On Saturday, the Calgary Flames and Matt Coronato came to an agreement on a seven-year contract extension worth $6.5 million per season. Coronato played his first full NHL season with the Flames in 2024-25 and emerged as one of their most relied-upon offensive weapons, totalling 24 goals and 47 points through 77 games.

This deal is a home run for Calgary on many different levels.

For one, they’re finally starting to exorcise the demons of the 2022 off-season. Following the departure of two American superstars that summer, there was speculation surrounding the team that players born south of the border would think twice before signing a long-term deal in Calgary.

Coronato, a native of Greenlawn, New York, was seemingly always on board to sign an extension with the Flames since they drafted him with the 13th selection in 2021. “Matt wants to be here long term, and that says a lot about him and where this is kind of going, moving forward.” said general manager Craig Conroy in a recent interview with the Flames’ site.

It’s also encouraging that the Flames’ brass is now more willing to lock up young and rather unproven players to long term deals after the expiration of their ELCs. Taking big swings on young players is something they’ve failed to accomplish in the past, and have paid for it dearly, namely with Matthew Tkachuk who’s stated he was willing to sign long term after his ELC, but the Flames weren’t.

“During this process this summer, I kind of thought back to three years prior when I was going through my contract situation then, and throughout the whole process after my entry-level, I was just like ‘No, [I want to sign for] six, seven, eight years. What are we doing?’ And nothing really came from it,” said Tkachuk on an episode of Spittin’ Chiclets in November 2022.

Tkachuk was instead signed to a bridge deal and his tenure in Calgary ended when he was just 24 years old. Conversely, Coronato’s new deal will keep him under team control until within a month of his 30th birthday.

As for the deal’s value, the $6.5 million annual cap hit may not be reflective of Coronato’s play this season or even next, depending on the developmental steps he takes. However the Flames’ are not in a position where they are strapped for cash, and a slight overpay in the now is a small price to pay to have a potential 30 goal scorer on an affordable deal down the line.

Not to mention the expected salary cap bumps over the next few seasons, the NHL projects the cap could rise a whopping 28% from its current $88 million by the 2027-28 season. If the league follows through on those projections they made in January, Coronato’s contract would account for a minuscule 5% of the Flames’ total cap in 2027, when the team is expected to open their new arena, Scotia Place.

Even with Coronato’s deal kicking in next season, Calgary still has more than enough cash to tie up their other pending RFAs in Connor Zary, Morgan Frost, Kevin Bahl and Adam Klapka. All while leaving space to play around with in free agency, whether that be on free agents or a potential offer sheet.

With a busy off-season ahead of them, Calgary management has now sorted their biggest ticket item here in early May. Coming to terms with their most notable restricted free agent early allows for a little more clarity on their cap structure moving forward and gives them plenty of runway to sort out the remainder of their expiring deals.

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This article is presented by Bon Ton Meat Market

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