Nikita Nesterov Signs With Calgary Flames
4:50pm: The Flames have officially announced the Nesterov signing. The veteran defenseman has signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $700K.
3:45pm: The Calgary Flames appear to be closing in on a contract with free agent defenseman Nikita Nesterov, according to PuckPedia. A report out of Russia says that the deal will be a one-year, $700K contract, bringing Nesterov back to North America after several years in the KHL. It is important to note that the same outlet reported just recently that Nesterov was close to a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This certainly isn’t the first time that an NHL return for Nesterov has been speculated on. Just this summer he was linked to the Los Angeles Kings, with reports even surfacing that he turned down a multi-year contract with the team.
If you’re wondering why so many teams would be after a player who recorded just 33 points in 132 NHL games, bouncing up and down from the minor leagues during his first tenure in the league, you wouldn’t be alone. But over his three years in the KHL Nesterov has taken real developmental steps to polish his game at both ends of the rink while winning an Olympic gold medal and Gagarin Cup championship.
For the Flames, Nesterov is attractive not only because of his improvements, but also his versatility. The 27-year-old has experience playing both sides and penalty kill, meaning he could potentially help fill in for the holes left by the departures of unrestricted free agents T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Derek Forbort, Erik Gustafsson, and Michael Stone. The team did bring in Chris Tanev on an expensive deal and have their own young defensemen ready to step up, but needed to add some experience and depth to the position before the offseason was complete.
Calgary Flames Sign Dominik Simon
The Calgary Flames have added another option for their forward group, signing Dominik Simon to a one-year, $700K contract. Simon did not receive a qualifying offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Simon, 26, is another example of a mid-round pick turning into a useful piece for the Penguins, even if he never quite did excel offensively. The fifth-round selection from 2015 has played 173 games in his NHL career, scoring 19 goals and 64 points. The usefulness came more from his versatility, as Simon bounced all over the lineup, even spending time next to Sidney Crosby for a period.
Though he isn’t likely to be a difference-maker in the Flames top-six, he is a valuable addition to a team that hasn’t been able to get over the playoff hump. Simon didn’t participate in the Stanley Cup run in 2017 but was part of the Penguins “Black Aces” that saw exactly what was required to win.
For Calgary, this gives them a 12th NHL forward (including Dillon Dube, who is still on his entry-level deal) and only increases the competition for minutes in the bottom-six. The team still has to sign restricted free agent Oliver Kylington but could even make another one of these depth moves with their remaining cap space. With the free agent market standing still, players like Simon will likely be happy just to get a job, even if it does pay the league minimum.
Minor Transactions: 10/21/20
The NHL free agent market may have slowed a bit – despite a considerable amount of talent still available – but other leagues are still busy. AHL clubs are cleaning up the fringes of the NHL market, as are European leagues, and NCAA programs are finalizing transfers as they prepare for a hopeful start to the season next month. Here are some of the notable minor moves from today:
- It was a busy day for the Stockton Heat. The Calgary Flames’ affiliate announced four signings, adding two forwards and two defensemen on one-year deals. Three of the contracts are extensions, as defenders Zac Leslie and Rob Hamilton and grinder Alex Gallant return to Stockton. Leslie, 26, is a former L.A. Kings prospect who led all Heat defensemen in points last season. Hamilton, 26, was also a top-four defenseman last year and led the team in plus/minus. Gallant, 27, is an interesting story. He played hardly any high-level hockey as a prospect, but made a career of his aggressive style, working his way up from the SPHL to the ECHL and then the AHL, logging hundreds of penalty minutes each year. He set a career high in scoring as well last year with five goals and eight points.
- The other addition to the Heat was Mark Simpson, a hulking forward out of the University of New Brunswick. Simpson, 25, stands 6’5″ and has a more pro-ready build than many players out of the USports system. That might explain why Simpson, who finished outside the top ten in scoring for the Reds this past season, has earned an AHL contract while the program’s other top scorers have not. However, Simpson is likely destined for the ECHL while he continues to develop.
- After the Florida Panthers opted not to extend him a qualifying offer, defenseman Thomas Schemitsch has decided to take his talents to Cleveland. The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have announced a one-year contract with Schemitsch, who has spent nearly all of the past four seasons with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Schemitsch is a big, two-way blue liner who was a consistent contributor in the minors. He earned an extension from Florida last summer, but it did not yield any top level opportunities. He hopes to prove to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ brass that he is still an NHL-caliber prospect with his play in Cleveland.
