Archives for August 2018

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $71,961,710 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

Matthew Tkachuk (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses

Tkachuk: $850K

Tkachuk followed up a strong rookie season with an improved sophomore campaign as he jumped up to a tie for second on the Flames in goals with 24 while playing his usual gritty style.  He has quickly emerged as a core player and is someone that they will likely be looking to lock up to a long-term deal before too long.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Sam Bennett ($1.95MM, RFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($850K, UFA)
D Brett Kulak ($900K, RFA)
F Curtis Lazar ($950K, RFA)
D Dalton Prout ($800K, UFA)
G David Rittich ($800K, RFA)
G Mike Smith ($4.25MM, UFA*)

* – Arizona is retaining an additional 25% of Smith’s contract.

For the most part, this group is primarily comprised of Calgary’s depth players.  Bennett, the fourth-overall pick in 2014, has had several opportunities to step up and grab a top-six role but he has yet to do so thus far.  His goal production and average ice time have dipped each of the last two years which is not the type of progression they want to see.  With a new head coach behind the bench in Bill Peters, Bennett will get another fresh start to try to prove he’s part of the core long-term.  If he struggles though, he will quickly become a trade candidate (and if things go really poorly, a non-tender candidate as well).  Lazar is another first-rounder that has yet to live up to his draft billing.  He’s another player that’s likely in a make-or-break year.  He shouldn’t get much more than his current contract on his next deal though.  Hathaway avoided arbitration last month with his contract and will once again be on the fourth line.

Kulak cleared waivers last month in advance of his arbitration hearing but he still projects to play a regular role on Calgary’s back end as their number six.  If that holds up throughout the season, he should position himself for a small raise.  Prout is pegged to be a veteran reserve option.  Whether it’s him or someone else in that role beyond next season, the price point is going to be pretty much the same.  Rittich will battle with Jon Gillies for the backup goalie job and considering that he’s waiver-eligible while Gillies isn’t, that could give him a leg up on the spot.  If he can hold his own playing roughly 25 games, he’ll set himself up for a decent raise, especially since he will once again have arbitration eligibility.

Smith’s case is the biggest one.  He’s coming off of a solid first season between the pipes in Calgary but a late-season injury resulted in the team utilizing Gillies and Rittich down the stretch.  He’ll turn 37 in March so while he might have a year or two left after this one, he’s not the long-term option for them between the pipes.  While there are some quality potential UFA goalies elsewhere, chances are that at least a few of them will re-sign before next summer so the Flames will have to decide if he’s their guy for another season or two after this one or if they’ll be looking elsewhere.  If they opt to keep him, he’s likely looking at a deal between what the Flames are covering and his current AAV ($5.67MM) as his age and injury history will hurt his market value somewhat.

Two Years Remaining

D T.J. Brodie ($4.65MM, UFA)
F Austin Czarnik ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Michael Frolik ($4.3MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($3.86MM, UFA)
F Mark Jankowski ($1.65MM, RFA)
D Michael Stone ($3.5MM, UFA)

Up front, Frolik is coming off of his worst full season since 2011-12.  While he fit in as part of their top-six at the beginning of the contract, he’s more of a third liner at this stage which makes his deal a bit of an overpayment.  Jankowski’s rookie campaign was a successful one as he tallied 17 goals and took hold of a regular spot in the lineup which helped him earn a nice raise on his bridge deal.  If he hovers around the 20 goal mark for the upcoming two seasons, he could potentially double that on his next contract.  Czarnik’s contract raised some eyebrows given his lack of NHL experience but he has been a prolific point producer in the minors and will now get a chance to show his stuff in the NHL.  If he thrives, this could be one of the bargain deals of the summer.  If he struggles though, it’s plausible that he could be on waivers before too long.

While Brodie’s output dipped for the second straight year, he’s still on a team-friendly deal as someone as their number two defender in terms of ice time.  Players with his particular skill set are becoming more and more in demand which will only help his case.  He’ll be hitting the open market at 30 and should command more than $6MM per season.  Hamonic isn’t being asked to shoulder as much of the load as he did with the Islanders but that shouldn’t affect his market value too much.  He’s still viewed as a high-quality defensive defender and could push for $5MM on his next deal.  Stone hasn’t been playing at the level he was back in Arizona but he’s also being asked to play a lesser role.  He’s primarily on the third pairing but serves as quality injury insurance.

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