Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid 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 2022-23 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on 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: $80,363,333 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jakob Pelletier (two years, $863K)
Pelletier has yet to play in the NHL but the 2019 first-rounder is coming off a strong season in the minors that saw him put up 27 goals and 35 assists in 66 games with AHL Stockton; that performance will give him a good chance to push for a regular roster spot in training camp. At this point, a bridge contract is the likeliest scenario for him but two strong NHL seasons could change that.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Milan Lucic* ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
D Nicolas Meloche ($950K,UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($1.55MM, RFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($750K, RFA)
D MacKenzie Weegar ($3.25MM, UFA)
*-Edmonton is retaining an additional $750K of Lucic’s cap hit
Potential Bonuses:
Lewis: $200K
Lucic’s struggles on this contract have been well-documented. He’s not the high-end power forward that he was in the prime of his career and at this point, he’s best utilized in more of a limited capacity. It’s likely that he’ll be going year-to-year on any future contracts with a cap hit that is below $2MM, if not less. Lewis was second among Calgary forwards in hits last season and has been a capable fourth liner for several years now; he should give them some positive value on this deal.
Weegar is coming over from Florida where he spent most of the last two seasons on their top pairing and has developed a quality offensive game over that stretch as well. He’s likely to play a similar role with the Flames which has him well-positioned to more than double his current contract on the open market next summer. The fact that he’s a right-shot defender, the side that is always in high demand and short supply, only stands to help his value. Valimaki spent most of last season in the minors and didn’t do quite as well as either side had hoped. He’s now waiver-eligible which could help him stay on the roster at least but as things stand, he’s likelier to be non-tendered than receive a $1.86MM qualifying offer. That’s a surprising turn of events for someone believed to be a part of their future plans. Meloche saw extended NHL action with San Jose last season for the first time, helping him secure a one-way deal in free agency. If he can hold onto a spot on the third pairing with regularity, another small raise on the open market next summer would be achievable.
Vladar’s first full NHL season had some ups and downs with the end result being a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV% in 23 games. Those numbers aren’t excellent but they’re backup-level and with the escalating salaries for second-stringers, Vladar could easily double his current cap hit next summer if he has a similar performance in 2022-23.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Mikael Backlund ($5.35MM, UFA)
F Dillon Dube ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Noah Hanifin ($4.95MM, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Elias Lindholm ($4.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Rooney ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Toffoli ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($3.75MM, UFA)
Backlund has spent parts of 14 seasons with Calgary and has been a key cog down the middle for most of those. Now 33 and with a couple of middlemen ahead of him on the depth chart, he’s likely to play a lesser role moving forward and while he’ll still be one of the stronger defensive centers in the league, this contract will quickly become an above-market one. Toffoli was added in a midseason swap with Montreal to give them some extra scoring on the wing and he did just that en route to his sixth 20-goal campaign. He’s basically making second line money so as long as he stays in that role and keeps producing his usual level of production, the Flames will get some good value here.
Lindholm has really seen his career take off since coming over from Carolina four years ago. He has continued to be a high-end defensive player while he has gone from being more of a secondary offensive producer to a legitimate top-line center. His contract is certainly a sizable bargain for now as he’ll have an opportunity to potentially double his current AAV two years from now if he continues to produce at this pace in their new-look lineup. Dube did well offensively in very limited minutes last season and is poised to play a bigger role in 2022-23; if he can increase his production accordingly, he’s someone that could have a shot at doubling his price tag as well in 2024. Rooney has been a serviceable fourth liner the past couple of seasons and will play in that role with Calgary; it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command much more than that in his next trip through the open market.
Hanifin is coming off a career year offensively and while he hasn’t become the consistent two-way threat Carolina thought he’d be when they made him the fifth-overall pick in 2015, he is a legitimate top-pairing defender. The market value for those players is considerably higher than what he’s making now, making this another team-friendly deal. His next contract will be a few million higher than this one. Tanev has stayed healthy the last two years which isn’t normal for him which has allowed Calgary to get a better-than-expected return so far. He’ll need to be scaled back a bit over the next couple of years which will put him in line for a bit of a smaller deal in 2024, one that will almost certainly be a short-term contract.