Flames To Loan Artyom Zagidulin To The KHL
Calgary goaltending prospect Artyom Zagidulin should soon have an opportunity to get in some game action as Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL announced that they have a preliminary loan agreement in place with the Flames.
The 25-year-old made his debut in North America last season, suiting up in 30 games with AHL Stockton after signing with Calgary as an undrafted free agent in April of 2019. His numbers weren’t the greatest with a 3.07 GAA and a .898 SV% but he showed enough for the Flames to hand him a one-year deal back in June.
Zagidulin will be going to a familiar environment as Magnitogorsk is his hometown and has played in their system growing up. It was his performance with them back in 2018-19 (1.96 GAA, .924 SV% in 25 games) that got him on the NHL radar to begin with and now he’ll try to use this as a springboard to a better sophomore year in Calgary’s system.
Calgary Flames Sign Joakim Nordstrom
The Calgary Flames have signed free agent forward Joakim Nordstrom to a one-year, $700K contract. Nordstrom spent the last two seasons with the Boston Bruins after starting his career with stints in Carolina and Chicago.
Nordstrom, 28, didn’t quite make it onto our Top 50 UFA board, but easily could have in a normal offseason. There’s almost no offensive production in the Swedish winger, but that doesn’t mean he can’t an effective NHL option. Just like those players that need sheltered minutes and time on the powerplay to contribute, Nordstrom is deployed in hard defensive matchups almost exclusively. In the 48 games he played for Boston this season, nearly 72% of his zone starts were in the defensive end, more than any other player on the team. He also led all Bruins forwards in average shorthanded ice time, spending nearly two minutes a game on the penalty kill.
In the Bruins 2018-19 playoff run that ended in the Stanley Cup Finals, those numbers were even more dramatic as Nordstrom was deployed on an incredibly important checking line. He managed to actually record eight points in those 23 playoff contests, more than he had in the entire 2019-20 regular season.
You simply can’t rely on Nordstrom to score, given he’s only accumulated 68 points in a 400-game NHL career, but he’ll help Calgary’s bottom-six become much tougher to score against. The team allowed players like Mark Jankowski, Tobias Rieder, and Austin Czarnik to hit the open market, leaving some opportunity for young players or a name like Nordstrom to slide into the lineup on a regular basis.
Calgary Flames Sign Andrew Mangiapane
The Calgary Flames have reached an agreement with restricted free agent forward Andrew Mangiapane, avoiding arbitration that was scheduled for just a few days from now. The two-year contract will carry an average annual value of $2.425MM. Mangiapane was set to be the first hearing of the arbitration schedule on October 20.
The 24-year-old Mangiapane broke out in 2019-20, finally finding his footing as a full-time NHL player and scoring 17 goals in the process. He was a difference-maker all over the ice and managed to record his 32 points almost entirely at even-strength, in fewer than 14 minutes a night no less.
That kind of production is the stuff that makes you believe a player can take another step if given a bigger chance, and with the new contract Mangiapane will certainly be in the mix for more minutes. Playing in the minor leagues as recently as 2018-19, the sixth-round pick will be a core piece for Calgary this season.
Settling that arbitration case means that the Flames now have just Oliver Kylington left to sign as a restricted free agent, though he wasn’t eligible to file this time around. Calgary has a little more than $77.5MM committed to just 17 players, meaning the rest of the roster will either have to be filled out on cheap deals or someone will be moved out.
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Tyler Parsons
The Calgary Flames have a new starting goaltender in Jacob Markstrom, but won’t be giving up on one of their depth options either. The team has re-signed Tyler Parsons to a one-year, two-way deal worth $735K at the NHL level. That’s the qualifying offer that the Flames extended Parsons, who was not eligible for arbitration this offseason.
A second-round pick in 2016, Parsons spent the entire 2019-20 season in the ECHL, posting a .911 save percentage with the Kansas City Mavericks. He’s clearly not ready to step into a role in the NHL, but after just turning 23 last month there is still plenty of time for him to develop and improve his game.
The Flames now have some impressive depth at the position, given that not only did they bring in Markstrom but Louis Domingue as well. Prospect Dustin Wolf can go back to the WHL once again (should they have a season), meaning Parsons will need to battle with Artyom Zagidulin for the AHL backup role behind Domingue.
