Although it’s nonetheless two months away, anticipation is constructing because the 2024-25 NHL season approaches. Hockey followers get to spend that point speculating, projecting, and predicting how their favorite gamers or groups will pan out. Calgary Flames followers are probably extra excited concerning the distant future, because the franchise is probably going headed for its third straight season with out making the NHL playoffs. The workforce nonetheless has a handful of veterans, however is younger now with a give attention to improvement as they dive deeper into their much-needed rebuild. Common supervisor Craig Conroy and his workforce have completed a superb job of shifting confirmed expertise and recouping property within the type of prospects or draft picks. They made a formidable ten choices on the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
Associated: Calgary Flames’ Participant Milestones for the 2024-25 Season
In at the moment’s NHL, cash is the whole lot. The most important present commerce chip accessible is wage cap area; groups with the room (often non-competitive ones) will tackle massive, undesirable contracts to alleviate the monetary strain of others. The Flames presently have the second-most cap area in all the NHL, with $19.97 million. That is as a result of aforementioned work completed buying and selling away established gamers who additionally carried the next wage. Whereas many 2024-25 Flames gamers have honest contracts, some supply poor worth similar to ahead Jonathan Huberdeau’s; it was lately voted because the worst contract within the league. Nevertheless, we wish positives and to as an alternative analyze the contracts that will be deemed as bargains or present nice bang for the franchise’s buck. As well as, we’ll supply NHL comparisons to intensify our assertions. Listed below are 4 of the most effective contracts on the Flames for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Rasmus Andersson, Protection
The primary contract that gives immense worth is that of defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The 27-year-old is the second-longest tenured Flame, solely behind captain Mikael Backlund. He was a second-round draft alternative again in 2015 and is slated to go well with up for his five hundredth sport this season. A local of Malmo, Sweden, Andersson suits the traits of what many hockey minds view as essentially the most invaluable sort of participant: a top-four, right-shooting defender. It took just a few seasons for him to determine issues out, however over the previous three he has averaged eight objectives and 38 assists in 80 video games performed. “Ras” is a quintessential offensive defenseman that makes wonderful first passes out of his personal zone and doesn’t thoughts becoming a member of a rush to create a scoring likelihood. He’s additionally a well-respected chief on the workforce, serving as an alternate captain because the 2022-23 season.
Often, most of these gamers command daunting compensation, however Andersson signed a six-year, $27.3 million contract again in 2020 that has only a $4.55 million common annual worth (AAV). For comparability’s sake, comparable rearguards in age and manufacturing make more cash. For instance: Winnipeg Jets blueliner Neal Pionk has a yearly cap hit of $5.875 million and Flames teammate MacKenzie Weegar signed a contract that accounts for $6.25 million per season. Andersson has now grow to be a little bit of a second fiddle with the emergence of Weegar, however continues to be a top-pairing defender that may play a ton of laborious minutes this season with the remainder of the defence core being unproven, younger, or a mixture of the 2. He has two extra seasons remaining on his present deal, and will hopefully be part of the workforce when it turns into aggressive once more.
Blake Coleman, Ahead
Subsequent up is rugged veteran ahead Blake Coleman, whom the Flames inked as a free agent again in the summertime of 2021. He earned himself a six-year, $29.4 million pact after performing effectively on the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning, the place he gained the Stanley Cup twice (2020, 2021). The American was headhunted for his outstanding defensive capabilities as a ahead, who additionally had a sneaky knack for creating offence. This high quality is a sneaky one now not; at 32 years of age, he broke out in a giant manner with the Flames in 2023-24, scoring a career-high 30 objectives, 24 assists, and 54 factors. Coleman went from being a hard-nosed grinder to that in addition to a official scoring menace at any time when he stepped on the ice. As he blossomed offensively, his defensive sport didn’t endure both; he tied his career-high with 57 blocked pictures, had 128 hits, 43 takeaways, and completed twenty first in Selke Trophy voting. For puck possession followers, Coleman additionally posted his fourth straight season with a Corsi For score of fifty% or higher.
