Alex Nylander’s Calgary Flames PTO Could Revive His NHL Career
Written by Gina Anton
Alex Nylander is getting another opportunity to prove he belongs in the NHL. The Calgary Flames are expected to bring the 28-year-old forward to training camp on a professional tryout after he posted a career-best 53 points and 24 goals in 65 games with the Toronto Marlies in 2025-26. Nylander added six goals and seven points in 24 playoff games as the Marlies won the Calder Cup, giving him a strong platform to make his case for another NHL opportunity.
For Nylander, this opportunity comes at a critical point in his career. The eighth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft has appeared in 126 NHL games across five organizations, recording 25 goals and 49 points, but has never established himself as a consistent NHL forward. His recent production gives Calgary a reason to take a closer look, but a PTO means he will have to earn his place once training camp begins.
That could make Nylander an intriguing addition to a Flames team that missed the playoffs last season. Calgary can benefit from another forward capable of creating offense, particularly if Nylander can carry the confidence and scoring touch he showed with the Marlies into training camp. His 24-goal season gives the Flames another potential source of secondary scoring while creating competition for meaningful minutes.
His presence could benefit the players around him, too. Calgary's younger forwards will be competing for NHL jobs, and Nylander gives them another experienced player to compete against. After years of moving between the NHL and AHL, he knows what it takes to keep earning opportunities, and his recent production could raise the level of competition throughout camp. If Nylander pushes for a roster spot, other forwards will have to prove they can offer Calgary more.
That competition could ultimately be good for the Flames. Nylander does not need to become the player Buffalo envisioned when it selected him eighth overall. He needs to show that the player who produced 53 points and helped win a championship last season can contribute at the NHL level. If he does, Calgary could gain a scoring option while making the players competing alongside him better simply by giving them another legitimate challenge for ice time.
There is also a personal connection that gives fans another reason to follow his story. Nylander was born in Calgary while his father, Michael Nylander, was playing for the Flames, meaning his return to the organization brings him back to the city where his hockey story began. Nearly three decades later, he has a chance to build his own connection with Flames fans.
For fans, Nylander is more than another PTO candidate. He is a former top prospect fighting to keep his NHL career alive, coming off his most productive professional season and returning to the city where he was born. Every preseason game will give him another opportunity to show that he can still contribute, while giving Calgary fans a comeback story to invest in.
For the Flames, the opportunity is simple: find out whether Nylander can turn his recent success into NHL production. For Nylander, the stakes are much higher. If he earns a contract, he could give Calgary another offensive option, create competition throughout the forward group and prove that his NHL career still has another chapter left.
