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Brad Treliving

Calgary Flames Extend Brad Treliving

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The Calgary Flames have signed GM Brad Treliving to a multi-year contract extension. His current deal was set to expire at the end of this season, but he now won’t have to worry about his future. Flames’ president and CEO John Bean explained why the team decided to move forward with Treliving:

Over the past five years, Brad has done an excellent job putting a team together on and off the ice. Continuity is important in this role. Brad has earned the trust and respect of our Ownership Group and our fans. We look forward to continuing our work together as we strive for our ultimate goal; another Stanley Cup championship for the City of Calgary.

With the team since 2014, Treliving has built the Flames into a Western Conference contender that took home the top seed last season with 107 points. The team is expected to challenge for that seed again this year and have their core locked up for at least the next three years. That’s the length of Matthew Tkachuk’s new bridge deal, which made him the highest-paid player on the team at just $7MM. While teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs are throwing money at their top few players, Treliving has gone the opposite route and built a deep forward group that has 11 forwards making at least $1.25MM this season.

The deal is expected to be three years in length, keeping Treliving in charge through the 2022-23 season. Not only will that give the organization some front office continuity, but it also gives him the security to make moves to improve the Flames down the line instead of right now. Calgary begins play tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Andrew Mangiapane

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After months of negotiations, young Calgary Flames depth forward Andrew Mangiapane has finally signed a new contract – his qualifying offer. The Flames announced that Mangiapane has agreed to return on the minimum one-year, two-way contract worth $715K that they had initially extended to him in June. It’s a win for GM Brad Treliving and company, who get a capable, developing winger back under contract at a bargain price as they continue to maneuver through a tight salary cap squeeze.

This is a classic case – although not as common with restricted free agents nowadays – of a team holding tight to their leverage with a young player. Mangiapane, 23, did not have any arbitration rights this summer, nor had he earned the right to demand a higher salary because the team could not survive without him. In fact, it is no surprise that Mangiapane finally caved with training camp just getting underway. The player and his camp had to know that the more training camp he missed, the less likely his chances were of earning a spot on the team. Although Mangiapane took a big career step last year with a career-high 44 NHL games played and 13 points, he didn’t yet have the job security to risk missing too much of training camp and preseason action. Calgary knew that they could assist with a difficult salary cap situation by forcing Mangiapane to accept their minimum offer. This is now very much a “show me” season for the Barrie Colts product, who will look to earn a more regular role and improve his offensive totals ahead of another round of restricted free agency next summer, this time with arbitration rights.

With Mangiapane now signed, and projected to be on the opening night roster, CapFriendly lists the Flames as having just over $75MM committed to 22 players. That leaves approximately $6.3MM to sign that final 23rd player, unsigned RFA forward Matthew Tkachuk. However, coming off a 77-point season at just 21 years old, the team may find it impossible to re-sign their young star with just that amount to work with. Treliving still has plenty of work to do before the season starts to re-shape the roster in a way that allows the team to re-sign Tkachuk.

Early Notes: Mangiapane, Rantanen, Okhotyuk

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The Calgary Flames have had countless headlines written about their ongoing negotiation with Matthew Tkachuk, but they actually have another restricted free agent still unsigned as well. Andrew Mangiapane is in danger of missing the start of training camp if something can’t get done, which is likely more important for a player that has just 54 NHL games under his belt and is fighting for a full-time roster spot. Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that the two sides are $200K apart on a one-year deal, with the Flames offering $800K and Mangiapane “looking for closer to $1MM.”

Calgary GM Brad Treliving told Francis that the team isn’t waiting on Tkachuk to sign Mangiapane, but with such a small difference in offers you can bet the team is trying to make sure they don’t overpay even the slightest, knowing they don’t have a lot of wiggle room under the cap ceiling. The Flames currently project to have just over $7.7MM in cap space, though there are a few ways to create some extra room, like placing defenseman Juuso Valimaki on long-term injured reserve.

  • Though Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen have raised eyebrows during their negotiations by being linked to clubs overseas, the latter decided to put that idea to rest in an interview with Russian outlet Business Online. Rantanen was very clear that the NHL is “the only option” for him this season and he won’t be discussing contracts with the KHL or other leagues. The Colorado Avalanche forward is coming off his second consecutive season scoring more than a point-per-game and has found a home on the top line beside Nathan MacKinnon. Still just 22, he could potentially become Colorado’s highest-paid player on his next contract.
  • The New Jersey Devils won’t be able to get a closer look at prospect Nikita Okhotyuk at the Prospect Challenge this weekend, as the team announced he is out six to eight weeks following surgery on a broken finger. Okhotyuk was selected in the second round in June and will miss regular training camp as well. The 18-year old defenseman is expected to return to the Ottawa 67’s for the 2019-20 season.

