• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Calgary Flames

Evaluating Calgary’s Expiring Contracts

By Thomas Strangward April 17th, 2012

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Since the Calgary Flames closed out their regular season and headed into a playoff-free spring for the third consecutive year, the fan base and local sports media did not have to wait long before the first significant move of the off-season to occur. On Thursday, April 12th, Flames General Manager Jay Feaster announced that head coach Brent Sutter as well as assistant coach Dave Lowry would not be resigned, effectively ending their relationship with the team. While the move does not come as a surprise given the on-ice performance of the team under the coaching staff, this move does indicate that there may be a disconnect between the management and former coaching staff given that Sutter stated in his end of season press conference that he would like certain changes to be made. Working under the likely assumption that those changes are of the rebuilding-the-team variety, Feaster may be choosing to retain his core and continue tinkering with his roster this summer- perhaps even going a similar route this year by trying to land a big-money player such as Zach Parise much like he attempted to woo Brad Richards last summer.

Olli Jokinen Flames

Olli Jokinen may have priced himself out of Calgary. (Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI)

Before getting into a discussion over who the Flames should pursue in this summers’ free agent market, attention must be paid to the players already within the organizational fold. The Flames have six unrestricted free agents and four restricted free agents come July 1st, and most of these players are considered to be full-time roster players. The Flames currently sit 5th overall in league payroll, at $64, 290,000. This number will drop significantly with the contract expirations of UFAs Olli Jokinen, Lee Stempniak, David Moss, Tom Kostopoulos, Cory Sarich, and Scott Hannan as these players account for a combined salary of $11,716,667. Of these players, the most likely returnees are the affordable Lee Stempniak and Olli Jokinen if the numbers are kosher with Flames management. Ideally, despite Jokinen’s grossly exaggerated open-market value, the Flames should keep both of these forwards only for a combined cap hit of $4 million or less.

Should that occur, that leaves approximately $7 million dollars in cap space for Feaster to contend with Calgary’s restricted free agents. The most significant of which are Mikael Backlund, Blake Comeau, Blair Jones, and Akim Aliu. Backlund is an interesting case, as the Flames faithful have begun to openly lose patience with the first-round pick (24th overall) from 2007 as until the emergence of Sven Bartschi he was seen as the brightest prospect within the organization. Instead of emerging as a talented top-6 center, Backlund has struggled at the NHL level with the most consistent aspect of his game becoming his seemingly all-too-frequent injury issues. This past season was Backlund’s most disappointing, as he managed only 11 points in 41 games. Comeau is also heading into RFA status with indignation as he also had a let-down year after being claimed off waivers from the Islanders. He managed just 5 goals and 15 points in 58 games this season after turning on the red light 22 times last year with the lowly Islanders, meaning his contract renewal figure (should there be one) will be difficult to ascertain.

The most interesting case is Akim Aliu, who appeared in the final 2 games of the regular season but netted 2 goals against Anaheim in the finale while managing to be the biggest pest on the ice. Flames fans are already in love with the young AHL-journeyman, although it should be noted that Aliu fell as low as the ECHL last year, suiting up in 10 games for the Colorado Eagles last year. Despite this, Aliu will likely receive a long look this summer and in training camp as his intense level of play is a frequent absent element in a Flames game. The most likely to be resigned at a reasonable level is Jones, who also quickly became a fan favourite due to his excellent defensive game and serviceable performance as a bottom-6 center.

Regardless of their decisions, the Flames will undoubtedly find themselves with significantly more cap space to tinker with this upcoming summer. Due to the fact that their recent trend of losing will likely prevent them from landing a player of Parise’s caliber, there is enough in-house player personnel decision making that will influence the direction of the team just as significantly as the signing of the biggest free agent name. With the coaching staff gone and the high amount of contracts expiring, Jay Feaster is primed to put his stamp on the team for the first time. The decisions he makes this summer will be the true indication of the direction that he intends to take the franchise in for the remainder of his tenure.

  • Tags
  • Akim Aliu
  • Blair Jones
  • Brent Sutter
  • Dave Lowry
  • Jay Feaster
  • Lee Stempniak
  • Mikael Backlund
  • Olli Jokinen
  • Zach Parise
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 23rd 8:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets Thrilled To Bring Laine, Roslovic On Board

Jan 23rd 6:58 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens’ Price Still Has Room to Improve Early in 2020-21

Jan 23rd 4:05 PM
All-Star Weekend

25 Years Later: The FoxTrax Glowing Puck Makes Its Debut

Jan 23rd 3:50 PM
Boston Bruins

Bruins Should Play Grzelcyk With McAvoy

Jan 23rd 3:23 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Are Being Too Patient With the Puck

Jan 23rd 2:20 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ Pierre-Oliver Joseph Shines in NHL Debut

Jan 23rd 2:10 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Lacombe, McLaughlin, Sundsvik & More

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Prospects News & Rumors: Clarke, Byram & Cozens

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
New York Islanders

Islanders’ Kieffer Bellows Adapting to New Role

Jan 23rd 1:50 PM
Calgary Flames

Flames’ Monahan Vying to Be Best Center in North Division

Editor’s Picks
2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information