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Rasmus Andersson

Flames Sign Rasmus Andersson To A Six-Year Extension

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The Flames have locked up one of their young defensemen for the long term as they announced that they’ve signed Rasmus Andersson to a six-year extension.  The deal will carry an AAV of $4.55MM.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal breaks down as follows:

2020-21: $5.05MM
2021-22: $4.05MM
2022-23: $4.55MM
2023-24: $4.55MM
2024-25: $4.55MM
2025-26: $4.55MM

The 23-year-old is in his second season as a regular on Calgary’s back end and has seen his role increase considerably from his rookie year.  After spending a lot of time on the third pairing a season ago, he has spent a fair bit of time inside their top four while averaging over 19 minutes a night in playing time.  He has also seen his production tick up slightly as he’s on pace to surpass the 19 points he put up a year ago as he already has three goals and nine assists on the season in 45 games.

This contract represents a significant raise on his current entry-level deal that carries an AAV of just over $755K with an extra $57.5K in performance bonuses.  He was slated to become a restricted free agent without arbitration rights this summer but this deal will buy out his remaining RFA years plus two seasons of UFA eligibility.

Andersson is now the fourth Calgary defender signed for next season, joining Mark Giordano, Noah Hanifin, and Juuso Valimaki (injured).  With now more than $64MM in commitments for next season already to just 13 players, it’s hard to imagine that they’ll be able to keep both of their notable pending UFA blueliners in the fold in T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic; the latter already indicated earlier back in October that he would not engage in any discussion regarding a contract extension during the season.

With that in mind, it’s safe to assume that Andersson should be a regular in their top four in 2020-21, something that certainly would have come into consideration during these talks.  This price tag may seem a bit high for the moment but if he continues to show improvement over the next few seasons, it has the potential to be a value deal as the contract progresses.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Calgary Flames To Carry Ten Defensemen

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There is a logjam on the blue line in Calgary, but the team is content to keep it that way. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis recently spoke to Flames GM Brad Treliving who stated that the team won’t be changing it’s current configuration on defense. With the recent recall of veteran Michael Stone from a conditioning stint in the AHL, Calgary currently has nine defenseman on the NHL roster. Treliving doubled down on his commitment to competition on the back end by adding that Juuso Valimaki, currently logging major minutes in the minors, will soon be recalled as well. At that point, the Flames will have ten defensemen and plan to carry that group through the remainder of the season.

With ten defensemen seeking play time, one would think multiple jobs are up for grabs. In fact, Francis writes that only one spot is really available if the Flames are at full health. The grouping of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, and Noah Hanifin are all cemented in their top-four roles and the team has no complaints with young Rasmus Andersson on the bottom pair. That leaves five rearguards to battle for the one left-side spot beside Andersson on a nightly basis, while the other four watch from the press box.

The favorite to see the most ice time the rest of the way is trade deadline addition Oscar Fantenberg. Francis notes that head coach Bill Peters prefers to have a balanced blue line between righties and lefties (even though Brodie is a natural left-handed shot who plays to Giordano’s right) and Fanteberg has fit in nicely in his natural position next to Andersson. The former L.A. King was considered more of a depth addition when he was acquired, but has settled into a starting role in the recent weeks. Of course, Stone will also get plenty of consideration as the top veteran option next to the inexperienced Andersson. However, he has also been sidelined since November and may take some time to get back up to speed. Stone is also a right-shot, which isn’t preferred. Oliver Kylington is a left-shot and has played more games for the Flames this season than any of his competitors. At the same time, the 21-year-old has averaged the least ice time per game of the group and may not have the full trust of the coaching staff just yet. Kylington has shown flashes, but is still susceptible to defensive mistakes. The same can be said for Valimaki, who is just 20, but the recent first-rounder has looked strong in recent weeks with the Stockton Heat and logged 22 games with Calgary earlier this season. Finally, there’s stay-at-home defenseman Dalton Prout, who has been used primarily as an extra man over the past few years, but can be a dependable presence in his own zone and a physical threat, albeit with limited offensive ability.

Treliving tells Franics that he feels the numbers on the blue line are not a detriment to the team, but an opportunity for competition to make everyone better. Without a clear No. 6, the Flames will certainly have some competition down the stretch and it may very well result in a motivated winner. However, there is some risk that too much shuffling will leave Calgary without an obvious pick to man the bottom pair in the postseason. With little room for error in the playoffs, a cold defenseman or a choice without the requisite chemistry with Andersson could prove to be a problem. Depth for the purpose of safeguarding injuries is always an asset, but the Flames would be best-served to find a winner of this battle sooner rather than later and turn ten defensemen into six starters and four backups well prior to the postseason.

