In just 37 NHL games, Adam Klapka has established himself as one of the most intriguing young players in the Calgary Flames system.
On Tuesday, the organization ensured they’ll get to see what exactly he can become when they signed him to a two-year contract extension that will pay him US$1.25 million annually.
For Flames GM Craig Conroy, there’s no telling how high Klapka’s ceiling could wind up being — and the new deal means the Flames will get to find out.
“We saw it in the minors, from the first year he got here he got better and better,” Conroy said. “His game keeps evolving and getting better. Hopefully we’re going to continue seeing that game evolve and he just gets comfortable. It does take a little time to adjust to the NHL, he hasn’t played a tonne of games.
“I think as we move forward here he’s going to feel more comfortable and get better and better. I don’t think he’s reached his ceiling, I think he’s got a lot of room still to grow.”
Getting Klapka signed to an extension is a move that could provide excellent value.
The 6-foot-8, 235 lb. winger is still only scratching the surface of his potential as an NHLer — or that’s the hope, at least. While he’s spent most of his time since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2022 with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL, he established himself as a regular with the Flames in the back-half of the 2024-25 season.
In that stretch, he was moved from the fourth line to the Flames’ top trio, playing alongside Nazem Kadri and scoring four goals while adding four assists in the team’s final 10 games as they fought desperately to book a place in the NHL’s post-season dance.
Calgary Flames right winger Adam Klapka celebrates after scoring the tying goal in the third period of against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, March 31, 2025.
If there were some who had Klapka pinned down as a fourth-liner, well … his late-season play was enough to make anyone wonder if his future might be further up the lineup.
“He’s got good hands around the net, he can chip in offensively and can play anywhere in your lineup,” Conroy explained. “He’s played fourth line, he’s played first line and can play anywhere in between. I think to be versatile like that with his size and just his physicality, we brought him up and he was finishing checks and that takes a toll on the other team and it makes a difference.
“Even if he’s not scoring or getting points, he can be that physical presence hard on the forecheck and wearing the other team down, it definitely helps.”
That late-season stretch showed that Klapka could translate his AHL success — he’s put up 97 points in 158 games with the Wranglers — to the NHL. As a right-shot winger, he fills a need, too.
Klapka was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, and now joins Matt Coronato as young players who were soon-to-be RFAs who have reupped with the Flames this spring. Morgan Frost, Connor Zary and Kevin Bahl are all still unsigned.
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