The offseason grocery list is done, and we can now live stress free: the Flames have re-signed Sam Bennett, the final RFA of the 2017 offseason, to a two-year, $1.95M AAV contract.
.@CortexBusiness Transaction Alert: The #Flames have signed Sam Bennett to a two-year deal! Details ~ https://t.co/LCHYXMlVbc pic.twitter.com/m7lhvvRhQK
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 6, 2017
Although the highest ever pick in Flames history, Bennett has yet to live up to the hype. His first NHL season was derailed by shoulder surgery, his second featured him playing on the wing, and his third was filled with struggles.
There have been many times that Bennett has shown flashes of brilliance, but there are still many doubts. With this deal, the Flames give him a bit more time to prove himself and grow while keeping the dollar amount low. Though they take the risk of having to shell out major bucks in two years’ time when Bennett is arbitration eligible, this is a great deal for the time being.
The center is taking a very, very team-friendly deal. Headed into the season, the Flames will have $5.2M in cap room left with two forward spots and a defender spot still open. While those all could be solved by the cheap depth available in Stockton (many have already penciled them in), the Flames do retain the option of signing a UFA or two looking for a job. We have a name in mind already.
Post will be updated depending on new information.
This deal makes perfect sense. Sam hasn’t proven himself yet, good incentive to play well and sign an home run contract in 2 years. Great for the Flames also, extra cash sitting around if they need it. Let’s get going and play some hockey.
Great deal, low AAV, time for the camp.
Let’s see some of the Bennett detractors apologize to the kid.
Team friendly?!
It’s what he’s earned. Time to eat crow guys.
You and Raffydog should be eating the most.
Me?
Didn’t I say 2×2…
You were also trading him, and bad mouthing him.
Yeah. No secret he is undisplined. And if he wanted more then he’s worth then get rid of him.
Right now, Ferland, Lazar, Bennett are basically interchangeable.
Uh no. Lazar is nowhere near as good as Bennett.
I cannot find the list of penalties drawn vs taken, anyone know where it is?
Lazar has shown a lot less than Bennett, so they aren’t interchangeable, and Ferland is a totally different cap of tea.
Ya I bad mouthed him pretty bad, just expect most athletes to be greedy douchbags. But I can’t be happier to have been proven wrong. Way to go Sammy, you’re still my fave
These guys earn their living playing a a sport with a very high injury risk. If they only play out one year of their contract before a career ender, that’s what they have to live on. Most of them have no employable skills other than ‘good at hockey’. If I were them I’d take what I could get too.
Can we agree that any sizeable gap reported earlier was solely between Dreger’s ears…?!
I think we can agree.
what does crow taste like Fall? I have this feeling you have ate it before ?
In Treliving we trust!
Excellent salary management, leaving ~$5M spending cash for later.
Sammy takes one for the team! Love this kid.
Not the first time he has done that nor will it be the last time.
Yay, guess I still have a soft spot for Bennett, cause I just got all giddy when I saw that headline.
It is a start. 🙂
There you go. It was always about that extra year that the Bennett camp wanted to avoid,not the rumors of Sam wanting Draisitil money.
Godspeed Sam.
Exactly, it was the term, and one cannot blame Bennett for that.
Actually, I think in this deal we come out loving Brad for getting the deal and Sam for taking it. There’s nothing to blame anyone for, except for Dreger. He looks very stupid right now.
But it’s a weight off my mind that Sam’s gonna get camp in.
Well done Brad, thank you Sam.
So happy right now.
Great to have Benny signed would have liked it to have been a longer term . Now there are still questions on signing some others U F A s which still makes things interesting .Young Stars are here this week end life is good GFG
$5M is a lot of cash to throw around before camp starts.
Let’s not throw it around, but I got a feeling Tre is going to spend it.
I hope so. Free Jagr jersies for the first 10,000 fans!
Hopefully Tre keeps the cash in his piggybank for now. Flames have to turn the corner on developing and promoting like Anaheim, Nashville. In February if we’re in position bring in a top star to help with a cup run.
2 forwards and a D need to come out of that 5 mil yet.
Yes – and if you look at about $1.0 for Janko, and $650 each for the other 2 spots, that leaves about $2.8 left, not a ton, but at the deadline it would get us a lot of player when you factor in the per day savings.
Right on, glad it is done. It was always going to be a two year deal in my mind. Bennett would have wanted a 1 year show-me deal, and the team would have wanted a 3+ year deal, so they settled in the middle on term.
At 1.95M, Bennett is still making more than Ferland and Versteeg who got 1.75M each. It seems like a fair deal all around to me. The roster should be set now, adding any external player will just clog up a spot intended for Jankowski.
