHL. Not that he was ever a big defender, but it pointed to a player who while struggling wasn’t necessarily seeking ways to help win games.
This season, Zary had one assist through two games. He was a minus-2.
It’s hard to read too much into a start for Calgary that has been awful across the board, but the Flames clearly felt they couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
#Flames placed Connor Zary on waivers earlier. He has a $3.775M cap hit and is signed for another season. Calgary dangled him over the summer, too.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) October 5, 2026
https://platform.x.com/widgets.js
Connor Zary Landing Spots
If Zary is going to get claimed off waivers, it would only make sense for it to be a team already clearly in a rebuild that will simply want to see if he still has untapped potential.
The Vancouver Canucks would fit that bill, and he’d remain in Canada on a relatively short move compared to most of the rest of the league.
Maybe a team like the Nashville Predators would also take a shot on a youngster like Zary, who at one time seemed to have a lot of promise.
But if Zary finds himself in another losing situation, it might be tough for him to pull out of his own rut. Sometimes the negative can lead to more negative.
At least for Monday, though, Zary waits in limbo to see what will happen next with his placement on waivers.
Why Flames Are Parting Ways With Connor Zary