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Calgary Flames Sign Joakim Nordstrom

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The Calgary Flames have signed free agent forward Joakim Nordstrom to a one-year, $700K contract. Nordstrom spent the last two seasons with the Boston Bruins after starting his career with stints in Carolina and Chicago.

Nordstrom, 28, didn’t quite make it onto our Top 50 UFA board, but easily could have in a normal offseason. There’s almost no offensive production in the Swedish winger, but that doesn’t mean he can’t an effective NHL option. Just like those players that need sheltered minutes and time on the powerplay to contribute, Nordstrom is deployed in hard defensive matchups almost exclusively. In the 48 games he played for Boston this season, nearly 72% of his zone starts were in the defensive end, more than any other player on the team. He also led all Bruins forwards in average shorthanded ice time, spending nearly two minutes a game on the penalty kill.

In the Bruins 2018-19 playoff run that ended in the Stanley Cup Finals, those numbers were even more dramatic as Nordstrom was deployed on an incredibly important checking line. He managed to actually record eight points in those 23 playoff contests, more than he had in the entire 2019-20 regular season.

You simply can’t rely on Nordstrom to score, given he’s only accumulated 68 points in a 400-game NHL career, but he’ll help Calgary’s bottom-six become much tougher to score against. The team allowed players like Mark Jankowski, Tobias Rieder, and Austin Czarnik to hit the open market, leaving some opportunity for young players or a name like Nordstrom to slide into the lineup on a regular basis.

Calgary Flames Sign Andrew Mangiapane

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The Calgary Flames have reached an agreement with restricted free agent forward Andrew Mangiapane, avoiding arbitration that was scheduled for just a few days from now. The two-year contract will carry an average annual value of $2.425MM. Mangiapane was set to be the first hearing of the arbitration schedule on October 20.

The 24-year-old Mangiapane broke out in 2019-20, finally finding his footing as a full-time NHL player and scoring 17 goals in the process. He was a difference-maker all over the ice and managed to record his 32 points almost entirely at even-strength, in fewer than 14 minutes a night no less.

That kind of production is the stuff that makes you believe a player can take another step if given a bigger chance, and with the new contract Mangiapane will certainly be in the mix for more minutes. Playing in the minor leagues as recently as 2018-19, the sixth-round pick will be a core piece for Calgary this season.

Settling that arbitration case means that the Flames now have just Oliver Kylington left to sign as a restricted free agent, though he wasn’t eligible to file this time around. Calgary has a little more than $77.5MM committed to just 17 players, meaning the rest of the roster will either have to be filled out on cheap deals or someone will be moved out.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Tyler Parsons

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The Calgary Flames have a new starting goaltender in Jacob Markstrom, but won’t be giving up on one of their depth options either. The team has re-signed Tyler Parsons to a one-year, two-way deal worth $735K at the NHL level. That’s the qualifying offer that the Flames extended Parsons, who was not eligible for arbitration this offseason.

A second-round pick in 2016, Parsons spent the entire 2019-20 season in the ECHL, posting a .911 save percentage with the Kansas City Mavericks. He’s clearly not ready to step into a role in the NHL, but after just turning 23 last month there is still plenty of time for him to develop and improve his game.

The Flames now have some impressive depth at the position, given that not only did they bring in Markstrom but Louis Domingue as well. Prospect Dustin Wolf can go back to the WHL once again (should they have a season), meaning Parsons will need to battle with Artyom Zagidulin for the AHL backup role behind Domingue.

Of course, that’s assuming that the team isn’t forced to carry three goaltenders at the NHL level like some are speculating. If the league goes to regional bubbles, teams may want to keep a third goalie with them in case of injury. The ECHL did announce today that 13 of their teams will start play on December 11, which includes Kansas City kicking things off in the first game of the year. Whether Parsons will be on that Mavericks roster on opening night isn’t clear, but he’s a candidate given the rest of the goaltending depth in the system.

Flames Sign Louis Domingue

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After bringing in Jacob Markstrom yesterday, the Flames have now shored up their AHL goaltending situation, announcing the signing of Louis Domingue to a one-year deal.  The two-way contract pays $700K in the NHL while PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the AHL portion is $450K.

Domingue bounced around a bit last season.  After losing his backup job in Tampa Bay following the signing of Curtis McElhinney last summer, he cleared waivers and started the season with AHL Syracuse.  With Cory Schneider struggling, the Devils flipped a conditional seventh-round pick to the Lightning to get his rights in November.  He was then flipped to Vancouver at the trade deadline for Zane McIntyre.

