Oftentimes in the NHL, especially in the salary cap era, teams have pretty top-heavy rosters. This means that there is some watered-down talent throughout the league, specifically in bottom-six forward groups. This isn’t to suggest they aren’t incredible players, as they absolutely are, but they are much easier to replace than top-end NHL talent.
This is why so many teams seem to have several different members in their bottom six each and every year. Not only do they require significantly lower salaries than top-tier players, but a lot of them play a similar style of game. It isn’t often that you hear of a team with an impactful fourth-liner who they see as a big part of their future. For the Calgary Flames, however, this isn’t exactly the case, as they seem to have found themselves a beauty in Walker Duehr, and will be looking to keep him around for a good chunk of time.
Duehr Providing a Significant Impact
After finishing his senior year with Minnesota State University, Duehr signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Flames. Given his rather modest totals (25 goals, 26 assists, 102 games played) during his four seasons at the collegiate level, there was minimal excitement at the time his deal was inked. The one thing that couldn’t be ignored, however, was his large 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame.
Fast forward two years to where we are now, and the excitement around the 25-year-old has grown significantly. After getting in just one game at the NHL level a season ago, he appeared in 27 in 2022-23, and based on his play won’t be back in the American Hockey League (AHL) anytime soon.
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Through those 27 games, Duehr found the back of the net seven times while also registering four assists. That goal total translates to 21 over a full 82-game schedule, and is especially impressive when you factor in the limited opportunity he was given. Not only was he not given any time on the power play, but he averaged just 10:12 in ice time per game. Safe to say, he made the most of his few minutes.
It isn’t just the scoring with Duehr, either. As mentioned, he has been used in a fourth-line role and has massive size, so it shouldn’t come as a shocker to hear he brings a physical edge each and every time he hits the ice. He recorded 55 hits on the year, which correlates to an average of 11.98 per 60 minutes. To put that in comparison, Milan Lucic, who is known for throwing his body around plenty himself, averaged 11.73 hits per 60.
What Does a Duehr Extension Look Like?
Given that he signed that two-year entry-level contract back in April of 2021, Duehr is currently without one for the 2023-24 season. It isn’t a major concern to get something done as he will be a restricted free agent, though having him locked up sooner than later can give Brad Treliving (or whoever this team’s general manager may be) more time to focus on other areas.
While it wouldn’t be wise to throw a ton of money at a bottom-six player with limited experience (looking at you, Lance Bouma), there is plenty to suggest that Duehr will continue getting better. Not only is he still quite young, but he skates very well for a player of his size, which in itself suggests his game won’t be at risk of a decline anytime soon. On top of that, while he does play a fourth-line role right now, he does have more skill than often given credit for, and could very well become a middle-six forward in the coming years.
What the Flames would ideally like to do here is sign Duehr to a three-year deal. That isn’t a long enough term to make it one to worry about and allows them to buy a year off of his free agency (would become an unrestricted free agent following the 2024-25 season). For Duehr, this term would make sense, as it gives him some nice job security. Assuming the two sides can agree on an average annual value in the range of $1-1.5 million, this would be a pretty fair contract for both sides.
Duehr a Nice Find by Management
Though Flames fans won’t be wanting to give anyone in the organization much credit right now, the management department does deserve some kudos for seeing potential in Duehr. This was a player who didn’t have a ton of interest coming out of college, but this Flames group saw something in him and is benefitting from that now.
