Although the Flames have been speculatively linked to some veteran free agents over the past few weeks (including Jaromir Jagr recently and former Flame Jarome Iginla), GM Brad Treliving told Postmedia’s Eric Francis that he’s not sure where that talk has come from and wouldn’t acknowledge if any talks have occurred:
“You can’t help but respect them. But, this notion we’ve been in contract talks with them is rumour and I’m not going to comment on them. Are we going to go to camp with the group we have? Good chance. Are we poking around at a few things and could there be additions before camp? Yes. Is that a guarantee? No. I wouldn’t say there’s anything significant on the horizon, but we look at everything every day.”
Calgary is thin on the right side with Micheal Ferland, Michael Frolik, and Troy Brouwer currently comprising their top options. That’s likely part of the reason why Jagr has been suggested as a potential fit for them as he’d represent an upgrade on that group and would slide into a top-six role for the Flames.
[Related: Calgary’s Depth Chart]
As for Iginla, the talk of him rejoining the team seems more nostalgic than anything else. He struggled considerably last season with Colorado and while he played better after his trade to the Kings, he’s not a top-six forward anymore and isn’t a great fit for a bottom-six role either.
Calgary currently has some room to make another addition or two as they currently sit with a little more than $7MM in cap space, per CapFriendly. However, they still have center Sam Bennett to re-sign who will cut into that amount. While talks don’t appear to have progressed too much, Treliving is confident they’ll get a deal done with the former fourth overall selection:
“We’re going to get Sam signed. Every contract is unique and takes its own course. We’re working away at it and we think Sam is going to be a good player in this organization for a long time. He’s growing and I know he’s had a good summer. We’ll keep banging away at it.”
Earlier this summer, Treliving acknowledged that contracts for players like Bennett tend to take longer than some others. This case is particularly interesting with the 21-year-old’s production taking a dip last year down from 36 points to 26. That all but certifies that he will receive a bridge deal so now, it’s all about finding the right structure, particularly when it comes to how much to backload the contract as his ending salary would represent his qualifying offer at the completion of the deal.