The Calgary Flames have recent news this morning. Slovakian forward Martin Pospisil has been extended for three more years by the team. The annual average value sits at $2.5 million per year.

This deal will kick in at the start of the 2026–27 season. Pospisil will now be under contract by the Flames until he is 29 years old.

A welcoming surprise

It took some time for Pospisil to make the Flames, but ever since, he has had a good impact on the team. The forward battled with injuries during his time with the Flames’ AHL affiliates, which nearly led to him quitting hockey. Not even a year later, Pospisil’s great start to the 2023–24 season had him up with the Flames by game 11. His call-up was not the one fans were expecting at the time, but Pospisil became a great surprise.

During the remainder of the 2023–24 season, Pospisil solidified himself as a physical and fast piece to the Flames’ bottom-six. He would blaze past opponents for pretty goals or completely lay out a player on the opposing team. Even missing 19 games, he placed just outside the top 10 for hits. Pospisil’s final statline for the season read eight goals, 16 assists, for 24 points in 63 games with 109 penalty minutes. Pospisil developed a reputation for being a rat to some fan bases.

Pospisil’s 2024–25 season looked about the same on the stat sheet as prior. Four goals, 21 assists for 25 points in 81 games. A great start to the season with Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha led the way, but then he couldn’t fully find his footing again. A shooting percentage of 3.5% doesn’t necessarily help either. While he didn’t look as offensively engaged as he had in the past year, Pospisil still affected the game.

He placed inside the top three for hits with 301 and placed in the top ten for fastest burst of speed. Pospisil still stands as one of the faster players in the NHL, and pairing that with his physicality will always make him a great option in the bottom-six. This year, Pospisil had a focus on being smarter with his hits and risk less injury. That paid off as he only missed one game, and his penalty minutes dropped to 84.

Just as Pospisil’s entry to the NHL, this contract extension is a welcome surprise. Not many people probably had a Pospisil extension placed down for this offseason, but it certainly is something to be happy about. Pospisil is a very fun player to watch and a guy you want on your team. To have for three more years at a good value of $$2.5M is a treat.

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