The Calgary Flames truly worked some miracles this offseason.
On Thursday, NHL insiders reported that the Flames had signed reigning Stanley Cup champion Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, $49 million deal worth $7 million a season. To make the salary work, the Flames also reportedly shipped out Sean Monahan to Montreal for an undisclosed return. In the midst of a relatively quiet offseason after the busy start of free agency, the news stunned hockey fans, especially after rumors swirled around the New York Islanders being the potential landing spot for Kadri.
Instead, however, Kadri is headed to Alberta as the Flames turn over a new leaf in their franchise’s history. Earlier this offseason, the Flames lost both Johnny Gaudreau (to free agency) and Matthew Tkachuk (via trade) after the pair put up career seasons of 100-plus points each. Given how the Flames were one of the best teams in the Western Conference during the 2021-22 season, the loss of two of the team’s first-line players — coming off of career seasons no less — was a bitter pill to swallow for Calgary and its fans.
For a time this summer, it seemed as if the Flames’ promising future was prematurely snuffed out as the team took a large step back in pure talent. Yet now, after recouping some incredible assets in the Tkachuk trade and Kadri’s recent signing, Calgary may just come out of this summer a better hockey team than before.
Let’s break it down, shall we? Here are all of Calgary’s major losses since the 2022 offseason began:
- Johnny Gaudreau (free agency)
- Matthew Tkachuk (trade)
- Sean Monahan (trade)
- Calle Jarnkrok (free agency)
And here are all of the Flames’ major additions this summer:
- Jonathan Huberdeau (via trade, then signed an eight-year, $84 million contract extension)
- MacKenzie Weegar (via trade)
- Nazem Kadri (free agency)
That’s not half bad at all from general manager Brad Treliving. Yes, it’s not ideal to have lost Gaudreau and Tkachuk after the pair revitalized their careers last season. But, it seems as if Gaudreau was always going to move east to be closer to home once his contract expired in Calgary and the Flames got way more in return for Tkachuk than anyone was expecting in that deal.
And now, add Kadri to the list. At 31-years-old, it’s unreasonable to expect Kadri to top his career high 87-point season he had with the absolutely stacked Avalanche last year. Not only that, seven years at $7 million per is a steep price to pay on a contract that won’t be team friendly by its end. That being said, Kadri can still produce at a high offensive rate when surrounded by appropriate talent, which the Flames still have in spades.
Lest we all forget, Huberdeau matched Gaudreau in points last season (115) and set the single season assists record by a left winger with 87. Weegar too has playmaking potential while being an immediate, stable upgrade to the Flames blue line. Add a Stanley Cup winning Kadri into the mix and the losses of Gaudreau and Tkachuk don’t seem nearly as dire as they once were.
Headed into the 2022-23 season, it’s going to be weird seeing a Flames team without their two best players in Gaudreau and Tkachuk. And yet, with the savvy moves Treliving and company have made this offseason, the Flames could very well be even better than before.
