Recently, my colleague Derek Olsen put together a fantastic article that looked at the Calgary Flames’ best contracts this season. I thought it would be interesting to do the opposite, albeit with the few bad contracts on the Flames’ books.
Related: Calgary Flames’ Best Contracts for the 2024-25 Season
Aside from what many view as the worst contract in the NHL, the Flames have done a good job of staying away from bad deals. During their current rebuild, they’ve stayed away from deals in general, boasting the most cap space of all 32 NHL teams. With that said, here’s a look at a few contracts that aren’t very valuable.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Cap hit: $10.5 million
The Jonathan Huberdeau stint in Calgary has been a failure. After a 115-point campaign in his final season with the Florida Panthers, he’s managed only 107 points in 160 games with the Flames. That production isn’t horrible, but for a player with a $10.5 million cap hit, it’s disastrous.
Huberdeau’s cap hit is the 13th highest in the NHL, sitting above some of the game’s best like Leon Draisaitl ($8.5 million), Nikita Kucherov ($9.5 million), and, the player he was traded for, Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5 million). While this contract isn’t overly problematic just yet, given all the cap space the Flames have, it could cause massive problems down the road – it doesn’t expire until 2031.
Mikael Backlund
Cap hit: $4.5 million
After the Flames lost several players in the final year of their contract, many forget how close Mikael Backlund was to being one of them. The current captain seemed fed up following a disappointing 2022-23 campaign, leading many to believe he would be moved to a contender.
Instead, Backlund remained in Calgary, agreeing to a two-year, $9 million extension at training camp last season. The cap hit was worth the 56 points he had put up in 2022-23, though many doubted his ability to sustain that production moving forward. Sure enough, he regressed to 39 points, and at 35, you can’t help but wonder if more regression is coming over in the next two years.
Ryan Lomberg
Cap hit: $2 million
The Flames didn’t dish out nearly as much money as many teams on the opening day of free agency, though they caught some eyes with the two-year, $4 million contract they gave to Ryan Lomberg. It’s a reunion of sorts, as Lomberg spent the first five seasons of his pro career in the Flames organization.
Lomberg will provide value for the Flames, having just won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. He’s also a major pest to play against, which means he draws penalties. That said, his five goals and seven points last season are not worth $2 million per year.
Conroy Taking His Time
Though Flames fans are dying to see some competitive hockey, general manager Craig Conroy is taking a responsible approach to this rebuild. He acquired several intriguing prospects through trade as well as the draft and should be able to do the same again this season. He’s also given out, for the most part, short-term deals, which will ensure the team isn’t in major cap trouble once some of their young talent needs new contracts.
Related: Flames Setting Wolf Up for Failure in 2024-25
Though the next few seasons could be difficult, we have to admire the work Conroy has done so far. While things can certainly change, the early results suggest that the Flames will be a true contender in the not-so-distant future.