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

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Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Snapshots: Sharks, Prospect Pools, Flames

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The San Jose Sharks are still expected to sign Joe Thornton at some point this offseason according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required). That might not be so for the other franchise icon that sits unsigned deep into August, Patrick Marleau who joined his former teammate for a skate at the San Jose facility this week. Kurz examines the situation for both men, pointing out that Thornton is completely committed to the team regardless of how much cap space they have left at the end of the summer.

Just recently we examined that cap space with a breakdown of the Sharks’ salary situation for the upcoming season. With just under $4.7MM to work with they could certainly bring in both Thornton and Marleau if they want to come “home,” but that wouldn’t leave much for upgrades to the rest of the roster. Most notably is perhaps in net where Aaron Dell remains the backup for the time being despite having just one year at $1.9MM left on his contract and the Sharks trying to trade him in the past. An improvement in net might cost the Sharks some of that room if they can’t find a taker for Dell in return.

  • Sticking with The Athletic, resident prospect guru Corey Pronman has started to release (subscription required) his ranking of the 31 farm systems around the league. In last place sits the Calgary Flames, who have had several graduations recently including injured defenseman Juuso Valimaki. In the 2018 draft the Flames didn’t select a single player until the fourth round after trading away several picks, leaving a gap in their system they’ll have to work hard to refill. Pronman has released five other teams and will continue through the summer.
  • Those Flames are now in the process of looking to add a defenseman instead of shopping one after Valimaki’s injury. GM Brad Treliving admitted to Eric Francis of Sportsnet that they hadn’t previously been considering an addition on the blueline, but is now after a depth option to help fill in. The rest of the league obviously noticed the situation the Flames are now in, with Treliving saying that his “30 other GM friends certainly have a lot of ideas for [him].”

Calgary Flames Looking At Trade Options On Defense

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After learning that Juuso Valimaki will miss a considerable amount of time following ACL surgery, the Calgary Flames are in a bit of a pickle. The team needs to clear some cap room in order to sign Matthew Tkachuk, but can’t afford to send out T.J. Brodie to do it anymore. With Valimaki out their defensive depth is razor thin, which is why Flames GM Brad Treliving told reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet that the team will “be looking externally” for an addition on the blueline. Treliving did mention Oliver Kylington as an internal option.

While this news comes right as rumors swirl around Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, the Flames would need to move out even more money if they brought in an expensive option like the young Finn. Ristolainen carries a $5.4MM cap hit for the next three seasons, a deal that would leave very little room to sign Tkachuk. The most obvious move now would be trading Michael Frolik, who is on the final year of his deal and has been involved in trade talks in the past. In fact, Frolik was expected to be included in a deal that would have brought Jason Zucker to Calgary at the trade deadline, though that transaction was never completed.

There are certainly no shortage of defensemen the team could go after, but if they want an inexpensive player who can make the same kind of impact that was expected of Valimaki this season they will need to give up more than just Frolik. Those kind of players are few and far between, and usually cost quite a bit in trade if they are even available.

Of course there is always the free agent market as well, though it’s not clear if Treliving wants to go down that route. Veterans like Dion Phaneuf, Dan Girardi, Adam McQuaid and Ben Lovejoy are out there still, along with younger options like Ben Hutton and Alex Petrovic. None of those seem like perfect fits, although they would likely come at a reasonable cost.

One player to consider may be Boston Bruins defender Kevan Miller, who was recently included in some trade speculation thanks to another cap crunch. The Bruins have their own financial troubles when it comes to signing restricted free agents, given they still need to get new contracts done with Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. The pair of young defenders are huge parts of the team’s future, and with Miller on the final year of his contract he could be moved out to make a little extra room. The 31-year old carries a $2.5MM cap hit, though his right-handedness may be an issue for the Flames, who already have Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Rasmus Andersson who normally line up on the right.

In any case, there are things to come for Treliving and the Flames who will likely have to pivot any trade talks they’ve had over the last few weeks and months while also hammering out a new deal with Tkachuk.

Snapshots: Brodie, Marner, Staal

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The Calgary Flames still need to shed some more salary in order to fit in what is expected to be a big contract for Matthew Tkachuk, and Sportsnet’s Eric Francis suggests on radio that T.J. Brodie might have to be the one to go. The defenseman has been involved in trade speculation for some time and as Francis notes, the team has two up-and-coming options in Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki (not to mention Oliver Kylington, who is also pushing for an NHL spot.)

The Flames already shed themselves of some money by buying out Michael Stone recently, but project to have just over $7.75MM in cap space to sign both Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane. The 29-year old Brodie has just one year left on his current contract with a $4.65MM cap hit and is still an effective offensive option from the blueline. Francis worries that the Flames may have to part with another player to find a fit for Brodie after a deal earlier this offseason fell apart with the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to Nazem Kadri’s no-trade clause. With just a month left before training camps open, Flames GM Brad Treliving still has plenty of work to do.

