<p>The Calgary Flames may have found themselves <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/04/five-flames-takes-adam-klapka-just-keeps-improving-is-rory-kerins-next-up/">a true unicorn in Adam Klapka</a>.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
<p>The 6-foot-8 right-shot winger towers over just about every player in the league. However, it&#8217;s not only his size that scares defenders as they watch <a href="https://youtu.be/oABkWzTQ7rk?t=70">the &#8216;mutant&#8217; as MacKenzie Weegar calls him</a>, barrelling down the ice towards them. Instead, the most intriguing part about this player is his unusually sound puck skills.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s rare to find a forward, let alone a winger, who possesses a size advantage over any player he faces, as most players of Klapka&#8217;s stature are converted to defenceman at a young age. The idea behind moving bigger guys to the back end is, in part, the fact that taller, longer defenders are better suited for the demands of the position.</p>
<p>Taller players also tend to have diminished motor skills, yet this does not seem to be the case with Klapka, as is evident in this beautiful solo effort he made <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/18/iihf-world-championship-day-9-recap-canada-dominates-and-klapka-has-a-breakout-performance/">at the IIHF World Championships on Saturday</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="pl">Klapka’s coast-to-coast masterpiece! 🚨🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MensWorlds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IIHF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IIHF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/czehockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@czehockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/LtsDppXy8F">pic.twitter.com/LtsDppXy8F</a></p>
<p>— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1923772732665208889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p>General managers and coaches tend to salivate over players who possess a major size advantage, and are tantalized when those players can also make plays with the puck. Though Klapka&#8217;s NHL sample size is relatively limited, he has passed the eye test and can certainly be effective in a high-paced environment.</p>
<p>So let&#8217;s get down to brass tacks.</p>
<p>The Prague native is not only relevant because of his stellar play thus far at the worlds, but also because of his current contract situation with the Flames. <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/calgary-flames-sign-forward-adam-klapka-to-one-year-two-way-contract-extension">Klapka signed a one-year, league-minimum $775,000 contract extension last summer</a>, and now stands as one of Calgary&#8217;s many remaining restricted free agents.</p>
<p>Like many of the other RFAs, the big man is a difficult player to project, but it&#8217;s clear Flames management has confidence in him based on his usage down the stretch. After some brief stints with the big club between October and February, Klapka became a regular in the Flames&#8217; lineup in March. He closed out the season strong, totalling four goals and eight points in his final 10 contests, ultimately earning himself a spot on the top line by season&#8217;s end.</p>
<p>The traction he gained in the latter part of 2024-25 should be enough to earn him a full-time spot with the Flames in 2025-26, but was it enough to earn him a significant raise?</p>
<p>The answer is most likely no.</p>
<p>If I were to guess, I&#8217;d say Calgary and Klapka agree on another &#8216;prove it&#8217; style deal worth just above league minimum for a year. Craig Conroy likely wants another look at the Czech forward before locking him into his long-term vision for this team. Additionally, Klapka would be wise to avoid a multi-year contract at league minimum, leaving the door open to cash in next year on a potentially larger deal next summer.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that Klapka is arbitration eligible, but the chances of negotiations reaching that point are slim to none, as the player possesses little to no leverage in this particular situation.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong></p>
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The Calgary Flames may have found themselves <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/04/five-flames-takes-adam-klapka-just-keeps-improving-is-rory-kerins-next-up/">a true unicorn in Adam Klapka</a>.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
The 6-foot-8 right-shot winger towers over just about every player in the league. However, it's not only his size that scares defenders as they watch <a href="https://youtu.be/oABkWzTQ7rk?t=70">the 'mutant' as MacKenzie Weegar calls him</a>, barrelling down the ice towards them. Instead, the most intriguing part about this player is his unusually sound puck skills.

It's rare to find a forward, let alone a winger, who possesses a size advantage over any player he faces, as most players of Klapka's stature are converted to defenceman at a young age. The idea behind moving bigger guys to the back end is, in part, the fact that taller, longer defenders are better suited for the demands of the position.

Taller players also tend to have diminished motor skills, yet this does not seem to be the case with Klapka, as is evident in this beautiful solo effort he made <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/18/iihf-world-championship-day-9-recap-canada-dominates-and-klapka-has-a-breakout-performance/">at the IIHF World Championships on Saturday</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="pl">Klapka’s coast-to-coast masterpiece! 🚨🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MensWorlds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IIHF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IIHF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/czehockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@czehockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/LtsDppXy8F">pic.twitter.com/LtsDppXy8F</a></p>
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1923772732665208889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
General managers and coaches tend to salivate over players who possess a major size advantage, and are tantalized when those players can also make plays with the puck. Though Klapka's NHL sample size is relatively limited, he has passed the eye test and can certainly be effective in a high-paced environment.

So let's get down to brass tacks.

The Prague native is not only relevant because of his stellar play thus far at the worlds, but also because of his current contract situation with the Flames. <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/calgary-flames-sign-forward-adam-klapka-to-one-year-two-way-contract-extension">Klapka signed a one-year, league-minimum $775,000 contract extension last summer</a>, and now stands as one of Calgary's many remaining restricted free agents.

Like many of the other RFAs, the big man is a difficult player to project, but it's clear Flames management has confidence in him based on his usage down the stretch. After some brief stints with the big club between October and February, Klapka became a regular in the Flames' lineup in March. He closed out the season strong, totalling four goals and eight points in his final 10 contests, ultimately earning himself a spot on the top line by season's end.

The traction he gained in the latter part of 2024-25 should be enough to earn him a full-time spot with the Flames in 2025-26, but was it enough to earn him a significant raise?

The answer is most likely no.

If I were to guess, I'd say Calgary and Klapka agree on another 'prove it' style deal worth just above league minimum for a year. Craig Conroy likely wants another look at the Czech forward before locking him into his long-term vision for this team. Additionally, Klapka would be wise to avoid a multi-year contract at league minimum, leaving the door open to cash in next year on a potentially larger deal next summer.

It's worth noting that Klapka is arbitration eligible, but the chances of negotiations reaching that point are slim to none, as the player possesses little to no leverage in this particular situation.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong>
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