Of course, that’s assuming that the team isn’t forced to carry three goaltenders at the NHL level like some are speculating. If the league goes to regional bubbles, teams may want to keep a third goalie with them in case of injury. The ECHL did announce today that 13 of their teams will start play on December 11, which includes Kansas City kicking things off in the first game of the year. Whether Parsons will be on that Mavericks roster on opening night isn’t clear, but he’s a candidate given the rest of the goaltending depth in the system.
Flames Sign Louis Domingue
After bringing in Jacob Markstrom yesterday, the Flames have now shored up their AHL goaltending situation, announcing the signing of Louis Domingue to a one-year deal. The two-way contract pays $700K in the NHL while PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the AHL portion is $450K.
Domingue bounced around a bit last season. After losing his backup job in Tampa Bay following the signing of Curtis McElhinney last summer, he cleared waivers and started the season with AHL Syracuse. With Cory Schneider struggling, the Devils flipped a conditional seventh-round pick to the Lightning to get his rights in November. He was then flipped to Vancouver at the trade deadline for Zane McIntyre.
Overall, the 28-year-old posted a 3.81 GAA with an .882 SV% in 17 games last season between the Devils and Canucks. Domingue won’t be expected to contend for the number two job – that belongs to David Rittich – but he’ll serve as a serviceable recall if injuries strike while replacing Jon Gillies in that role. As it turns out, there is already an injury issue for them on the farm with GM Brad Treliving telling Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson (Twitter link) that prospect Tyler Parsons is dealing with an ankle issue.
Chris Tanev Signs With Calgary Flames
Saturday: Tanev is officially a Flame. Calgary announced the contract late last night local time, confirming the term and AAV. The deal also includes trade protection in the form of a ten-team no-trade list, per CapFriendly.
Friday: The Calgary Flames could be taking two of their rival’s star players in one day. Rick Dhaliwal of TSN and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet are both reporting that a deal is close with free agent Chris Tanev. Dhaliwal adds that Tanev’s contract would be four years and carry an average annual value of $4.5MM.
After already adding Jacob Markstrom on a six-year deal, the Flames have apparently decided that the best way to get ahead of the Vancouver Canucks is by stealing their free agents. Interestingly enough, the Flames let T.J. Brodie walk for $20MM over four years in Toronto, only to bring in Tanev at a relatively similar price tag. They obviously decided Tanev was the better fit, or but it’s not like the veteran defenseman comes without risk.
Tanev, who will turn 31 before the 2020-21 season begins, has been an excellent player every time he touched the ice for Vancouver. The problem is, he would routinely go weeks or even months without touching that ice due to injury. Tanev has never played more than 70 games in a single season and only reached even that threshold once in his career. He has totaled just 514 games through parts of ten seasons, a number that should be substantially higher.
The interesting part with those injury woes though, is that Tanev actually played in every Vancouver game this season. All 69 regular season games had Tanev in the lineup, and all 17 postseason matches did too. If that’s the kind of health the Flames are buying, they’ll come to appreciate Tanev, even more, when he’s on their side. But that is an incredibly risky proposition, given the other departures on the blue line.
Calgary Flames Sign Jacob Markstrom To Six-Year Deal
The Jacob Markstrom sweepstakes has a winner. The top goalie on the free agent market opted not to re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks but instead to join the rival Calgary Flames. The Flames have announced that they have agreed to terms with Markstrom on a six-year, $36MM contract. TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds that Markstrom’s deal carries a full No-Movement Clause.
Markstrom, 30, picked a good time to have a career year. In a market with numerous teams needing a new starting goalie, Markstrom was the consensus top option after posting a .918 save percentage and .535 winning percentage. Markstrom finished fourth in the Vezina Trophy voting for the best goalie in the league and was voted the Canucks’ team MVP. In a contract year, he established himself as a legitimate long-term starter.
What resulted was a bidding war for the netminder. Even after proclaiming all year that re-signing Markstrom was a priority, Vancouver could not keep up with rivals Calgary and Edmonton, opting instead to sign Braden Holtby to a short-term deal. Edmonton eventually fell out of the race as well and have yet to find a solution in net.
Calgary, who failed to come to terms on an extension with Cam Talbot prior to free agency opening, end up upgrading the position with Markstrom. David Rittich had failed to prove that he could be relied upon as a starter and will now settle into a backup role, if he is not traded away that is. Markstrom will add some much needed security on the back end for the Flames, who could lose defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic to free agency.