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<p>The biggest topic of conversation this Calgary Flames season is what is going to happen with their six 2024 unrestricted free agents: Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington. Should they sign them? Should they trade them? How many will leave as a UFA next summer?</p>
<p></p>
<p>By the sounds of it, general manager Craig Conroy wants to keep a lot of those players, most notably Lindholm, Backlund and Hanifin.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">General manager Craig Conroy says talks with Elias Lindholm are moving in a good direction.</p>
<p>Says Lindholm wants to be in Calgary and they’ll continue working at it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a></p>
<p>— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1701961642030833696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">On Noah Hanifin, Conroy indicates the team hasn’t closed the door on him returning.</p>
<p>“He did say he wasn’t going to re-sign in the summer. But that doesn’t mean he won’t ever re-sign.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a></p>
<p>— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1701965520650612892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p>One thing Conroy and the Flames organization need to keep in mind is that they’re going to have a lot of expiring contracts for younger players coming up in the next three years. Conroy is going to have to be very careful about how they spend their cap space when re-signing his 2024 UFAs.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-111384" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Betway-Article-Image.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="222" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Betway-Article-Image.jpg 740w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Betway-Article-Image-300x90.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
<p>The Flames already have a lot of money tied up in veteran players on long term contracts.</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160"><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198"><strong>Years Remaining on Contract</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151"><strong>Average Annual Value</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Jonathan Huberdeau</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$10.5 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Nazem Kadri</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$7 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">MacKenzie Weegar</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$6.25 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Jacob Markstrom</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$6 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Blake Coleman</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$4.9 million</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Calgary has $34.65 million in cap space tied up in five veteran players for at least the next three years.</p>
<p>Now consider how much cap space they will have to dedicate to Lindholm, Backlund, Hanifin, Tanev, and Zadorov. (I&#8217;m leaving Kylington out because we don&#8217;t know what his next contract could look like)</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Potential Contract Length </strong></td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Potential Average Annual Value</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Elias Lindholm</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">8 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$9 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Noah Hanifin</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">8 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$6.35 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Mikael Backlund</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">3 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$4.75 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Nikita Zadorov</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">4 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$4.25 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Chris Tanev</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">2 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$3.5 million</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/what-will-contract-extensions-look-like-for-the-calgary-flames-seven-2024-ufas">(Projected contract numbers are from an article I wrote during the off-season about how much it will cost to re-sign the players above)</a></p>
<p>Based off my projections, the Flames would be adding around $27.85 million in cap space for the players listed above. Combine that with the five existing contracts of Huberdeau, Kadri, Weegar, Coleman and Markstrom. That totals $62.5 million.</p>
<p>You’re probably screaming at your screen that the salary cap is going to go up and that will help justify signing players to big money deals. But the salary cap significantly increasing is not a guarantee. There are some economic factors that could come into play that could stop the cap from rising as much as we are anticipating. We are on the precipice of a potential recession. Inflation, rising interest rates and increased cost of living could play a role in a decrease in attendance. Important regional sports networks in the states are declaring bankruptcy. The next Canadian TV deal likely won’t be as lucrative as the one Rogers signed in 2014. There could be unforeseen events like we saw with the pandemic in 2020. That is why teams shouldn’t be banking on the cap rising $10 million (or more) in the next few years.</p>
<p>With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the upcoming contract negotiations the Flames are going to have to work out with some of their NHL players and prospects.</p>
<h3><strong>2024 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<p><strong>UFAs:</strong> Oliver Kylington</p>
<p><strong>RFAs:</strong> Dustin Wolf, Dillon Dube, Jakob Pelletier, Adam Ruzicka</p>
<p>All five of these players are going to be looking for raises on their next contract. Especially someone like Dube who has proved he is a solid top nine NHL forward.</p>
<h3><strong>2025 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<p><strong>UFAs:</strong> Andrew Mangiapane, Yegor Sharangovich, Walker Duehr</p>
<p><strong>RFAs:</strong> Matthew Coronato, Jeremie Poirier, Connor Zary</p>
<p>The player looking for the biggest raise could be Matthew Coronato. What if he turns into a 25-35 goal scorer in his second season in the NHL? He is going to be looking for a large extension.</p>
<p>The same could be said for Mangiapane and Sharangovich. What if both players are 25 goal scorers? It’s not going to be cheap to sign them.</p>
<h3><strong>2026 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<p><strong>UFA:</strong> Rasmus Andersson</p>
<p>The potential next captain has been playing on a discounted contract. He will likely be a $7-8 million defenceman by the time he signs his next deal.</p>
<p>I point all this out to show Flames fans the risk the team runs if they decide to sign a few or all of their 2024 UFAs to large contract extensions.</p>
<p>There will be sacrifices in the form of trades and bridge deals for young players in the Flames organization which will hurt the long-term health of their salary cap and roster construction.</p>
<p>Conroy will have to approach this situation using an attitude of ruthless pragmatism when deciding who to sign and who to trade. The Flames can’t afford to spend all their money now because it’s going to come back to bite them.</p>

<strong><em>Brought to you by odds site <a href="https://betway.com/en/sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://betway.com/en/sports/grp/ice-hockey/north-america/nhl&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687012785221000&amp;usg=AOvVaw26eyjYvgk4l11WhrH94OW2">Betway</a>!</em></strong>

The biggest topic of conversation this Calgary Flames season is what is going to happen with their six 2024 unrestricted free agents: Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington. Should they sign them? Should they trade them? How many will leave as a UFA next summer?



