- One player who could potentially fill the Rangers’ second-line center need is Calgary Flames pivot Sean Monahan. Per Staple, Monahan “has been discussed in trade talks” with the Rangers. Monahan, 27, has seen his career derailed due to injuries as of late, and was placed on long-term injured reserve following hip surgery. If the Rangers believe in Monahan’s ability to re-discover the form that saw him score between 20 and 30 goals for seven straight seasons, then the Rangers could acquire him at an asset cost that would likely be far lower than the cost it would take to acquire a more in-demand center.
Flames Rumors
Prospect Cole Huckins Traded In The QMJHL
- Flames prospect Cole Huckins was traded from Acadie-Bathurst to Sherbrooke in exchange for a second-round pick as the QMJHL trade window opened up on Saturday. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick by Calgary last year (77th overall) and had a dozen goals and 14 assists in 41 games with the Titan this past season while adding four points in eight playoff contests. Huckins has yet to sign his entry-level deal and will need a big season with the Phoenix in 2022-23 to help secure his first contract.
Offseason Checklist: Calgary Flames
With the offseason in full swing, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Flames.
After missing the playoffs in 2020-21, Calgary had a bounce-back season as they finished first in the Pacific Division and got past Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Edmonton. The Flames were among the top-scoring teams in the league and allowed the third-fewest goals which is a great spot to be in but GM Brad Treliving has some work to do to keep the core intact.
Re-Sign Gaudreau
Let’s start with a big one. Johnny Gaudreau has been a cornerstone player for Calgary for the past eight seasons. After a bit of a quieter showing in 2020-21, he rebounded in a big way, posting career highs across the board while finishing tied for second in league scoring with 115 points; only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid had more. If you put any stock into plus/minus, Gaudreau led the league in that category with a whopping +64 mark; for context, he was only +21 for his career heading into the year. All of this has resulted in the 28-year-old being set to be the top free agent on the open market later this month.
That is, unless Calgary is able to stop him from getting there. But to do so, it’s going to cost a pretty penny. You can be sure that Gaudreau’s camp is going to point to the contract that Artemi Panarin signed with the Rangers (seven years, $11.643MM) as a valid comparable. Considering Gaudreau has the longer track record and a more impressive platform season, it’s certainly an understandable target to strive for although he is a little older than Panarin was at the time. Clearly, that’s not a price the Flames have been willing to meet since an extension isn’t in place yet.
At some point, Treliving will have to focus on a Plan B as having this get to July 13th without a resolution would certainly be risky. If a new deal can’t be done by the draft, the Flames may have to entertain the possibility of flipping Gaudreau’s rights and begin shopping around for a replacement. There’s still some time to work out an agreement but it’s something that they will need to accomplish sooner rather than later.
Re-Sign RFAs
On top of needing to re-sign Gaudreau, fellow winger Brady Tkachuk is also in need of a new contract and it’s also going to be an expensive one. The 24-year-old is a year away from UFA eligibility, has salary arbitration rights, and is owed a qualifying offer of $9MM. Tkachuk is also coming off of a career year, one that saw him surpass the 40-goal and 100-point marks for the first time. That gives him plenty of leverage in discussions as if he doesn’t like what Calgary is offering, he can simply accept the qualifying offer or try his hand in arbitration to try to get a bit more than his qualifier.
Of course, a lot of what the Flames can do here is dependent on what happens with Gaudreau. Both players could be in line for $10MM or so on their next contracts and while they have a little over $26MM in cap space at the moment, they also have to sign six or seven forwards and three defensemen with that money. If those two take up that much of the pie, that doesn’t leave much room for anyone else.
Speaking of anyone else, the Flames have another winger that’s in line for a sizable raise in Andrew Mangiapane. He’s also coming off a career year of his own as he put up 35 goals and 20 assists in 82 games. Prior to that showing, his previous benchmark for points was 32. Like Tkachuk, the 26-year-old is also arbitration-eligible and a year away from UFA eligibility. Mangiapane is owed a $2.45MM qualifying offer but could make a case to double that in a hearing. While he’s someone that they’d certainly like to keep around, he also might be someone they have to move if the price tag gets too high.