Snapshots: Hamonic, Russell, Seidenberg, Gionta

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When the Calgary Flames recalled Rasmus Andersson yesterday, it was an indication that defenseman Travis Hamonic’s facial fracture, suffered in the team’s opener, was going to cause him to miss some time. However, the team has now officially announced that Hamonic has been placed on injured reserve. The team has labeled his status as week-to-week with no specific timeline for a return. Hamonic suffered the blow in a first period fight with the Vancouver Canucks’ Erik Gudbranson and was forced to leave the contest early. Hamonic has been sidelined frequently in his career, with his 74 games for Calgary last season actually setting a new career-high. Hamonic missed eight games for the Flames in his first season with the team, but spread throughout the season and not more than four at a time. The Flames would be fortunate if this injury only costs Hamonic four games. In the meantime, Andersson, fellow rookie Juuso Valimaki, and veteran depth defender Dalton Prout will be asked to pick up the slack in Hamonic’s absence.

  • The rival Edmonton Oilers are getting one of their top defensemen back from injury, as the team announced that Kris Russell has been activated from the injured reserve. Russell’s injury was never disclosed by the team, nor was a timeline given, making his activation both a surprise and not a surprise at all. Russell traveled with the team to Europe and returns in time for the Oilers’ season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden. Russell will skate with rookie and 2018 first-round pick Evan Bouchard, as he makes his NHL debut. In a corresponding move, Edmonton has returned young puck-moving blue liner Ethan Bear to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Bear has been established as the next man up on defense, so if Bouchard’s early action does not impress and he is returned to junior, expect a prompt recall for Bear.
  • The New York Islanders are keeping defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and forward Stephen Gionta with the team on extended PTO’s, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Both veterans played for the Islanders last season and are familiar with the roster and seem willing to hang around in case an opportunity to officially return arises. Per Gross, head coach Barry Trotz called the pair “long-term insurance”. Seidenberg and Gionta will participate in practice and wait to see how the early season unfolds for the Isles, both in health and performance. Neither veteran has much of a ceiling at this point in their career, but are experienced, serviceable, hard-working pros who could step in if needed and provided some immediate support.

Calgary Flames, Brett Kulak Exchange Arbitration Figures

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The Calgary Flames and defenseman Brett Kulak exchanged figures for their upcoming arbitration hearing on Monday with the Calgary Flames taking a hard line as they asked for the minimum salary of $650K and a two-way deal. Kulak has asked for $1.15MM, according to Elliotte Friedman.

The Flames, who just put Kulak on waivers on Thursday and subsequently cleared on Friday, want to show the value of the 24-year-old blueliner. Kulak played in 71 games last season, the most of his career (21 games was his highest previously), but averaged just 12:59 of ATOI as a bottom-pair defenseman. The Flames, who are looking to keep as much versatility and depth on their defensive roster, would prefer it if they can move him freely between Calgary and the Stockton Heat of the AHL as the team has a number of talented younger defensemen, who might not make the team out of training camp, but could be ready soon, including 2017 first-round pick Juuso Valimaki, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Josh Healey.

Kulak is looking for a one-way deal and hopes to land a bigger role on the defense, but could find himself out of the rotation as the team already has Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Michael Stone and Dalton Prout locked up, while they also have restricted free agent Noah Hanifin still to sign, which could make Kulak the team’s seventh defenseman or out of he rotation entirely.

Regardless of the numbers, both teams can continue to negotiate up until the arbitrator reaches a decision.

 

 

Minor Transactions: 4/8/18

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With the Eastern Conference still undecided until today’s final regular season game, the Western Conference has no questions as the Colorado Avalanche finished off the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 victory Saturday as they clinched the final playoff spot. The Nashville Predators got the top spot and will face the Avalanche. In other first-round matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild will face the Winnipeg Jets. 

Could Calgary Flames Make Pitch For Karlsson?

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The Calgary Flames seem to be producing in all facets of the game despite a shootout loss today as they still haven’t had a regulation loss in eight straight games. Their top lines are producing, their defense seems to be beginning to develop the chemistry that everyone had hoped and goaltender Mike Smith has been a great acquisition. With everything going right for Calgary, it seems like the team isn’t likely to be too active at the trade deadline this year.

