Contracts, Cap Space and the Flames Off-Season
By Ryan Pike
8 years agoThe off-season is now upon us!
In the interest of creating a nice, simple clearing-house of information as we leap head-long into analysis, predictions and good old-fashioned prognosticating, here’s a gentle summary of where the Calgary Flames sit right now in terms of contract numbers, free agency and cap space!
DEALS FOR 2015-16
As of today, here is what is signed and sealed in terms of deals for next season. Cap numbers are via NHL Numbers unless otherwise noted.
- G Jonas Hiller – $4.500 million
- G Joni Ortio – $0.600 million
- G Jon Gillies – $0.925 million
- D Dennis Wideman – $5.250 million
- D T.J. Brodie – $4.650 million
- D Mark Giordano – $4.020 million
- D Ladislav Smid – $3.500 million
- D Deryk Engelland – $2.917 million
- D Kris Russell – $2.600 million
- D Keegan Kanzig – $0.667 million
- D Tyler Wotherspoon – $0.925 million
- D Patrick Sieloff – $0.925 million
- D Kenney Morrison – $0.925 million (General Fanager)
- D Brett Kulak – $0.657 million
- D Ryan Culkin – $0.657 million
- F Jiri Hudler – $4.000 million
- F David Jones – $4.000 million
- F Sam Bennett – $3.225 million
- F Mason Raymond – $3.150 million
- F Matt Stajan – $3.125 million
- F Johnny Gaudreau – $1.850 million
- F Sean Monahan – $1.775 million
- F Joe Colborne – $1.275 million
- F Brandon Bollig – $1.250 million
- F Morgan Klimchuk – $0.925 million
- F Emile Poirier – $0.925 million
- F Markus Granlund – $0.925 million
- F Austin Carroll – $0.925 million (General Fanager)
- F Garnet Hathaway – $0.925 million (General Fanager)
That’s 29 deals of the team’s allotment of 50 active NHL contracts. Also, I’d be willing to bet that Carroll and Hathaway like got less than the rookie maximum given their draft status, but that’s just me guessing.
For the curious, the following players are waiver-exempt, meaning they can go back and forth from the NHL to the AHL without consideration to losing their rights: Jon Gillies, Keegan Kanzig, Tyler Wotherspoon, Patrick Sieloff, Kenney Morrison, Brett Kulak, Ryan Culkin, Sam Bennett (though he’ll only be able to go back to the OHL), Morgan Klimchuk, Emile Poirier, Markus Granlund, Austin Carroll and Garnet Hathaway.
It’s also worth noting that players on an entry-level deal can also be assigned to the ECHL, which may be something the Flames explore considering (a) they have a lot of players that need ice-time and (b) they own both the AHL’s Stockton Heat and the ECHL’s Adirdonack Thunder outright.
FREE AGENTS
The Calgary Flames have 23 players on active contracts right now that will be free agents come July 1, and a defected player who is technically still a restricted free agent while playing overseas.
A [W] beside a player’s name indicates they are subject to waivers, by the way.
The club has 16 restricted free agents:
- D John Ramage
- D Sena Acolatse [W]
- D Chad Billins (technically) [W]
- F Mikael Backlund [W]
- F Bryce van Brabant
- F Drew Shore [W]
- F Josh Jooris [W]
- F Bill Arnold
- F Kenny Agostino
- F David Wolf [W]
- F Max Reinhart [W]
- F Ben Hanowski [W]
- F Micheal Ferland [W]
- F Lance Bouma [W]
- F Paul Byron [W]
- F Turner Elson
The team also has 8 unrestricted free agents:
- G Brad Thiessen [W]
- G Karri Ramo [W]
- D David Schlemko [W]
- D Raphael Diaz [W]
- D Corey Potter [W]
- D Mark Cundari (Group IV) [W]
- F Brian McGrattan [W]
- F Devin Setoguchi [W]
CAP SPACE
Per recent interviews with Gary Bettman, most likely we’re looking at a salary cap around $71.5 million. Floor is $18 million less, so it’s likely around $53.5 million.
Let’s presume that everybody on an existing NHL contract is (a) on a one-way deal, (b) is subject to waivers or (b) is Sam Bennett, will be on the NHL roster come the beginning of the season. That means a roster that looks something like this:
- G: Hiller and Ortio
- D: Wideman, Brodie, Giordano, Smid, Engelland and Russell
- F: Hudler, Jones, Bennett, Raymond, Stajan, Gaudreau, Monahan, Colborne and Bollig
And a cap hit of roughly $51.687 million when bonuses are factored in. Based on this, the Flames have $1.813 million to spend to hit the floor, and just shy of $20 million (roughly $19.813 million) cap space before they hit the ceiling.
Granted, they’re obviously going to make some moves, so don’t expect these 16 guys to definitely be on the roster. Particularly since a lot of young guys made an impression this season, and some of the older guys…well, didn’t.
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