On Friday night, the Calgary Flames made a significant trade, adding Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Wieger, Cole Schwind and a lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick from Florida in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick.
With the addition of two established NHL players already under contract for 2022, what does the Flames’ cap situation look like for 2022-23?
The Flames now have 21 players on one-way NHL contracts for 2022-23 (and we’re including established NHL regulars on two-way contracts):
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- F Sean Monahan – $6.375 million
- G Jacob Markstrom – $6 million
- F Jonathan Huberdeau – $5.9 million
- F Mikael Backlund $5.35 million
- F Milan Lucic – $5.25 million
- D Noah Hannifin – $4.95 million
- F. Blake Coleman – $4.9 million
- F Elias Lindholm – $4.85 million
- D Rasmus Anderson – $4.55 million
- D Chris Tanev – $4.5 million
- F. Tyler Toffoli – $4.25 million
- D Nikita Zadorov – $3.75 million
- D MacKenzie Weegar – $3.25 million
- F Dillon Dube – $2.3 million
- D Juuso Valimaki – $1.55 million
- F Kevin Rooney – $1.3 million
- D Nicolas Meloche – $950,000
- D Connor Mackey – $912,500
- F Trevor Lewis – $800,000
- D Dennis Gilbert – $762,500
- G Dan Vladar – $750,000
So the Flames have two goaltenders, nine defensemen and 10 forwards under contract, and those players total $73.2 million in commitments. That leaves them with $9.3 million in cap space for restricted free agents Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington, which would drop them to two goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 11 forwards.
But remember: The Flames won’t carry 10 defensemen. They’ll likely have seven: If we list Valimaki as the seventh defenseman (as the most expensive option for cap planning purposes) and project that Melosh, Mackie and Gilbert are in the AHL, that gives the Flames about $70.575 million in commitments and $11.925 million in space.
If we project Mangiapane’s new deal at around $5 million and Kylington at around $2.75 million, that gives the Flames two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 11 forwards with about $4.175 million left in cap space for two or three forwards to fill out the roster. (If they have a different seventh defenseman who makes less than Valimaki, that space grows a bit.)
Depending on what they do with the blue line depth, they still have the ability to potentially add without completely losing cap flexibility. They could also fill two or three remaining spots with the likes of Adam Ruzicka (RFA) or Jakob Pelletier ($863,333).
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Knowing Brad Treliving, the Flames probably aren’t done tinkering with their roster. But what they have put together so far looks fairly balanced and still gives the club some financial flexibility as they head into the autumn.
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