Overall, the 28-year-old posted a 3.81 GAA with an .882 SV% in 17 games last season between the Devils and Canucks.  Domingue won’t be expected to contend for the number two job – that belongs to David Rittich – but he’ll serve as a serviceable recall if injuries strike while replacing Jon Gillies in that role.  As it turns out, there is already an injury issue for them on the farm with GM Brad Treliving telling Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson (Twitter link) that prospect Tyler Parsons is dealing with an ankle issue.

Chris Tanev Signs With Calgary Flames

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Saturday: Tanev is officially a Flame. Calgary announced the contract late last night local time, confirming the term and AAV. The deal also includes trade protection in the form of a ten-team no-trade list, per CapFriendly.

Friday: The Calgary Flames could be taking two of their rival’s star players in one day. Rick Dhaliwal of TSN and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet are both reporting that a deal is close with free agent Chris Tanev. Dhaliwal adds that Tanev’s contract would be four years and carry an average annual value of $4.5MM.

After already adding Jacob Markstrom on a six-year deal, the Flames have apparently decided that the best way to get ahead of the Vancouver Canucks is by stealing their free agents. Interestingly enough, the Flames let T.J. Brodie walk for $20MM over four years in Toronto, only to bring in Tanev at a relatively similar price tag. They obviously decided Tanev was the better fit, or but it’s not like the veteran defenseman comes without risk.

Tanev, who will turn 31 before the 2020-21 season begins, has been an excellent player every time he touched the ice for Vancouver. The problem is, he would routinely go weeks or even months without touching that ice due to injury. Tanev has never played more than 70 games in a single season and only reached even that threshold once in his career. He has totaled just 514 games through parts of ten seasons, a number that should be substantially higher.

The interesting part with those injury woes though, is that Tanev actually played in every Vancouver game this season. All 69 regular season games had Tanev in the lineup, and all 17 postseason matches did too. If that’s the kind of health the Flames are buying, they’ll come to appreciate Tanev, even more, when he’s on their side. But that is an incredibly risky proposition, given the other departures on the blue line.

Calgary Flames Sign Jacob Markstrom To Six-Year Deal

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The Jacob Markstrom sweepstakes has a winner. The top goalie on the free agent market opted not to re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks but instead to join the rival Calgary Flames. The Flames have announced that they have agreed to terms with Markstrom on a six-year, $36MM contract. TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds that Markstrom’s deal carries a full No-Movement Clause.

Markstrom, 30, picked a good time to have a career year. In a market with numerous teams needing a new starting goalie, Markstrom was the consensus top option after posting a .918 save percentage and .535 winning percentage. Markstrom finished fourth in the Vezina Trophy voting for the best goalie in the league and was voted the Canucks’ team MVP. In a contract year, he established himself as a legitimate long-term starter.

What resulted was a bidding war for the netminder. Even after proclaiming all year that re-signing Markstrom was a priority, Vancouver could not keep up with rivals Calgary and Edmonton, opting instead to sign Braden Holtby to a short-term deal. Edmonton eventually fell out of the race as well and have yet to find a solution in net.

Calgary, who failed to come to terms on an extension with Cam Talbot prior to free agency opening, end up upgrading the position with Markstrom. David Rittich had failed to prove that he could be relied upon as a starter and will now settle into a backup role, if he is not traded away that is. Markstrom will add some much needed security on the back end for the Flames, who could lose defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic to free agency.

Calgary Flames Sign Four Players

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The Calgary Flames have brought in several depth players, re-signing Buddy Robinson and adding Alexander Petrovic, Byron Froese and Zac Rinaldo. Froese has signed a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $725K, Rinaldo has inked a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K, Robinson has signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $700K and Petrovic’s contract details have not yet been released.

In fact, Petrovic hasn’t been an effective option in the NHL since the 2017-18 season. Once a regular in the Florida Panthers lineup, he suited up just 37 times between Florida and Edmonton in 2018-19 and then spent the entire 2019-20 season with the Providence Bruins. Still just 28, he’ll serve as minor league depth for the Flames next year.

Robinson meanwhile is a veteran AHL scorer, who put up 32 points in 45 games this season for the Stockton Heat. He did get into five games at the NHL and even played in a playoff game for Calgary, but is not expected to spend much time at the highest level.

Cam Talbot To Test The Market

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While goaltender Cam Talbot had expressed an interest in staying with Calgary, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, at least for now.  Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports (Twitter link) that the two sides held recent discussions but weren’t able to come to terms on a contract so the veteran will test the open market in a couple of hours.

