FlamesNation player evaluation: Tobias Rieder

After infamously being called out by Edmonton Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson near the conclusion of his disastrous 2018–19 season, Tobias Rieder found a new home three hours down the QEII this year and carved a decent niche for himself.

The Flames signed Rieder to a one-year, league-minimum contract after inviting him to their September 2019 training camp, and, despite being waived in October, he eventually became a key cog of their defensive game.

He didn’t exactly light the world on fire (well, not until the playoffs, at least), but Rieder was a pretty solid presence on the fourth line whenever he played.

For $700,000, the Flames could’ve done a lot worse than Tobi Rieder this past year.

(Data courtesy of NaturalStatTrick)

After going unqualified as an RFA by the L.A. Kings in the summer of 2018, Rieder signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Edmonton on July 1 of that year. It looked like a surefire bargain contract for a guy coming off four consecutive 12-goal seasons while playing solid PK minutes.

We all know what happened next. Rieder played 67 games for the Oilers, scored exactly zero goals, and was the reason they missed the playoffs. Well, that last part isn’t really true, but don’t tell Bob Nicholson. (Rieder chipped in 11 assists as an Oiler to go along with his goose egg in the “goals” column).

Then, in a perfect WWE/Kris Versteeg-style turn of the heel, Rieder came to Calgary, immediately scored two goals against the Oilers in a pre-season game, and wound up having a nice rebound year at the league minimum.

It’s going to be a weird summer for the Flames. They’re reportedly in on everybody, including Matt Dumba, Alex Pietrangelo, Jacob Markstrom, and Taylor Hall. Those guys would all come with hefty price-tags and the Flames aren’t exactly swimming in cap space. Something has to give.

With Mark Jankowski and possibly Derek Ryan nearing the exits, the Flames are going to need guys who can kill penalties, preferably on the cheap. Rieder was a solid constant for them in that role all season long, and he saw his allotment of ice-time increase as the year progressed. He’s a guy who Brad Treliving and Don Maloney are comfortable with dating back to their Phoenix days, and he won’t be expensive.

Speculating here, but the Flames would probably be comfortable giving a 27-year-old Tobi Rieder a two-year contract at around $800,000 (similar to what Curtis Lazar just got in Buffalo) to keep killing penalties and generating breakaways. Of course, a lot depends on whether the Flames keep Derek Ryan around or not and whether they see guys like Glenn Gawdin or Dillon Dube as potential PKers. They wouldn’t be smart to go above $900,000 or so with a depth guy like Rieder (ideally, he should be totally buriable if things go south) but a two-year term seems reasonable for both sides and allows him to help satisfy the Flames’ expansion requirements, if need be.