Upon being acquired by his hometown Calgary Flames last July, T.J. Galiardi referred to the move as a “dream.”
Twelve months later...well, the situation is far less dreamy.
The Flames didn’t make Galiardi a qualifying offer on Monday, essentially ending his stint in Calgary after just one year on the job. Calgary also parted ways with center and fellow RFA Paul Byron, who posted a career-high 21 points in 47 games last year.
Galiardi, though, is by far the biggest name and one of the most experienced RFAs not to earn a qualifying offer. While he’s somewhat removed from his banner 2009-10 campaign -- in his first full NHL season, Galiardi posted 15 goals and 39 points in 70 games for Colorado -- the former WHL Calgary standout has 283 regular season and 20 playoff games on his resume, and over 100 career points.
Galiardi did make $1.25 million last season, though, and wasn’t a favorite of head coach Bob Hartley, often sitting as a healthy scratch. So it’s not really surprising Calgary opted to go in a different direction.
As for Byron, the 25-year-old never found a fit in Calgary, splitting most of the last three seasons between the big club and AHL Abbotsford. One of the smallest players in the NHL -- 5-foot-7, 153 pounds -- Byron will have a chance to catch on somewhere else tomorrow, when he becomes a UFA.
Other Flames not receiving qualifying offers today included David Eddy, James Martin, and Olivier Roy.