Flames re-sign forward Brett Ritchie, but have no plans on him playing for them

A bizarre bit of business from the Flames' front-office today.

HockeyFeed

Published on July 15, 2021 at 12:46 p.m.

Flames re-sign forward Brett Ritchie, but have no plans on him playing for them — Photo Credit: Zuma Press

According to a report from Calgary Flames insider Hailey Salvian of The Athletic, the Flames have re-signed pending free agent forward Brett Ritchie to a one year contract worth $900,000.

But the thing is... it appears that the Flames have no intention of playing Ritchie in 2021-22, he's merely under contract so that the Flames meet the exposure requirements for the upcoming 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on July 21st.

Check it out:

The #Flames have re-signed Brett Ritchie to a one-year, $900k, deal.

The signing will fulfill the team’s Seattle expansion exposure requirements.
— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) July 15, 2021

For what it's worth the 28 year old Ritchie put up four goals and eight points in 32 games for the Flames last season. Prior to that he played a single season with the Boston Bruins and parts of four seasons with the Dallas Stars who drafted him 44th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Source: Hailey Salvian