The other RFA of note this summer is blueliner Oliver Kylington. He doesn’t have the track record to command the type of money that the others on this list do but after being a depth player for the first few years of his career, the 25-year-old was a regular, collecting 33 points in 71 games while averaging over 18 minutes a night. Those are elements that look good in an arbitration filing so he will be in line for a sizable raise after making the league minimum in 2021-22; three or four times that amount could certainly be doable, further adding stress to their cap situation.
Add Defensive Depth
Right now, Calgary has just three regular defensemen under contract for next season with Kylington’s eventual signing bringing them to four. Juuso Valimaki is signed for $1.55MM but spent the majority of the season in the minors so it’s fair to question whether he’s part of their plans for next season. It’s quite possible that he’s shopped around to try to free up a little more salary cap space.
Meanwhile, veterans Nikita Zadorov, Erik Gudbranson, and Michael Stone are all set to hit the open market later this month with it seeming quite unlikely that Zadorov will return. Gudbranson could be an option depending on what happens with their other free agents while Stone could return at or near the league minimum once again. Even if he does, Treliving is going to need to add some defensive depth.
Connor Mackey is a candidate to at least be on the roster on a full-time basis so that’s one spot but the Flames are going to need to add at least one external blueliner that’s capable of playing on the third pairing and if they don’t have plans to use Valimaki as a regular next season, they’re going to need to look for two of them. Quality role players on the back end can generate strong markets but Treliving is going to have to try to find some bargains.
Add Center Insurance
For several years, Sean Monahan was a fixture at the top of the lineup for Calgary. However, his play has steadily declined over the last couple of seasons with injuries starting to take their toll. He underwent hip surgery for the second straight year back in April which puts his availability for the start of next season in question. Even if he can return, it will be difficult for the Flames to count on much production from him. On top of that, the injury will make it next to impossible to buy out the final year of his deal, one that carries a $6.375MM AAV as he’d need to be medically cleared. That doesn’t seem likely to happen by the close of the first buyout window next week.
Meanwhile, the extra depth players that Treliving brought in last season are all set to test unrestricted free agency in trade deadline acquisitions Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Carpenter while Trevor Lewis is also set to walk. Between that and the injury to Monahan, what was once a positional strength now has some questions aside from Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund.
Internally, Dillon Dube can play down the middle but he has been used predominantly on the wing in his career and at this point, he probably isn’t a full-time option. Adam Ruzicka played in 28 games last season but is he ready for a full-time spot in the lineup and if so, can he play on the third line or is he better suited for the fourth?
As a result, the Flames could stand to add a pair of middlemen, one that can play on the third line behind Lindholm and Backlund and a depth center that can kill penalties in the mold of Lewis, Carpenter, or Brad Richardson (who was with the team for most of the year before finishing up with Vancouver). The latter won’t be too hard to find but the third-line option will be trickier, especially if there’s an expectation that Monahan will be able to return at some point. Assuming that’s the case, they won’t be able to rely on him being on LTIR and spend his cap hit on a replacement.
There’s a sequence of events that needs to happen for Calgary in the coming weeks and each of these ties back to a central theme, the salary cap. Treliving will need to get creative to keep as much of his core together as possible while still managing to fill the holes that will need to be addressed this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Snapshots: Gaudreau, Sharks, Russia
With just under two weeks now to go until the start of free agency, extensions are beginning to come in left and right as teams try to lock down players and get a better idea of their salary cap situation. One of the most highly-touted forwards on the market, if not the most highly-touted, is still without a contract, though: Calgary Flames left wing, Johnny Gaudreau. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Flames have offered him an eight-year extension worth a total of $76MM, or $9.5MM per season, and it’s still on the table.