Yet, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis writes that despite all that, he wonders if the Flames should consider looking for an even bigger prize. With the recent rumblings about the possible availability of Ottawa Senators star defenseman Erik Karlsson, Francis wonders if Calgary should go for it all and trade for him now. While on the surface, a deal might seem unlikely as the Flames are already loaded with a group of solid defenders and have few draft picks to trade (just two picks in the first three rounds over the next two years).

The scribe writes that finding a spot for Karlsson would be the least of the team’s problems. He would be a welcome addition no matter how good their defense of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Dougie Hamilton, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone is. He would immediately help an average power play and could offer the team a multi-dimensional player. With some cap room to play with, Calgary could afford most of Karlsson’s contract ($6.5MM AAV) already, although that could end the team’s bid to re-sign Mikael Backlund during the offseason this year.

What could they offer? Quite a bit. While the team might lack draft picks after going out and acquiring Hamonic in the offseason, the team has a number of quality prospects, including Harvard University defenseman Adam Fox, considered to be one of the top college blueliners. They have two quality goaltending prospects in Jon Gillies and Tyler Parsons as well as defensive prospects like Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington as pieces they can offer Ottawa.

Fox, who many believe may choose to stay at Harvard for four years and take the unrestricted free agency route to avoid Calgary’s already crowded blueline, might be the perfect trade chip while he still has value. Add in Andersson, Kylington and last year’s 2016 first-rounder in Juuso Valamaki and the team has quite a bit of defensive depth — perhaps too much.

Francis believes that the team might want to consider making a big move like acquiring a future Hall of Famer, who could take the Flames to another level as they start climbing up the Pacific Division and get ready for the playoffs. General manager Brad Treliving already once this year went out and acquired Hamonic as a big defensive addition. Why not one more?

Minor Transactions: 12/23/17

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Though the roster freeze is in effect, there still will be some roster movement today.  Anyone recalled after December 11th is eligible to be sent back down as late as today while players can still be recalled for any reason.  Considering there are 15 games on the slate before the NHL shuts down for its holiday break, there will likely be a few players getting summoned before the day is through.

  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have officially recalled goaltender Daniel Taylor from AHL Belleville. The move comes on the heels of Craig Anderson being unable to dress for tonight’s game as a result of an illness.  It’s likely that Taylor will be sent back down immediately following the game before the full roster freeze takes effect.
  • Rasmus Andersson’s stint with Calgary lasted all of one day as he has been sent back to Stockton of the AHL, per a team release. The Flames are the lone team not in action today so his services won’t be needed until December 28th at the earliest.  Andersson did not dress for yesterday’s game against Montreal which means he was up only in case someone was injured in the warmup.  With 16 points in only 22 minor league games, the 21-year-old will likely get another look with the big club at some point this season.
  • The Coyotes announced a trio of roster moves. Defenseman Andrew Campbell has been recalled from Tucson of the AHL while blueliner Joel Hanley and winger Nick Merkley have been sent down.  Campbell last saw NHL action in 2015-16 with Toronto and will likely serve as injury insurance for their game tonight against Colorado.  Hanley has seen action in four NHL contests this season, averaging a little under 11 minutes per night while Merkley made his NHL debut earlier this week after being one of their top scorers at the minor league level.
  • CapFriendly tweets that Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith has been placed on injured reserve. The 29-year-old forward was reported yesterday to be out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury. Smith has two goals and six assists in 24 games this season.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Jack Campbell from the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an emergency basis tonight. There is no word on whether Jonathan Quick or Darcy Kuemper are unable to go later tonight against the San Jose Sharks and it could be that Cambell’s call-up is simply precautionary. The Kings also announced that Kyle Clifford has been placed back on injured reserve, retroactive to December 16th. Clifford has missed most of the season with an upper-body injury.

Calgary Flames Place Hamonic On IR, Recall Andersson

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After leaving Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues with a lower-body injury, Calgary Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic has been placed on injured reserve. The team has recalled Rasmus Andersson in his place.

Hamonic had already been ruled out of today’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, and since the Flames don’t play again until the 28th, he’ll be eligible to return. Still, groin injuries can often linger and there is no guarantee he returns just after Christmas. In the mean time, Andersson will get a chance to try and get into the Flames lineup. The 21-year old is having quite the year for the Stockton Heat of the AHL, recording 16 points in 22 games and generally showing why Calgary took him in the second round.