  • Speaking of the Maple Leafs, they too have an unsigned restricted free agent holding things up. Mitch Marner still doesn’t have a contract for the 2019-20 season, but linemate John Tavares doesn’t seem worried. Speaking with TSN this weekend, Tavares explained that “there’s still some time” for the contract to be worked out and is hopeful that Marner is there on the first day of training camp. The Maple Leafs currently project over the salary cap for the upcoming season but have more than $10MM tied up in Nathan Horton and David Clarkson who will be placed on long-term injured reserve at some point.
  • Jared Staal has been hired by the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears as an assistant coach, transitioning to a new role in professional hockey. The younger brother of Eric Staal, Jordan Staal and Marc Staal played two games for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2012-13 but had spent most of his career in the minor leagues. His playing days ended after suiting up for the Edinburgh Capitals of the EIHL in 2016-17. The 28-year old was originally drafted in the 2008 second round, but couldn’t quite climb to the same heights as his brothers. Perhaps he’ll get to that level as a coach, something he’s obviously getting an early start on.

Morning Notes: Dzingel, Hall, Kadri

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Ryan Dzingel is arguably the top remaining unrestricted free agent, ranked No. 12 overall by PHR and the leading scorer this past season among all available names. Yet, there’s been surprisingly little noise surrounding Dzingel, a 27-year-old coming off of a career high’s across the board. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that some teams are skeptical about Dzingel’s potential for production, not based on his year overall but rather his late-season stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After being moved at the NHL Trade Deadline by the Ottawa Senators, Dzingel recorded just 12 points in 21 games with Columbus and eventually lost the trust of the coaching staff in the postseason, with one point in nine games earning him a healthy scratch. Brooks remarks that the Blue Jackets’ lack of interest in retaining Dzingel, a former star at nearby Ohio State University, is one of several “red flags” for the young winger this off-season.

It’s likely that price is playing a role in Dzingel’s market as well. After a 56-point campaign, Dzingel’s camp was though to be seeking a $5MM AAV over a long-term contract. In a vacuum, that would seem to be a fair offer, but in a market where many teams are closer to the salary cap limit than expected, a player who is coming off a disappointing final few months of the season may need to lower his expectations. That rings especially true if he wants to land with one of his reported top destinations and a team known to have interest, the Chicago Blackhawks. Dzingel is an Illinois native and his skill set would seem to fit in perfectly with his hometown Blackhawks, who could still use another top-six winger. However, The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope writes that the team would have to move out a player, likely Artem Anisimov or Connor Murphy, to accommodate Dzingel’s salary demands. Until that happens, Pope cites GM Stan Bowman, who recently said his roster is “pretty full” and currently only in need of “housekeeping”. That doesn’t mean that Chicago, whose off-season moves have pointed toward a deep desire to return to contender status, will not continue to pursue Dzingel, but it may prove too difficult at his current asking price. If the scoring winger wants to ensure he has a long-term fit in a place that he’d like to be, Dzingel could consider taking a lesser deal to join the Blackhawks.

  • Another team looking to return to the playoffs are the New Jersey Devils and GM Ray Shero and company have certainly done their part in that pursuit this summer, drafting Jack Hughes, trading for P.K. Subban, and signing Wayne Simmonds. While the ultimate goal is to become a contender as soon as possible, the more pressing need – also with that goal in mind – is to convince superstar forward Taylor Hall that New Jersey is a team worth staying with to win a Stanley Cup. Hall is an impending free agent next summer and could be in line for a record-breaking contract, whether he tests the open market or not. The Devils have the cap space to meet his salary demands, but needed to focus this off-season on improving the talent around him after a season in which the team finished well outside the playoff picture. On paper, New Jersey should return to relevance next season and early indications are that Hall is happy with the transformation. In an interview with TSN, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner said that seeing the summer used to improve the talent level of the team and inject new blood after a disappointing campaign is exactly what you want to see. He added that Shero asked his opinion of the Subban trade before it was made and that he was totally on board and excited to play with his fellow star. All signs point to Hall being in favor of these off-season changes and eager to get started with the new season. If the Devils perform to the level they should on paper, Hall will have much more reason to consider a long-term extension to stay in New Jersey.
  • New Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri could have gone elsewhere if he wanted. The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons reports that Kadri flexed his No-Trade Clause to block a trade to the Calgary Flames. Even after taking calls from Flames GM Brad Treliving and head coach Bill Peters, Kadri nixed a deal that would have seen he and Connor Brown, now an Ottawa Senator, go to Calgary in exchange for T.J. Brodie and Mark Jankowski. Simmons did not explain why Kadri was anti-Calgary, but did note that the fit in Colorado is better. As for the end result for the Leafs, Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot are a better package, but cost the the team young defenseman Calle Rosen, who Simmons states they did not wish to move, as well as a third-round pick. Also, Brodie would have been a more affordable defenseman to re-sign compare to Barrie, who could very well price himself out of Toronto after one year. It’s a toss up on which deal would have been better had Kadri not put his foot down.