The 33-year-old was the backup for the Flames to David Rittich during the regular season and posted strong numbers with a .919 SV% and a 2.63 GAA in 26 games (22 starts).  That helped earn him the starting job for the postseason as he made all 10 starts against Winnipeg and Dallas which should help his stock heading to the market.

Talbot has indicated that he wants to have the opportunity to start but there aren’t likely to be many of those opportunities out there.  However, a platoon situation certainly shouldn’t be out of the equation and he’ll have a fair bit of interest in free agency.  He’s coming off of a season that saw him make $2.75MM and even with a lot of other options out there and a flat salary cap, he should be able to get a deal that’s close to that from someone.

Goalie Notes: Rask, Talbot, Darling

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Cross off one option from the list of potentially available goaltenders. Vezina Trophy runner-up Tuukka Rask isn’t going anywhere. Although Rask opting out of the 2020 postseason raised some questions about his future in Boston, especially with just one year remaining on his current contract, the Bruins reiterated that they expected the elite goaltender to be back with the team next season. Rask himself has now taken control of the narrative, telling Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he does not want to play for any team but the Bruins. This would seemingly back up recent rumors that Rask had stated to the Bruins that he would retire if traded. It seems unlikely that the Bruins were pushing too hard to trade Rask anyhow, given that he was statistically the best starting goalie in the NHL this season and the team would struggle to replace him. It’s doubtful that the team would be able to get fair value in any deal for Rask as well. Rask will be back in Boston this year, but beyond 2020-21 remains a mystery.

  • One goalie who will be available is Cam Talbot. Despite an impressive comeback season with the Calgary Flames, the two sides have been unable to agree on terms for an extension. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that talks have broken off for now with the salary gap too far apart. Talbot will test the market and may very well end up elsewhere. Calgary is still in need of a goaltender and could circle back to Talbot if they miss out on bigger free agent or trade targets.
  • An available name getting some surprise attention is Scott Darling. Once one of the top backups in the NHL, Darling’s stint as a starter with the Carolina Hurricanes was an unmitigated disaster and led to a buyout last season and a complete lack of NHL interest. Darling went overseas and joined Austria’s HC Innsbruck of the EBEL. Although his numbers were not all that impressive, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there are teams who might be willing to give Darling a second chance. Given the increased importance of goaltending depth in what is expected to be a condensed 2020-21 schedule, an experienced No. 3 like Darling could be valuable.

Calgary Flames Trade Down In 2020 Draft

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The Calgary Flames have traded down in the first round, sending the 19th overall pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for the 22nd and 72nd overall selections. With that 19th pick, the Rangers have decided to select Braden Schneider, the last remaining top-end defenseman available.

Schneider, who played for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, was ranked ninth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. The Rangers had obviously already taken Alexis Lafreniere at the top of the draft and now add a defenseman to go with him. Notably, New York moved just ahead of the New Jersey Devils who had already taken two forwards in the first round and could have potentially nabbed Schneider with their third selection.

The big, mobile defenseman is known for his incredible competitiveness and should move quickly through the Rangers system thanks to a polished game in his own end. He has already played three full seasons in the WHL and scored 42 points in 60 games last season, though the offensive end of the rink isn’t where his eventual game is expected to land. Instead, his physicality and strong defensive stick will be a good counterpoint to young puck-movers like Adam Fox in the New York organization.

Calgary meanwhile then moved down again, trading the 22nd pick to the Washington Capitals for picks 24 and 80. With that 22nd pick, the Capitals ended up taking Hendrix Lapierre, one of the most interesting prospects in the entire draft.

Lapierre was once seen as a potential candidate to challenge for one of the very top picks in this draft. In 2018, he was the first pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft and scored 45 points in his first 48 junior games. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with multiple concussions quickly afterward and played just 19 games last season. Earlier this year, Lapierre’s concussions were actually rediagnosed as a neck injury and he has recently been given a clean bill of health. He’s back playing in the QMJHL already, scoring five points in two games for Chicoutimi. He’ll need some time to re-establish himself as a top prospect, but the Capitals clearly felt as though they couldn’t wait.

By the time the Flames actually picked, they ended up taking Connor Zary with the 24th selection. Zary has spent the last three seasons playing for the Kamloops Blazers, scoring 86 points in 57 games last season. The WHL forward was ranked 15th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and could have easily found his way into the top-20 picks, but Calgary found a way to trade down and still get their man. Armed with an incredible shot, Zary fired 38 missiles past junior goaltenders in 2019-20 and could be a candidate for the Canadian World Junior team this winter.

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