While the Flames and defenseman Nikita Zadorov were only able to agree on a one-year, $3.75MM contract to avoid arbitration, GM Brad Treliving told reporters, including Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, that he remains hopeful that a longer-term agreement can be reached by the time he hits unrestricted free agency next summer. Treliving noted that longer-term deals that would have bought out some UFA years were discussed but they just weren’t able to agree on the money. Calgary has several other expiring contracts next summer including restricted free agents Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane plus pending UFA Johnny Gaudreau and it stands to reason that they may want to take care of those new contracts to see what they could possibly commit to Zadorov on his next contract.
More from the Pacific:
- With Edmonton’s cap situation being fairly tight already even with LTIR-bound Oscar Klefbom taken into consideration, there’s a case to be made that a one-year contract for RFA winger Kailer Yamamoto would make the most sense. However, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal suggests that a two-year deal would be better to serve as a hedge for Jesse Puljujarvi’s contract next summer even though the AAV on a two-year pact would undoubtedly be higher. Yamamoto has 52 points in 102 career NHL games and since he has basically only been a regular for the last year and a half with the Oilers, his bridge deal may come in a little lower than some of the other ones that will be handed out to players coming off their entry-level deals this summer.
- While Matty Beniers will be heading back to Michigan for his sophomore year, GM Ron Francis told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he isn’t ruling out the possibility of the second-overall pick suiting up for the Kraken at some point this season. The NCAA Frozen Four tournament (should Michigan make it that far) will end well before the NHL’s regular season ends (April 29), allowing for the possibility for Beniers to sign and suit up for a few games down the stretch. The nine-game threshold for burning the first year of his contract would still apply as Beniers would still only be 19 at the time of signing the deal.