Flames sign Rory Kerins, Sam Morton to one-year contract extensions

The Calgary Flames have agreed to terms on one-year, two-way contract extensions with pending restricted free agent forwards Rory Kerins and Sam Morton, the club announced Thursday afternoon.

Both Kerins and Morton will earn $850,000 salaries for the time they spend in the NHL during the 2026-27 season, the Flames announced. According to PuckPedia, Kerins will be paid a $250,000 salary in the AHL, while Morton will earn $200,000; both players are guaranteed to earn a minimum of $290,000 next season.

Kerins, 24, will be eligible to become a Group 6 UFA next summer if he plays in fewer than 71 NHL games in 2026-27. Morton, who turns 27 in July, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027 regardless of where he plays next season.

The Flames originally selected Kerins in the sixth round (No. 174 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. The 5’10” forward has spent the majority of his professional career to date with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, collecting 72 goals and 152 points in 183 career AHL games; he’s also skated in nine NHL games with the Flames, recording four assists.

An undrafted player, Morton originally signed with the Flames as a free agent in 2023 after the conclusion of a successful NCAA career split between Union College and Minnesota State – Mankato. The 6′ center has recorded 42 goals and 90 points in 151 AHL games over parts of three seasons with the Wranglers; he scored in his NHL debut with the Flames in the 2024-25 season finale and appeared in three more games with the club in 2025-26.

With Kerins and Morton now signed, the Flames have 10 pending RFAs left to deal with this summer: Simon Nemec, John Beecher, Brennan Othmann, William Stromgren, Lucas Ciona, Parker Bell, Carter King, Artem Grushnikov, Gavin White, and Owen Say. The Flames also have a handful of pending UFAs, most notably NHLers Ryan Lomberg, Victor Olofsson, and Jake Bean.