If Gaudreau accepts the offer, it would certainly be a “win-now” discount as the Flames enter a tricky cap situation. After a 115-point season, the 28-year-old winger is in prime earning territory and could likely fetch eight figures on the open market with that kind of production. It seems unlikely he’d accept the offer, but only time will tell.
- San Jose Sharks interim general manager Joe Will confirmed today that forward prospects William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau have permission from the team to head to the 2022 World Junior Championship in August. Eklund is very likely the best player Sweden has to offer at the tournament, and he finished the abbreviated tournament in January with three assists in two games. Bordeleau will also join Team USA in all likelihood for his first WJC under an NHL contract.
- Michael Russo and Dan Robson of The Athletic highlight the challenges that Russian NHLers may face returning to North America this offseason. The piece comes as Philadelphia Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov was detained earlier today when trying to leave the country. With the potential of visa laws and exceptions on the United States’ side changing prior to the season, it could pose additional complications for Russian players to enter and play inside the United States, adding to league general managers’ growing concern that Russian players might not be available for next season. While Russo and Robson note that it’s still an extremely unlikely scenario, it’s one worth keeping an eye on as the offseason chugs along.
Latest On Johnny Gaudreau
- Johnny Gaudreau could be the biggest name in this summer’s free-agent market, and according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, despite a major offer from the Flames, the situation with Gaudreau is unchanged. Per LeBrun, Gaudreau’s camp has “not communicated” where the contract situation is headed, and there seems to be a growing divide in terms of how Gaudreau wants to handle his free agency and what the Flames are willing to tolerate as they attempt to construct next year’s roster. LeBrun reports that Gaudreau “wants to keep the Flames in the mix” while also getting to “take a peek” at the offers from other teams on July 13th. The Flames, though, would reportedly be uncomfortable with the saga dragging on to that point, and would potentially need to begin to pivot to other options, as LeBrun puts it. Flames GM Brad Treliving has previously stated that he would move “heaven and earth” to retain Gaudreau, so it remains to be seen if “heaven and earth” includes tolerating the uncertainty of Gaudreau’s free agency in order to maintain their chance of getting his signature on an extension.
USA Hockey Names National Junior Evaluation Camp Roster
With the significantly delayed 2022 World Junior Championship just around the corner, national organizations are beginning to announce their preparatory rosters for the tournament. Sweden did so earlier today, and now it’s the United States’ turn.
The eligibility rules for this postponed event are the same, but with the tournament taking place during the offseason, expect a higher-than-normal level of talent released to national teams for the occasion. The full U.S. roster (link here) will have that same luxury.
Highlighting the team’s forward core are San Jose Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau, Calgary Flames prospect Matt Coronato, and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matt Knies. Knies had the luxury of going to the 2022 Winter Olympics, playing at the most prestigious level of international hockey for the United States. On defense, New Jersey Devils prospect Luke Hughes and Los Angeles Kings prospect Brock Faber will take hold.
The most noteworthy part, though, like Sweden’s, is the amount of 2022-eligible choices who will now be under consideration for the final roster. There’s a strong group of forwards in that regard in addition to Logan Cooley, who made the team the first time around. Also under consideration are forwards Cutter Gauthier, Isaac Howard, Jack Hughes, Cam Lund, Rutger McGroarty, Frank Nazar III, and Jimmy Snuggerud. On defense, there’s Seamus Casey, Ryan Chesley, and Lane Hutson headlining the potential 2022 class.
There’s a very solid mix of youth, high-end skill, and veteran leadership on this United States team, who remain one of the favorites to capture a medal.
Johannes Kinnvall Signs In SHL
Another European free agent has decided to take his talents back home, as Johannes Kinnvall has signed a new two-year deal with Brynas in the SHL.
Kinnvall, 24, is coming off a two-year entry-level contract that he signed with the Calgary Flames in 2020, and was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer. The depth defenseman never did see the NHL, spending the first year of the contract back in Sweden on loan and this year with the Stockton Heat of the AHL.
