Flames Sign Prospect & NHL Hopeful Jakob Pelletier

The Calgary Flames got a bit of business done today as the team has signed one of their top prospects and talented winger Jakob Pelletier to a one-year, two-way deal worth $800,000.

Jakob Pelletier one-year, two-way with Flames

$800K in NHL
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 12, 2024

Pelletier has not been very fortunate with health lately, but he is a very good scorer. He put up 27 goals and 62 points in 66 games as a rookie in the AHL in 2021-22 before following that up with 16 goals and 37 points in 35 games in 2022-23 in the AHL as well. This earned him his first look in the NHL for the Flames as he scored just three goals and seven points in 24 games.

Pelletier split time between the AHL and NHL last season as well. He recorded five goals and 12 points in 18 games in the AHL and got into 13 games for the Flames, scoring one goal and three points. His offense hasn't transferred over to the NHL level yet, but he also needs to have a good opportunity and be in a position to succeed. This means playing higher than fourth line minutes.

Pelletier only played 31 total games last season and was injured. This was expected to be a season in which he took a step forward and became a full-time NHLer. The Flames were in a retooling stage, but after the trade deadline and this offseason, the team is in more of a rebuild than anything.

The two-way contract allows the Flames to send Pelletier to the AHL if he's struggling in the NHL or gets beat out for a spot without any worry of losing him on waivers. This might be one of his final chances to prove he can hang in the NHL even though his production is excellent in the AHL. He has gone from a top prospect to a question mark. We'll have to wait and see how this progresses throughout the season.