Wow that’s cheap, if he wasn’t stuck with Brouwer last season this contract would be probably 1 mill higher.
First post guys! Sam is going to prove he belongs! Give him 2 guys to ride shotgun that can play and we got ourselves another scoring line. Welcome back Sam! Blue
I like the way you think, welcome aboard.
Welcome!!!
SIGN JAGR
^ I like this guy. ^
You know what? I believe in the team as it is right now. No mullets needed.
I think we could use that money in some salary-eating package pick-recouping trade scenario.
For example, we could eat ALL of Brouwer’s contract and still sign a decent guy.
Just sayin’…
Run his hero chart and put it next to any rookie the Flames may hope to ice. He’s been a monster for the past five years.
I will take Jankowski over Jagr because long term it will benefit the Flames more.
Yes…I still don’t agree, but Jagr was quoted as saying there was interest from the Flames but the level of interst changed a lot. Just remembered that.
Great deal for both sides. Next up: Jags
Low balled?
Could be a really good deal if he has a coming out party this year.
The Flames are at 20/23 contracts.
Add in Jankowski at 925K, Kulak at 650K, swapping out Bartkowski for Wotherspoon is essentially a wash, and another player in the 650K – 925K range.
Add in bonuses that Tkachuk (and others, depending on who makes the roster) figures to earn, and you’ve blasted through half of that 5.2M already.
Let’s not get giddy about the money the team has left over.
Realistically how much would Jagr want to play for one year in Calgary?
WW
$3M salary and $2M bonus is a lot of realality for a team that has an open spot tailor made for 12mins a night right winger against third line competition who not only scores but still ‘drives play’.
Jagr could take a 2M salary and keep signing bonus @ 2-2.5M, that way we stay under cap and can use overages- bonus for next season?
His bonus won’t count against cap. He’s that old.
Lol thanks Fall, I forgot he’s been around longer than his hair..
It does count but if it puts the Flames over the cap (up to 7.5% over after which the team would need to shrink its payroll) then it can be applied to the next year’s cap. There is no way to use performance bonuses to circumvent the hard cap.I like Jaromir but I think he might be too slow to fit in and likely would limit the team’s cap flexibility at the TDL. I don’t think BT will sign him.
Earlier this summer I said that Drysaddle would get $8 and Sam $3….
Close enough…
WW
Time to by a lottery ticket….Kreskin has nothing on you.
Time for Jagr now, I think. Perhaps a thought of playing with Jagr played a role in keeping Bennett’s salary sub-2.
Wow, that’s a great bridge deal for the Flames.
Now I hope we see the playoff Bennett that we love!
GFG?
AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA !!!! Holy crap!!!! WHAT A DEAL…If mean, I don’t think any of us thought he’d come in under 2.
BRAD TRELIVING SHOLD BE PRESIDENT OF JESUS 😀 😀 😀
He had 26 points. What did you expect? If he gets 40 points then great.
Treliving doesn’t make life easy for himself; Lazar, Ferland, Bennett etc contracts all due again in 2 years….
I guess he could have taken the easy way out and signed them all to 6X$6….
WW
It’s great. Only one will be worth keeping: see what happens, trade the stud, whatever.
It gets worse: Tkachuk too.
He’s the one who may break through the ‘internal cap’.
If everyone hits the paydays we think will cause cap problems, it probably means we won the cup or came dang close. Not a bad problem to have. I think between a Stajan contract expiration, a Stone trade, standard annual cap growth, Raymond, Bouma & Murphy buy-out expiration and a Brouwer buy-out – Treliving will find a way to fit everyone in – even with a Backlund re-up.
Matthew will still be an RFA so BT will be able to limit the damage. If Micheal and Curtis ask for too much they will be traded when their UFA date approaches. Sam will likely get a big raise on his next RFA contract but the way BT negotiates it probably won’t break the bank. No worries for now and maybe not for later either. Time to sit back and enjoy the hockey.
Oh… and don’t forget Mike Smith comes off the books by then too.
@WW nah you’re thinking of Chia .. all Oil fans drive 4×4’s.
Chia matches all contracts based on that formula..
Kudos to Sam and Tre for keeping the salary and term real. The deal benefits both sides while still leaving enough in the kitty for a pre-season or mid-season buy. When I saw $1.95M I thought for sure a one year deal, but $1.95 per season for 2 seasons works well for the club and Sam. Nice piece or work wrapped up before training camp starts.
Also, in all the pics of Sam in recent articles, he’s not smiling!!! Come on!! We got him on a cheap deal and he’s the last guy who gotta get fitted for the ring I want to see the man’s pearly whites now, yo!!!!