Calgary Flames, Matthew Tkachuk Taking Time To Get Deal Done

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The Calgary Flames have many offseason tasks they must deal with this summer, but the No. 1 priority of the team is locking up their top restricted free agent, Matthew Tkachuk. However, with a number of big-name restricted free agents cashing in on mega contracts in the last couple of years, the negotiations are expected to take a while. In fact, The Fourth Period reports that the two sides are in no rush to get a deal done quickly.

Both Calgary and Tkachuk have already had initial discussions, but negotiations aren’t expected to pick up again until later this month, most likely after the NHL Entry Draft. Much of the initial discussions likely dealt with the type of deal that Tkachuk is looking for as he could either sign a short-term bridge deal or a long-term deal. If the team isn’t ready to shell out an expensive long-term deal, they could offer a three-year bridge deal in hopes of seeing whether Tkachuk is worthy of such a deal that would take him to his final year of restricted free agency.

Several restricted free agents have cashed in recently, especially in Toronto as Auston Matthews signed a five-year, $58.2MM contract ($11.63MM AAV) in February, while William Nylander signed a six-year, $45MM deal ($6.96MM AAV) in December after holding out. There are quite a few key restricted free agents this offseason and Tkachuk might want to wait some of them out to see what the market sets at, including Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, San Jose’s Timo Meier and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor amongst others.

Tkachuk is coming off a breakout season in the final year of his entry-level deal as he potted 35 goals and picked up 77 points this season, something they were hoping for after they drafted him sixth overall in 2016. A physical, menace-type player, Tkachuk is critical to the team’s long-term plans, but with plenty of cap concerns approaching, the team could opt to give him a little less money if he accepts a shorter-term deal. However, a long-term deal might be the preferred outcome in case Tkachuk continues to take steps forward in his development, which is quite possible considering he’s still only 21 years old.

The Flames are projected to have more than $14MM in cap space this offseason, giving them the room to lock up Tkachuk to a long-term deal, although the team still has other key restricted free agents in Sam Bennett, Andrew Mangiapane and goaltender David Rittich to sign. The team also must decide on whether to bring back unrestricted free agent Mike Smith in net to pair with Rittich. If not, the team will have to find a goaltender on the free agent market to replace him. That could take up a significant amount of cap room, although there have been rumors the team could move one of their veteran defenseman, either T.J. Brodie or Travis Hamonic, to open up some more cap space and free up a defensive roster spot for some of their upcoming defensive prospects. General manager Brad Treliving might also attempt to trade forward James Neal and his bloated $5.75MM AAV contract, although finding a taker might prove to be a challenge considering he has four more years remaining on his contract.

Calgary Flames Will Likely Have To Move Out A Veteran

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In the next few months, the Calgary Flames and their general manager Brad Treliving will have quite a few decisions to make as they must sign restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Andrew Mangiapane as well as sign two goaltenders for their NHL roster, all with just $14.5MM to work with.

The challenge will come with Treliving’s most important challenge as Tkachuk’s next contract could take up more than half of that money. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis writes that the 21-year-old power forward could net himself a contact that could compare with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $68MM contract that he signed in 2017 at $8.5MM AAV. And that number could even be higher as Tkachuk’s numbers are even better than Draisaitl’s was as Tkachuk has 21 more goals and 37 more points after three seasons.

At that cost, Francis writes, the team will undoubtedly have to move either Michael Frolik and/or defenseman T.J. Brodie to free up enough cap room to accomplish the other tasks on their offseason to-do list. Frolik would be an obvious choice as he was a candidate to be traded earlier this year at the trade deadline as the 31-year-old forward hasn’t been happy with his lack of playing time under head coach Bill Peters. While his numbers, 16 goals and 34 points, weren’t that off his usual totals, his ATOI dropped to his lowest levels in years at 13:22. He also was a healthy scratch at several points during the season, prompting both he and his agent to request a trade. Frolik is entering his final year, but at $4.3MM next season, the team might find it challenging to unload a bottom-six player at that cost without taking back a similar contract.

Another candidate for a trade could be Brodie. Despite playing his entire career in Calgary and often working on the team’s top pairing alongside Mark Giordano, the team suddenly has a surplus of both veteran defensemen as well as three intriguing young players who are going to push for playing time in Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington. That could make Brodie, the Flames’ most intriguing asset on the team as he enters the final year of his contract at $4.65MM, a reasonable cost for a team looking for a top-four defenseman.

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