Now that the transfer agreements are in place, teams around the NHL are finalizing their contracts with European free agents. The Calgary Flames were one of those teams waiting to get a deal done and have now announced a two-year entry-level contract for Johannes Kinnvall. The team has already announced that Kinnvall will remain in Sweden for the 2020-21 season before joining the Flames organization in North America for 2021-22.
Kinnvall, 22, exploded offensively this season with HV71, scoring 40 points in 51 games. That was good enough for eighth in the entire SHL and four points more than teammate Linus Sandin, who just signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Of course, that is all the more impressive given that Kinnvall is a defenseman. He was the second-highest scoring blueliner in the league and will be an interesting option for the Flames should he be able to bring that offensive production to North America.
That won’t be easy, but he’ll have another year to hone his craft before coming over.