When the Calgary Flames threw Connor Zary on waivers last week, it caught the attention of fans and media, as it related to the Vancouver Canucks.
Would the Canucks, who have first waiver priority, claim the former first-round draft pick?
Instead, the 25-year-old winger sailed through unclaimed and was sent to the AHL. This is despite the Saskatoon native putting up decent numbers at the NHL level, with 87 points (39-48-87) in 193 games.
It seems Zary’s contract kept teams from claiming him, as he’s in the second year of a three-year contract that carries a $3.775-million cap hit.
Because the Canucks apparently still have interest in him.
“I do think Vancouver is one of the teams that has looked at Zary,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday night’s NHL broadcast. “I think there’s a few more, obviously, but I’ve heard the Canucks are one of the teams that are considering it, and it makes sense.”
CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal confirmed the Canucks’ interest in Zary on Donnie and Dhali on Tuesday.
“I was told today the Canucks have had interest in this player, Zary, dating back to the summer,” Dhaliwal said. “Someone told me today that Abbotsford GM Richard Seeley made the trip to Calgary to see Zary over the weekend in the American Hockey League.”
Do the #Canucks have any interest in Connor Zary? @DhaliwalSports shared what he is hearing about the #Flames Centre in our opening segment.https://t.co/GAYm4jT6bu pic.twitter.com/1dAlc7n0qZ
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) October 13, 2026
Zary has a goal and nine shots on net in his first two games with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
It remains to be seen how motivated the Flames are to trade Zary. Friedman has reported that Calgary doesn’t want to retain money, given they have just one retention spot remaining.
“It’s probably going to take something creative,” Friedman said.
Would the Flames be willing to attach a draft pick to offload his salary? That might be a tough sell for a team at the bottom of the NHL standings that is rebuilding, just as the Canucks are.
So how do they get creative?
Perhaps the Flames would be willing to part with a third- or fourth-round pick if the Canucks threw in a young player going the other way, like Aatu Räty?
Räty doesn’t appear to be a favourite of Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, despite the team having poor centre depth. And if he’s having trouble getting into the lineup now, that doesn’t bode well for the 23-year-old’s future in the organization.
We’ll see what happens with both Zary and Räty, but it does seem like they could each use a change of scenery.
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