Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $69,784,210 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Matthew Tkachuk (Two years remaining, $925K)

Potential Bonuses

Tkachuk: $850K

It wasn’t known right away last year if Tkachuk would be NHL ready after being drafted but he put that talk to rest pretty quickly with a very productive rookie campaign.  He is already a top-six forward and if he progresses into a top-liner by the end of his contract, he could find himself in the range of six years and $33MM that several notable players have signed coming off of their entry-level pacts.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Mikael Backlund ($3.575MM, UFA)
D Matt Bartkowski ($613K, UFA)
G Eddie Lack ($1.375MM, UFA)*
F Matt Stajan ($3.125MM, UFA)
F Kris Versteeg ($1.75MM, UFA)

* – Carolina is retaining $1.375MM on Lack’s contract.

The Flames have already publicly expressed an interest in keeping Backlund, their first rounder back in 2007.  His game has really taken off over the past two seasons and he has now slid into a full-time top-six role.  As a result, he’s in line for a sizable raise on his next contract given the demand for impact centers on the open market.  Stajan has become more of a depth player in recent years and while he will likely earn another contract, it will be for considerably less than his current one.  Versteeg impressed after coming over late in training camp last year but still was only able to garner a one-year deal, albeit at a decent raise.  While on the surface it would seem like a similar season would position himself to get more interest in the summer, he hasn’t had a lot of suitors in the past.

Bartkowski was able to get the extra year on his contract thanks to expansion and will now battle for the seventh spot on the depth chart.  As a result, his next deal shouldn’t be too much higher a year from now.  As for Lack, he will serve as the backup and will be looking to restore some value after a particularly rough season with the Hurricanes.  Top reserve netminders are starting to land bigger contracts (such as the one he’s currently on) and a good year from him would position Lack to sign at least a comparable deal next offseason.

Two Years Remaining

F Sam Bennett ($1.95MM, RFA)
F Micheal Ferland ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Curtis Lazar ($950K, RFA)
G Mike Smith ($4.25MM, UFA)*

* – Arizona is retaining 25% of Smith’s contract.

Bennett unsurprisingly signed a bridge deal coming off a so-so sophomore campaign.  The Flames still view him as a top-six center down the road and if they’re unable to re-sign Backlund, he could find himself in that spot a year from now.  This is a contract where both sides are hoping that Bennett vastly outperforms it and earns himself a big money, long-term pact as a result.  If that doesn’t happen, he could find himself as a strong change-of-scenery candidate by the time the two years are up.

Ferland showed some offensive touch last season and plays a very physical style.  Those two elements will be attractive when he’s eligible for free agency so assuming he can hover around the 15-goal mark, his next deal should be a fair bit pricier.  Lazar had a disastrous 2016-17 season which is why Calgary was able to lock him up this cheap.  He still has some upside and could make this a bargain by the time it’s all said and done if he can hold down a regular role but on the flipside, a poor training camp and start to the season could have him on waivers before too long.

After Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson didn’t get the job done last year, the Flames are hoping that Smith, who had comparable numbers behind a lesser defense in Arizona, will be able to help them take that next step forward.  If Smith can rebound with the aid of one of the strong back ends in the league, the contract could wind up being a bit of a bargain but if he struggles, they’ll likely be shopping for a new starter next summer once again.

Three Years Remaining

D T.J. Brodie ($4.6504MM, UFA)
F Troy Brouwer ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Michael Frolik ($4.3MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($3.857MM, UFA)
D Michael Stone ($3.5MM, UFA)

Brouwer’s first season with Calgary did not go particularly well.  He wound up with the lowest full-season point total of his career despite spending a significant portion of the season in their top six.  He’ll probably get another chance in there at some point due to a lack of right-wing depth but if he falters early on, GM Brad Treliving will be looking to move him out.  However, he has a full no-trade clause this season.  Frolik has been remarkably consistent, averaging 0.50 to 0.54 points per game over the past four seasons and provides the Flames with good secondary production.  He won’t be a strong value contract for the money he’s making but if he can maintain that level of scoring, the deal won’t be a negative one either.

Brodie struggled out of the gate last season but rebounded well while maintaining a spot on the top pairing.  Whenever you can get a top-two defender at that price (with quality production from the point as well), it’s a bargain deal.  Hamonic was acquired from the Islanders where he’ll be asked to play in a second pairing role.  They paid a steep price to get him in terms of the acquisition cost but he’s only a year removed from being a top-two defender for the Islanders.  He has the potential to really deepen their back end and take some pressure off of the top pairing and having someone that can do that making under $4MM is another bargain.  Stone didn’t fare too well in Arizona but his play picked up after being dealt to Calgary.  He’s pricey for the role he’ll start in (on the third pairing) but he’s capable of moving up when needed and is a nice luxury to have while they have the cap space.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Johnny Gaudreau ($6.75MM through 2021-22)
D Mark Giordano ($6.75MM through 2021-22)
F Sean Monahan ($6.325MM through 2022-23)

Treliving didn’t go the bridge route with his two top forwards last year and instead bypassed the bridge contract for the long-term deal right away.  While both players saw their production dip a little bit in 2016-17 in the first year of their new contracts, Gaudreau and Monahan still finished first and second respectively in scoring for the Flames and are locked in as front-line fixtures for years to come.  It’s also noteworthy that Gaudreau’s deal came in at the same rate as Giordano as that likely sets their internal contract ceiling for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of Giordano, his scoring numbers dropped considerably last season but his all-around game remained strong.  As long as he can play at the level of a top pairing blueliner, the Flames will get good value out of this contract but he turns 34 before the season starts and has five years remaining.  At some point, he is going to drop down the depth chart and make this a tougher deal to carry on the books but that is still probably a few years away at least.

Buyouts

F Lance Bouma ($667K in 2017-18, $767K in 2018-19)
D Ryan Murphy ($100K in 2017-18, $138K in 2018-19)
F Mason Raymond ($1.05MM in 2017-18)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Brodie
Worst Value: Brouwer

Looking Ahead

While many expect their provincial counterparts to have to make some cap-related trades in the near future, the Flames shouldn’t find themselves in that same situation any time soon.  Their expected big pay raises are staggered a little bit (Backlund next summer, Tkachuk the one after that with maybe Bennett fitting here as well) and there aren’t any real cap-crippling contracts on the books.  (Brouwer’s isn’t a good deal but it’s short enough that they could plausibly buy him out if it came to it.)  Calgary has arguably the deepest defense corps in the league (Nashville would give them a run here) and they’ll be able to afford it for a while yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.