The Flames signed Chase Harrington to his entry-level deal, then sent the young winger right back to Spokane.
The contract runs three years at $1,075,000 annually, and it lands just ahead of Thursday's home opener against Seattle.
Calgary grabbed him 36th overall at the 2026 draft. Getting the ink done before the season even starts tells you the organization likes what it's seeing.
The production backs that up. Harrington put up 28 goals and 57 points in 61 games with the Spokane Chiefs last season.
He also piled up 105 penalty minutes. A Prince George kid who scores and doesn't shy away from the ugly areas.
The real jump came a year earlier. He climbed from 22 points in 2023-24 to 50 the following season.
That spring he added 14 points in 20 playoff games, a long run for a teenager to learn from.
Harrington's three-point start in Spokane gives Craig Conroy something to watch
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This season is already rolling. He opened with a goal and two assists in his first WHL game, finishing a +3.
At 6-foot and 201 pounds, the left winger brings a frame that fits the roster Craig Conroy is trying to reshape.
Spokane is the right call. Another full year of big junior minutes does more for him than fourth-line scraps in the NHL.
It's like buying a house and letting the renovations finish before you move in. The keys are yours, the paint just needs to dry.
Ryan Huska's group opens Thursday against Seattle, and the Flames trade board is already crowded with names like Morgan Frost and Ryan Strome.
Every pending free agent Calgary moves eventually opens a door for prospects like Harrington.
The penalty minutes will have to come down before he sees an NHL lineup. How fast they do could decide whether his debut is a next-year conversation or a longer wait.
Should the Flames give Chase Harrington an NHL look before the end of this season?
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