English
EspañolLOS ANGELES – Ryan Lomberg didn’t mince his words.
“This,” said the Calgary Flames’ most popular player, “is where I want to be.”
“I’ve been pretty vocal on how much I love the city, and the people, and the organization.
“I want to win here. My family and I love it here, and we’re extremely proud to be part of the organization and a big part of the community.
“I signed here with the intention of helping this team win, and being part of the solution. So that’s definitely how I would like it to stay. But obviously some things are out of my control, and I can’t control those things. So, I just kind of take it day by day.”
One week away from the trade deadline, his words sounded as much of a plea as a statement.
It’s not the usual deadline-week lip service players offer when they sense their time might be up.
His is from the heart – unmistakably genuine – which is precisely why it hits differently.
Lomberg doesn’t want to be traded.
“They’re well aware how much I love it,” said the effervescent winger who rivals Enmax in energy production.
“I’m tremendously proud to wear this sweater and be a part of this organization, and hopefully it stays that way.”
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
And Lomberg knows it.
Lomberg is the only unrestricted free agent on the roster. He’s 31. He’s a fourth‑liner averaging nine minutes a night, with four goals and eight points in 50 games. He’s the type of player contenders call about in the final hours before the deadline – cheap, experienced, fearless and beloved in any room he walks into. A Stanley Cup winner.
He’s also exactly the type of player a rebuilding team usually moves on from.
On Thursday he was a healthy scratch in San Jose, making way for younger players the team is trying to evaluate and develop.
Craig Conroy has already shown he’s willing to make tough calls on players he likes. He’s traded heart‑and‑soul guys before and he’s made tough moves because the mandate is clear: get younger, create opportunity, build for the next core.
Keeping Lomberg blocks a prospect, trading him opens a door.
Keeping Lomberg speaks to the importance the organization puts on building around character and leadership, trading him adds to the coffers.
And yet, it doesn’t feel good.
Not when the guy is this invested. Not when he’s this proud to wear the sweater.
Calgary fans have seen enough players come and go to know when someone is feeding them a line, telling reporters he loves it here, then bolting for greener pastures.
Lomberg isn’t built that way. He’s a five‑foot‑nine firecracker who has made a career out of punching above his weight, literally and figuratively.
He’s the guy who will fight someone six inches taller, then spend the next day reading to kids at a school visit. He’s the guy who signs a two‑year deal after winning a Cup because he wants to “be part of the solution” and help a retooling team.
For Lomberg, this isn’t just a stop along the way. This is where he wants to spend the rest of his career, and the rest of his life.
“I would love to, yeah,” said Lomberg, regularly spotted at rinks around town. “We’ve already talked about it. The first day we moved here, my wife was like, ‘Oh, I can see us living here after we’re done.’
“Hopefully we don’t have to go somewhere else, then come back.”
He also added: “It is what it is. So we’re gonna enjoy our time here as much as we can.”
Lomberg knew how special the city was, as he’d spent the early part of his pro career as part of its minor-league system before getting his big break in Florida.
He’s a Cup champion on a team with very few, he’s a tone‑setter on a roster that sometimes needs one, he’s a community guy in a city that values that more than most. And he’s doing it all for $2 million, which is practically a bargain for the energy he injects nightly.
Nothing gets Flames fans on their feet faster than when Lomberg drops the mitts.
However, the club isn’t in the business of sentiment right now.
Unless something changes – and Lomberg says there have been no extension talks – he may very well be on his way out. A late‑round pick from a contender, a handshake, a ‘thank‑you,’ a promise that the door is open in July.
And maybe it is. Maybe he does come back as a free agent. Maybe he even retires here like he hopes.
Or maybe it remains status quo, as a buyer’s market isn’t demanding a player of his ilk.
But for now, the likelihood is the Flames are thinking long‑term, even if it means parting with a guy who wants nothing more than to stay.