With just 19 games under his belt for the Heat, Kinnvall will return to the SHL without much to show for his North American sojourn. He now heads back to a league he has dominated in recent years, recording 62 points over 83 games in his last two seasons as one of the most reliable puck-moving defensemen in the league.
Calgary will be able to retain his RFA rights by issuing him a qualifying offer, though at this point that isn’t a guarantee, given how little action he saw for their organization.
Adam Werner Signs In SHL
The Calgary Flames have one less pending free agent to worry about. Adam Werner, who is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer, has signed a new two-year contract with the Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League.
Werner, 25, spent the entire 2021-22 season with the Stockton Heat, recording a .886 save percentage in 21 appearances. While sometimes minor league goaltending performances can be tricky to evaluate due to the ever-changing roster in front of them but in this case, Werner’s statistics are in stark contrast to starter Dustin Wolf, who posted a .924 and won an award as the league’s best goaltender.
With no clear path to NHL action, it always did seem as though Werner would be taking his talents elsewhere, though a return to Sweden is interesting after his previous success in North America. Selected in the fifth round in 2016, the netminder began his pro career on this side of the pond with the Colorado Avalanche organization and even appeared in two games for the club in 2019-20. Before this season he had posted strong numbers in the minors and has the frame–Werner stands 6’5″–that can represent huge NHL upside.
Still, a two-year term with Malmo doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve seen the last of Werner. Given his relatively young age, there is still plenty of time for him to sign with another NHL organization down the line.
Dmitry Zavgorodniy Signs In KHL
After mutually terminating his contract a couple of weeks ago, former Calgary Flames prospect Dmitry Zavgorodniy is headed back to the KHL full-time. HK Sochi announced Sunday that the team inked the 21-year-old to a two-year contract through 2023-24.
No one thought much of Zavgorodniy at the time he was drafted, having fallen all the way to the Flames in the seventh round (198th overall) in the 2018 draft. But for the next two seasons, the 5′ 9″ forward took a huge step forward with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, culminating his junior career with a 29-goal, 67-point season in 40 games in 2019-20.
He’s yet to replicate that offense after leaving juniors, though. In 29 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat during the COVID-affected 2020-21 season, Zavgorodniy mustered just four points in 29 games. In just 12 games this season, he had one assist. He did spend some time in the KHL on loan during the past two seasons, scoring six assists in 16 games across time with SKA St. Petersburg and Sochi. Now, the Omsk-born forward will have a chance to play at home full-time as a free agent in the eyes of the NHL.
Zavgorodniy, at 21, still has time to develop his game and return to the NHL later in his career if things go right for him.
Latest On Johnny Gaudreau
Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau could very well be the top free agent on the market when the frenzy kicks off on July 13. That is of course unless the Flames are able to lock up their offensive dynamo before then. The team is putting the “pedal down” according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, as they try to beat the clock.
Seravalli points out something that is important to remember in cases like this. The Flames’ advantage of being able to offer Gaudreau an extra year will disappear once free agency begins, meaning they have just over a month left to offer him an eight-year deal. If he reaches July 13 without a contract, the 28-year-old forward will only be able to sign a seven-year contract, no matter where he chooses to go.
Every time that general manager Brad Treliving has spoken about Gaudreau, he’s made clear that Calgary hopes to retain the services of their 115-point man. Despite that, speculation continues to swirl around the New Jersey native, suggesting he might be interested in returning to the east coast. As always, any contract talks will likely be determined by overall salary first and foremost, as it does with almost every player that hits the market.
On that end, the Flames certainly have enough cap space to win a bidding war, though there are other players who could be affected by where Gaudreau lands. Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane are both restricted free agents just a single year from unrestricted free agent status, and could simply use the arbitration system to get to the open market in 2023. Any long-term extensions with them will be buying out almost exclusively UFA years and would be expensive.
The focus is obviously on Gaudreau though, as there is a lot more time to talk to the RFA forwards after the free agent period begins. If they don’t get the first domino in place by then, things could be drastically different in Calgary next season.