It is almost mid-July, and the NHL is nearing its offseason lull. The intensity of the free agency frenzy has faded as all of the big-ticket unrestricted free agents (UFAs) have either been re-signed or have inked deals with new teams. The rest of the summer will see some minor league, minimum salary, and short-term contracts sprinkled around to the best of the remaining available players. The Calgary Flames and general manager Craig Conroy smartly didn’t make any big waves this summer, rather electing to spend wisely and instead continue to build towards their retooling process. No contract longer than two years and no average annual value (AAV) higher than $3.5 million have been given out by the Flames so far. Because of this, the team currently has an NHL-high $21 million in available cap space.
Related: Flames’ 2024 Free Agent Additions & Subtractions
While the Flames roster is seemingly pretty set going into the 2024-25 season, there is still some room to add. The active roster is at 22 players, but the organization has room for eight more standard player contracts. The team still has eight pending restricted free agents to re-sign such as Dustin Wolf, but not all of these players will continue to be property of the Flames. Conroy has done an excellent job selling off veteran talent for draft picks and prospects and should use his abundance of cap space to keep doing so. There are a handful of talented UFAs that would likely accept a cheap one-year contract just to get in, and the Flames could use this to their advantage. They could essentially rent and sell these players at the deadline, as callous as it may be. Here are three such players that could be targeted for this purpose. Contract projections are courtesy of AFP Analytics.
Tyler Johnson, Centre/Right Wing
First up is Spokane, Washington native Tyler Johnson. The diminutive forward (5-foot-8, 185 pounds) will be turning 34 years of age at the end of the month and is looking to keep playing in the best hockey league on planet Earth. He has skated the past three seasons with the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, finishing off a seven-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2017. Johnson got his start in the Sunshine State, playing the first nine seasons of his career there and playing a role in their two recent Stanley Cup victories (2020 and 2021). The Lightning couldn’t afford to keep paying him $5 million per year and remain competitive, so they shipped him to the Blackhawks (along with a second-round pick) for the contract of Brent Seabrook.
Johnson had a career-high 29 goals and 72 points with the Lightning back in 2014-15, but hasn’t sniffed those numbers since. He had a respectable 2023-24 season with the Blackhawks, scoring 17 times and totalling 31 points in 67 games. The veteran can still be effective in the right role; he played too much for the Blackhawks and should instead be deployed in a bottom-six capacity.
Johnson has switched to a more defensively responsible game, having 59 takeaways compared to just 43 giveaways over the past two seasons. He can still win faceoffs at an honourable rate, and averages 34 blocked shots per 82 games played. He is projected to land a one-year, $1.7 million contract, which the Flames could definitely afford. He would play the first half of the season in Cowtown, and with a good showing, he could get the team a nice pick or prospect come trade deadline time. In turn, he could earn himself a shot at another Cup, and potentially one more big contract before retirement.
Kevin Lankinen, Goaltender
Up next is a goaltender, 29-year-old Kevin Lankinen. The Finn just completed his second tour of duty with the Nashville Predators in 2023-24, going 11-6 with one shutout in 24 total appearances. He also authored an impressive .908 save percentage as well as a 2.82 goals-against average. For the past two seasons, Lankinen effectively played second fiddle behind the Predators’ two-time All-Star netminder, Juuse Saros. He has showcased starter capabilities in the past; as a rookie with the Blackhawks back in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season, he played in a career-high 37 contests, won 17 of them, and had two shutouts. He also ranked 25th in the league in goals saved above expected (minimum 20 games played), with 4.1. This figure ranked him ahead of such names as Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars, and Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers, respectively.
The Flames wouldn’t need Lankinen to start, as they have goalie of the future Wolf to do that. However, Wolf has only played 18 games and many rightfully believe he may not be ready to immediately take the reins from the recently departed Jacob Markstrom. Backup Dan Vladar is said to not be ready to return from hip surgery as well, further complicating things. The Flames signed 27-year-old minor-league netminder Devin Cooley to help out, but he just made his NHL debut last season and only played in six total matches. Enter Lankinen, who can sign a short-term deal and help shore up the crease for the time being. If Vladar comes back and plays well, he can be jettisoned to another team in need in exchange for assets. Otherwise, he could be kept around if Vladar ends up being the odd man out. Lankinen is projected to sign a two-year, $4 million contract.
Alex Nylander, Left Wing/Right Wing
Last but not least is Calgary’s own Alex Nylander. For those unaware, Alex is the son of former Flame Michael Nylander and younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward, William Nylander. The youngest Nylander was a former eighth overall draft selection of the Buffalo Sabres, back in 2016. He has never quite played as expected, and after eight years he found himself on his third different team as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets this past season. He turned it on in his contract year and earned a more heightened role on the team with strong, consistent play. He scored a career-high 11 goals and 15 total points in 23 games with the Blue Jackets. If he maintained that pace over a full 82-game season, he would have finished with an impressive 39 goals and 53 points.
Nylander also didn’t need to rely on the power play to make a difference in games last season, as he scored 13 of his 15 points at even strength. While it was a small sample size, he showed that he still has the tools to be a successful NHLer, and isn’t ready to be given the label of “bust” quite yet. The 26-year-old still has time to carve out a career for himself in the NHL, and perhaps a year of hockey in the city he was born in could be a nice next step. At a projected one-year, $1.3 million deal, the Flames could easily afford to slot him into their middle six and see if he can continue this upward trend. If he does, he could be worth flipping to an interested team or potentially be worth re-signing and becoming a long-term part of the retool.
All in all, the Flames don’t necessarily need to sign any of these players, but Conroy does need to weaponize his cap space in some regard. In today’s NHL, it is the most valuable trade commodity. As a retooling team, the Flames need assets. Signing a high-quality free agent and playing them before a deadline trade is a wise form of asset management.
