On June 28, while picks were on the floor of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames announced the re-signing of restricted free agent (RFA) defenceman Kevin Bahl to a six-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $5.35 million. The final three years of the contract come with an eight-team no-trade list. The contract retains a solid defensive defenceman through his prime years and projects to age very well as the cap rises over the coming seasons.
A product of the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Bahl was drafted 55th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2018. He joined the 67’s in 2016 and spent the full four years of his standard OHL eligibility there, finishing his age-20 season with 31 points in 54 games. While he signed his entry-level contract with the Coyotes, he never played a game for them, as he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in 2019 in one of many Taylor Hall trades before Bahl made his NHL debut.
KEVIN! ????
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 28, 2025
We have re-signed Kevin Bahl to a six-year contract worth an AAV of $5.35 million!#Flames | @original16beer pic.twitter.com/z3UOklR9K9
Bahl spent the first four years of his NHL career bouncing between the New Jersey Devils and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. His point totals with the Devils were less than stellar, peaking at 11 points in his first full NHL season, but his defensive results made up for his lacklustre production, becoming a true shutdown defender. In the 2024 offseason, he was packaged with a first-round pick (who would become Cole Reschny) and traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Jacob Markstrom.
In his first season with the Flames, he nearly doubled his point total from the year before with 20 points and earned himself top pair ice-time and a number one penalty kill spot. As one of the Flames’ few left-handed defencemen under contract, his role is essential, and his skill set is very valuable.
Extension Grade: A
While Calgary has no shortage of dynamic, right-handed defencemen — MacKenzie Weegar is the team’s clear number one, Rasmus Andersson plays on the right, and Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz are both waiting in the wings to take a spot on their side of the ice — they lack lefties and a sense of defensive stability. Bahl provides both of those things. Getting him locked down was probably the most important internal move the Flames needed to make this summer, and this contract neatly ties up that loose end with a bow on top.
At first glance, the price and term look a little steep; however, as the salary cap rises, contracts will look more expensive but become cheaper against the cap. For example, compare Bahl with longtime Flame Chris Tanev, now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2020-21, Tanev signed a five-year contract with an AAV of $4.5 million, $850,000 cheaper than Bahl’s current contract. Tanev’s contract at the time was 5.5% of the NHL salary cap. Bahl’s contract, although significantly more money, is only 5.6% of the salary cap. During Tanev’s tenure, the NHL was also bound to the flattened salary cap of the COVID era. Now, it’s set to rise every year, meaning Bahl’s contract will take up a much lower percentage of the cap than Tanev’s going forward.
Tanev is an apt comparison for Bahl in a few other ways, too — both are steady shut-down defencemen who provide little offensively but allow nothing defensively. Bahl is physical and blocks a lot of shots, and he also plays the most minutes of any Flame on the penalty kill.
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The player with the second-most minutes on the penalty kill is Andersson, who is likely to leave the team sooner rather than later — the Vegas Golden Knights recently attempted to trade for him. In his inevitable absence, Bahl’s steadiness will become ever more important, as will his position as a left-handed defenceman. All of the Flames’ other strong defencemen are right-handers, and with Bahl available on the left, there is now potential for a true shutdown pair at even strength. It’s also likely that the dynamic but volatile Parekh will benefit from having a calmer partner to help him in the inevitable case of a rookie defensive error.
All in all, it’s great that the Flames tied up one of their most important young free agents for the next six years at a cap hit that will prove to be better and better value for the team as time goes on.