Coleman has grow to be tremendous vital in all on-ice conditions for the Flames; his 2023-24 common of 1:31 of shorthanded ice time led all full-time Flames forwards (Kevin Rooney performed 2:34, however solely wearing 33 video games). His common of 55 seconds of energy play time per sport was additionally his highest ever and he tied his career-high with three objectives with the person benefit. No Flame bested his plus/minus score of plus-19. However Coleman’s most spectacular feat? Seven of his 30 objectives final season had been game-winners, tying him for fifteenth place within the NHL. So he’s clutch and may rating, hit, block, and verify, all for an AAV of $4.9 million. There isn’t any precise corresponding to Coleman, however the New York Islanders’ Anders Lee and St. Louis Blues’ Brayden Schenn are shut and carry $7 million and $6.5 million AAVs, respectively. Thank goodness the Flames have Coleman for an additional three years at this worth.
Martin Pospisil, Ahead
Third comes 24-year-old Slovak ahead Martin Pospisil. The 6-foot-2, 173-pound 2018 fourth-round decide of the Flames made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and by no means appeared again, skating in 63 contests within the massive leagues. He shortly discovered his only methods of contributing to the workforce: creating disturbances on the ice and area for his teammates to function. Pospisil was a ache within the neck for the opposition each night time; he delivered booming physique checks, was nasty in each puck battle he was concerned in, and bilked opponents into taking penalties on quite a few events. Despite the fact that he didn’t play in all 82 video games, Pospisil led all the Flames roster in each hits and penalty minutes with a whopping 238 and 109, respectively. He additionally registered 22 blocked pictures and 26 takeaways, and his plus-14 score was third behind Coleman and the departed Chris Tanev.
Pospisil is way from a one-trick pony, nonetheless. The rookie scored his first profession objective throughout his NHL debut and adopted it up with seven extra in addition to 16 assists for twenty-four complete factors. There have been a handful of cases the place the teenager appeared unimaginable to knock off of the puck, and exhibited surprisingly softer fingers than your common NHL agitator. Pospisil gelled extraordinarily effectively on a line with Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, taking a few of the consideration off of them and thus giving them extra room to create offence. His entry-level contract expired this summer season however the Flames fortunately re-upped him with a two-year, $2 million extension. For comparisons, Buffalo Sabres grinder Beck Malenstyn simply signed for $1.35 million per season and the Vancouver Canucks simply obtained Kiefer Sherwood for a $1.5 million AAV. Pospisil ought to have a implausible alternative to proceed to develop with extra expertise and hopefully heightened accountability in 2024-25.
Dustin Wolf, Goaltender
The final contract we really feel is an absolute steal is goaltender Dustin Wolf‘s. The ink continues to be recent from the two-year, $1.7 million contract he simply signed to stay a Flame. He has lengthy been thought of to be among the many finest goaltenders outdoors of the NHL and at last obtained a chance to flex his chops in 2023-24. The 23-year-old appeared in 17 contests, ending with a document of 7-7-1. He had a 3.16 goals-against common (GAA) and a .893 save proportion (SV%). Now, these numbers should not precisely world-beating, we all know. Nevertheless, NHL goalies are fragile beings that require a number of time and endurance. Fortunately for Wolf, the Flames have an abundance of each.
What makes his contract a discount is Wolf’s huge potential; in junior he was the Western Hockey League’s Goalie of the 12 months twice, and was named the Canadian Hockey League’s finest netminder as effectively. On the American Hockey League stage, he gained the 2023 league MVP award in addition to two Goaltender of the 12 months awards in 2022 and 2023. The pure expertise and abilities are there, Wolf’s sport is simply uncooked and he wants a protracted sufficient leash to have the ability to discover ways to succeed on the NHL stage. Former Flames starter Jacob Markstrom was lately dealt to the New Jersey Devils. Now solely Wolf, backup Dan Vladar, and minor leaguers Devin Cooley and Walterri Ignatjew are within the fold. It’s laborious to not assume that the crease is Wolf’s to lose. Latest younger goalies with comparable ages and stats, Samuel Ersson (Philadelphia Flyers) and Arvid Soderblom (Chicago Blackhawks), got $1.45 million and $962,500 AAVs, respectively.
On the finish of the day, the Flames did an excellent job of evaluating expertise once they initially signed these males to their present contracts. All three are optimistic contributors to the franchise each on and off the ice and accomplish that in a mess of the way. Hopefully, the workforce can proceed to exemplify magnificent monetary literacy with extra team-friendly contracts. Doing so will assist guarantee there’s sufficient cap area to function and proceed the rebuild.