Zadorov had an underwhelming first season with the Flames but the market wasn’t there for him so he opted to stick around. If he can’t become more of a core piece for Calgary over that stretch, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll get another deal like this one; size and physicality aside, depth defenders rarely command this type of contract. Kylington went from being a depth piece to a full-time regular last season, providing some secondary production in the process. Interestingly, he signed a deal that walks him straight to unrestricted free agency at 27 so there’s a chance for another sizable jump in his contract in 2024.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Andrew Mangiapane ($5.8MM, UFA)
To call last season for Mangiapane a career year would be an understatement. After his previous benchmark in points was 32, he passed that in 2021-22 with his goal total alone, notching 35 along with 20 assists in 82 games despite averaging less than 16 minutes a night. In the end, the two sides opted for what is essentially another bridge contract, one that gives him a significant raise on the $2.425MM AAV he had for the last two seasons without locking in a lot of long-term risk for the Flames if his production reverts back closer to his career averages. The pressure will be on now and Mangiapane will need to prove he’s a reliable 30-goal scorer to have a chance at getting that much on his next deal.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid 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 2022-23 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Anaheim Ducks
Current Cap Hit: $63,657,667 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Jamie Drysdale (one year, $925K)
F Mason McTavish (three years, $894K)
F Trevor Zegras (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses:
Drysdale: $850K
McTavish: $2.5MM
Zegras: $850K
Total: $4.2MM
Simply put, these three are the centerpieces of Anaheim’s rebuild. Zegras played his first full NHL season in 2021-22 and finished second on the team in scoring, establishing himself as their top center in the process. An early extension is always possible but with only 99 career games under his belt, GM Pat Verbeek might want to wait on that. His next contract seems likely to check in around the $8MM range on a long-term deal, similar to the ones that Nick Suzuki and Josh Norris have signed recently. Worth noting, he will still have five years of team control after next season. As for McTavish, he didn’t look out of place in his limited NHL stint last year and his showing at the World Juniors shows that he’s ready for a full-time role in 2022-23. It’s obviously too early to forecast his next deal but they’re hoping he does well enough to be in that $8MM range as well.
Drysdale had some struggles in his own end last season but that’s hardly uncommon for a 19-year-old and overall, he had a solid first full NHL campaign. While it might seem that he should get a bigger role this season, that’s far from a guarantee with the veterans that will be ahead of him. That makes his next contract a bit tricky. Anaheim will certainly want to extend him on a max-term deal but it might be in Drysdale’s best interest to look for a two or three-year bridge deal; he also will have five years of team control remaining. He’d get more of a chance to play top minutes in 2023-24 so locking in long-term before getting that opportunity would carry some risk from an earnings standpoint.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
D Simon Benoit ($750K, RFA)
F Max Comtois ($2.037MM, RFA)
F Derek Grant ($1.5MM, UFA)
D John Klingberg ($7MM, UFA)
D Josh Mahura ($750K, RFA)
D John Moore ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($3.9MM, UFA)
G Anthony Stolarz ($950K, UFA)
F Troy Terry ($1.45MM, RFA)
Bridge contracts are often overlooked as they’re often by-products of a salary cap situation. That isn’t the case in Anaheim as the ones they signed were simply decisions to see how a player continues to perform before needing a big commitment. They’ll certainly be needing that big commitment for Terry as he had a breakout showing in 2021-22, scoring 37 goals and 67 points. For context, he had 15 goals in 128 contests heading into the season. A repeat performance would push Terry well past the $6MM mark on a long-term deal which is basically four times what his qualifying offer would be next summer. Anaheim will enjoy another season at a bargain price tag and will be paying up soon after.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Comtois. He received a bridge deal even after leading the Ducks in scoring in 2020-21 and the first year of it didn’t go well. He struggled with his production and consistency which resulted in him dropping down the depth chart and even being scratched at times. Still just 23, they’re certainly not giving up on him but his contract is back-loaded which results in a $2.55MM qualifier next summer. A repeat showing next season will make the decision regarding his future a little trickier. As for Grant, he’s coming off a career year with 29 points and played like a capable third center. That’s a good return for that price point and if Anaheim is out of the playoff picture in February, he’ll be a strong candidate to move as a rental at the trade deadline.