By the sounds of it, general manager Craig Conroy wants to keep a lot of those players, most notably Lindholm, Backlund and Hanifin.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">General manager Craig Conroy says talks with Elias Lindholm are moving in a good direction.</p>
Says Lindholm wants to be in Calgary and they’ll continue working at it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a>

— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1701961642030833696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">On Noah Hanifin, Conroy indicates the team hasn’t closed the door on him returning.</p>
“He did say he wasn’t going to re-sign in the summer. But that doesn’t mean he won’t ever re-sign.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a>

— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1701965520650612892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
One thing Conroy and the Flames organization need to keep in mind is that they’re going to have a lot of expiring contracts for younger players coming up in the next three years. Conroy is going to have to be very careful about how they spend their cap space when re-signing his 2024 UFAs.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-111384" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Betway-Article-Image.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="222" />

The Flames already have a lot of money tied up in veteran players on long term contracts.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160"><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198"><strong>Years Remaining on Contract</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151"><strong>Average Annual Value</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Jonathan Huberdeau</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$10.5 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Nazem Kadri</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$7 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">MacKenzie Weegar</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$6.25 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Jacob Markstrom</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">3</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$6 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center" width="160">Blake Coleman</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="198">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center" width="151">$4.9 million</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Calgary has $34.65 million in cap space tied up in five veteran players for at least the next three years.

Now consider how much cap space they will have to dedicate to Lindholm, Backlund, Hanifin, Tanev, and Zadorov. (I'm leaving Kylington out because we don't know what his next contract could look like)
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Player</strong></td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Potential Contract Length </strong></td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208"><strong>Potential Average Annual Value</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Elias Lindholm</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">8 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$9 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Noah Hanifin</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">8 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$6.35 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Mikael Backlund</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">3 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$4.75 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Nikita Zadorov</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">4 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$4.25 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">Chris Tanev</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">2 Years</td>
<td style="width: 212px;text-align: center" width="208">$3.5 million</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/what-will-contract-extensions-look-like-for-the-calgary-flames-seven-2024-ufas">(Projected contract numbers are from an article I wrote during the off-season about how much it will cost to re-sign the players above)</a>

Based off my projections, the Flames would be adding around $27.85 million in cap space for the players listed above. Combine that with the five existing contracts of Huberdeau, Kadri, Weegar, Coleman and Markstrom. That totals $62.5 million.

You’re probably screaming at your screen that the salary cap is going to go up and that will help justify signing players to big money deals. But the salary cap significantly increasing is not a guarantee. There are some economic factors that could come into play that could stop the cap from rising as much as we are anticipating. We are on the precipice of a potential recession. Inflation, rising interest rates and increased cost of living could play a role in a decrease in attendance. Important regional sports networks in the states are declaring bankruptcy. The next Canadian TV deal likely won’t be as lucrative as the one Rogers signed in 2014. There could be unforeseen events like we saw with the pandemic in 2020. That is why teams shouldn’t be banking on the cap rising $10 million (or more) in the next few years.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the upcoming contract negotiations the Flames are going to have to work out with some of their NHL players and prospects.
<h3><strong>2024 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<strong>UFAs:</strong> Oliver Kylington

<strong>RFAs:</strong> Dustin Wolf, Dillon Dube, Jakob Pelletier, Adam Ruzicka

All five of these players are going to be looking for raises on their next contract. Especially someone like Dube who has proved he is a solid top nine NHL forward.
<h3><strong>2025 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<strong>UFAs:</strong> Andrew Mangiapane, Yegor Sharangovich, Walker Duehr

<strong>RFAs:</strong> Matthew Coronato, Jeremie Poirier, Connor Zary

The player looking for the biggest raise could be Matthew Coronato. What if he turns into a 25-35 goal scorer in his second season in the NHL? He is going to be looking for a large extension.

The same could be said for Mangiapane and Sharangovich. What if both players are 25 goal scorers? It’s not going to be cheap to sign them.
<h3><strong>2026 Off-Season</strong></h3>
<strong>UFA:</strong> Rasmus Andersson

The potential next captain has been playing on a discounted contract. He will likely be a $7-8 million defenceman by the time he signs his next deal.

I point all this out to show Flames fans the risk the team runs if they decide to sign a few or all of their 2024 UFAs to large contract extensions.

There will be sacrifices in the form of trades and bridge deals for young players in the Flames organization which will hurt the long-term health of their salary cap and roster construction.

Conroy will have to approach this situation using an attitude of ruthless pragmatism when deciding who to sign and who to trade. The Flames can’t afford to spend all their money now because it’s going to come back to bite them.

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