The Entry Level Contract Bunch

Early this year, Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke appeared (as he often does) at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston. If that sounds like a weird fit, it kind-of is – Burke has seemingly embraced the role of being the old crank shaking his fist at those punk kids doing analytics on his lawn.

However, his musings about the challenges of a salary capped NHL did lead to him – as other execs in other sports have done – waxing poetic about the importance of getting contributions from players on entry-level contracts.

In recent years, it can be argued that the Flames have done a fairly good job utilizing guys on entry-level deals, though to varying degrees. Arguably the pinnacle has been the T.J. Brodie emergence, as he tested the waters in Year 1 of his ELC and gradually improved, ending his ELC as an NHL regular (and arguably the team’s best non-Giordano blueliner).

Lance Bouma had a similar progression and seemed primed for a post-lockout roster spot last year (during his final ELC season) before his knee injury. Mikael Backlund also emerged during his ELC years. Others didn’t, but in many ways that’s the point – you use the entry-level, waiver-exempt seasons to test guys out at the NHL level when the opportunity arises. If they progress, you get the value of their work below-market as the ELC keeps their pay low. Of course, then you have to pay…

The Flames have 20 players on entry-level deals for the 2014-15 season.

Noted by the double-asterixes (**), Kanzig, Klimchuk and Poirier are all in the slide year of their deals, meaning that unless they play 10+ NHL games, their deals don’t begin to run. (Patrick Sieloff, injured most of this season, was in a similar situation despite being a pro. Poirier will be in the same spot next year.)

Notable? No goaltenders (right now, at least). Lots of guys basically in their first year of pro hockey (Agostino, Arnold, Gaudreau, Culkin, Ferland, Kulak, Poirer, Sieloff, van Brabant). I feel bad for Ferland, who burned his first year due to the lockout and some off-ice craziness, then got hurt this year after just 25 games and is now onto the third year of his deal. Sven Baertschi, Turner Elson and Max Reinhart are also entering the final year of their deals.

Sean Monahan is the only player on an ELC that is a sure-fire every-day NHLer right now. But I don’t doubt that we’ll see about half of these guys in Calgary next season, with perhaps Wotherspoon, Reinhart, Gaudreau and Knight having the inside track tor regular duty.