The Flames are sitting fourth in the Pacific Division, but things haven’t gone exactly as planned this season. Their offensive game has been absent at times outside of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, and the defense corps hasn’t gelled exactly as planned. While they are at 18-14-3 and just nine points out of first place in the Pacific, they’ll be in tough to secure a wildcard spot against the impressive Central.

Calgary Flames Back To Full Strength

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The Calgary Flames have activated Travis Hamonic off injured reserve (sending Rasmus Andersson to the minor leagues in the process) and now have all of their expected roster active for the first time in weeks. Hamonic hasn’t played since November 2nd, while Jaromir Jagr spent time on injured reserve before that. Getting set for the St. Louis Blues tonight, they’ll need to continue their recent stretch of solid play if they want to establish themselves as a front-runner in the Western Conference.

Jaromir JagrTonight’s game is the final contest in a seven-game home stand, where a win would push their record to 5-2. When the Flames went out this summer and brought in Hamonic and Jagr, they were hoping to be adding some of the final pieces to a Stanley Cup contender. Mike Smith and Eddie Lack seemed to be the answer in net, and while the latter has been shaky in his small role the former has been everything they’d hoped. Smith carries a .924 save percentage into the game against St. Louis, and has registered all nine of the team’s wins.

Those nine wins come alongside seven losses, certainly not the record the team had hoped for this summer. After being swept out of the first round by their bitter rival Anaheim, Calgary made calculated moves to improve the areas which they believed were the weakest. Bringing in Hamonic and re-signing Michael Stone (a trade deadline acquisition) to strengthen the right side, giving Smith the reins in net and adding a veteran possession winger to help lengthen out the scoring ability. That perfect lineup hasn’t happened yet, but it still could.

Just recently, Jagr spoke about how Flames star Johnny Gaudreau wouldn’t have even been in the league when the 45-year old started his career. Jagr said Gaudreau wouldn’t have even been drafted because of his size, but called him “impressive” and “special” in the way he can create offense. Gaudreau has been doing all he can to carry the Flames through the early part of the season, scoring 22 points in 16 games and logging over 19 minutes a night. The 24-year old looks ready to prove that his 61-point season a year ago is the floor of his offensive talent, and now he has a full compliment of teammates to get that done.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pacific Notes: Miller, Doan, McDavid, Andersson

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Longtime broadcaster Bob Miller called his last home game Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Los Angeles Times writer Tom Hoffarth parallels the broadcaster’s sendoff to that of Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully.

Miller who has worked 3,352 days as the voice of the Kings (with one game to go), called an exciting 3-2 overtime victory over the Blackhawks.

The Kings trailed 2-1 with 1:16 remaining in the game and the broadcast put up a window in which forlorn Miller waved goodbye to Kings’ fans. Seconds later, Dustin Brown tied the game, elating Miller. Not long into OT, Drew Doughty put in the game winner to Miller pumping his fists in victory.

“It was perfect the way it happened,” said the 78-year-old Miller as he came into the media room following a postgame ceremony where he addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support. “It was a great day.”

It’s a good piece, if you are a fan of the legendary broadcaster.

Other notes:

  • Veteran Shane Doan notched an assist and played 17:10 in Saturday’s finale for the Arizona Coyotes. The 40-year old has wrapped up his 21st straight season, all with the Coyotes organization and it could have been his final game of his career after 1,540 games. “I truly haven’t made up my mind yet and that is probably one of the reasons why I haven’t, because if I had made up my mind it’d be a pretty emotional night and I didn’t want that,” Doan said after Arizona’s 3-1 loss to Minnesota at Gila River Arena. “I don’t know if that is the only reason but that is one of them. There is still a lot of me that wants to play. I enjoyed tonight though.”
  • Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid needs two points today in the regular season finale against the Vancouver Canucks. If he does it (and in his first full season in the NHL), he would be the first Oiler to reach 100 points since Doug Weight did it in 1995-96. Regardless, he is likely to win the Art Ross Trophy and a candidate for the Hart Trophy.
  • The Calgary Flames have assigned defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Stockton Heat, one day after finally getting to play in his NHL debut. The former second-rounder in 2015 was recalled on March 10, but has been a healthy scratch for 14 straight games until he made his debut last night. Andersson goes back along with goaltender David Rittich, who did not see any playing time. Both players are being returned to play against the San Jose Barracudas.

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