The addition of Klingberg this summer certainly raised some eyebrows. His presence on the roster will make it a little harder for Drysdale to play an elevated role in the lineup but at the same time, the veteran is in a good spot to be productive and show that he’s worthy of the long-term commitment he was seeking this summer. Even so, that long-term contract will likely check in at a lower price tag than this one unless he really has a standout performance. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him move at the trade deadline either. The same can be said for Shattenkirk who has re-established himself as a top-three defender with the Ducks but might be in tough to put up the type of offensive numbers that he’s accustomed to with Klingberg now in the fold which could hurt his market in free agency next summer. Moore was a cap casualty they had to take on in the Hampus Lindholm trade last season and he’ll be looking at a deal at or near the minimum next season while Benoit and Mahura will need to become full-time regulars if they want to make more than the minimum in 2023-24 as well.
Stolarz did well in his first full NHL season as a backup, posting an impressive .917 SV% in 28 appearances. With the way that backups have seen their price tags go up in recent years, if he’s able to play at a similar level next season, he could push for upwards of three times his current deal. Even if he takes a step back, double his current price could still be doable.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Sam Carrick ($850K, UFA)
F Adam Henrique ($5.825MM, UFA)
F Max Jones ($1.295MM, RFA)
F Isac Lundestrom ($1.8MM, RFA)
F Jakob Silfverberg ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Urho Vaakanainen ($850K, RFA)
Henrique had a rough 2020-21 season to the point where he cleared waivers but he was much better last season with 42 points in 58 games while winning over 55% of his faceoffs. That’s not a great return on his price tag but those are second-line numbers which is a better outcome than seemed possible just a season ago. He won’t be able to command that type of money two years from now though. The same can be said for Silfverberg, who’s coming off an injury-riddled year that saw him score just five times in 53 games. While he was a top-six winger at the time his deal was signed, he isn’t now. Carrick very quietly put up decent numbers in a depth role last season with 11 goals in 69 games after having just four in parts of five seasons before that. His contract is cheap enough to give Anaheim good value if he’s on the fourth line while if young players push their way into his spot, it can be buried in the minors.
As for the younger forwards in this group, Lundestrom did well in his first full NHL season, picking up 29 points and playing a big role shorthanded. Still just 22, he’s more of an unheralded part of their future plans and should be more of a bottom-six player moving forward but this was still a promising season. The bridge deal makes sense and if he can produce at a similar rate these next two years, his AAV could jump into the $3MM range. It’s safe to call the first year of Jones’ bridge contract a write-off as a pectoral injury limited him to just two appearances last season. If he can return as a capable bottom-six winger, there’s room for his price tag to go up a couple of years from now.
Vaakanainen was part of the Lindholm trade as well and while he hasn’t played up to the level of a first-round pick as he was in 2017, he showed some signs of progressing into a regular NHL defender. This contract has a chance to be a bit of a bargain as a result but with limited offensive upside, he’s not going to be someone to command big money down the road. Doubling his current AAV could be achievable if he can hold down a regular spot.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Frank Vatrano ($3.65MM, UFA)
Vatrano has largely gone under the radar but he very quietly has scored at least 16 goals in each of the last four seasons and is coming off his second straight 18-goal campaign which wasn’t bad considering he played just over 13 minutes a night. That type of money for someone whose role is that limited is a bit on the high side but he has been able to produce with some consistency with less ice time than players that hover around 20 goals typically get. That made for a pretty strong market for him last month which yielded this contract.