Calgary Flames Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan Contract Update

Calgary Flames Negotiations With Johnny Gaudreau/Sean Monahan Affected by Recent MacKinnon, Scheifele Signings

Calgary Flames have their sights set on locking down young stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan to long-term deals. For GM Brad Treliving, it’s a delicate balance of keeping his two best offensive threats happy, while at the same time ensuring the team has enough money to re-sign other core pieces down the road.

Given the way the process has played out, speculation would suggest the initial asking price on part of Gaudreau/Monahan was higher than Treliving was comfortable with. By allowing other RFAs to set market value, Calgary decided they were willing to roll the dice in hopes to save a few extra dollars annually.

Unfortunately for Brad Treliving and company, recent deals signed by Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) could ultimately work against the team in negotiations.

Scheifele signed an eight-year $49 million dollar ($6.125 million/year) deal last Friday.

He’s coming off a 29-goal, 61-point season in 2015-16, and posted 15 goals, 49 points a year before that. In the past two seasons, Mark Scheifele has tallied 110 points in 153 regular season games.

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MacKinnon signed a seven-year $44.1 million dollar ($6.3 million/year) deal shortly after Scheifele on Friday.

Nathan MacKinnon fell victim to the sophomore slump in year two (2014-15) scoring 14 goals (38 points). He bounced back nicely in 2015-16 scoring 21 goals, 52 points. Over that two season period, Nathan has 90 points in 136 games.

Gaudreau and Monahan have outperformed both Scheifele and MacKinnon .

After winning the Hobey Baker Award as top NCAA player for Boston College in 2013-14, Johnny Gaudreau had a stellar rookie season posting 24 goals (64 points) in 2014-15. He managed to avoid the sophomore slump in 2015-16 adding to his previous year total by scoring 30 goals (78 points). That’s a total of 142 points in 159 games in his first two seasons.

Sean Monahan broke into the NHL back in 2013-14 posting 34 points in 75 games. He posted 31 goals (62 points) in 2014-15, followed up with 27 goals (63 points) in 2015-16. Sean has a total of 125 points in 162 games over the previous two seasons.

Mark Scheifele – two-year total: 153gp 110pts
Nathan MacKinnon – two-year total: 136gp 90pts
Johnny Gaudreau – two-year total: 159gp 142pts
Sean Monahan – two-year total: 162gp 125pts

Calgary Flames have spent $58,030,399 towards the 2016-17 salary cap ($73 million dollars). That leaves the team with a little under $15 million to sign Gaudreau and Monahan.

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Both young stars should garner similar lucrative cap hits. The amount of term will be the interesting part.

If the Calgary Flames want to preserve their RFA status, Sean Monahan can be signed to a max three-year deal because players can declare themselves UFA after seven years of NHL service or when they reach the age of 27. For Gaudreau, the Flames could go a max four years to keep his RFA tag.

The smart play for Brad Treliving would be to secure both players to max eight year deals. Both Monahan/Gaudreau are expected to be major core pieces for this franchise moving forward, therefore another extension could be worked out before either deal expires.

Feb 27, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) celebrates his second period goal with center Sean Monahan (23) against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports /

Big question is, how much did Mark Scheifele and Nathan MacKinnon affect negotiations for the Calgary Flames?

Based on the numbers of all four players above, logic would suggest Sean Monahan should receive anywhere between $6.5-6.75 million/year.

“Johnny Hockey” is teetering on superstar status, and has been called a top five player by some; expect him to earn between $7-7.5 million/year.

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Even if we use the minimum estimations, that means the Calgary Flames should have a little over $1 million dollars left for spending against the cap.

Brad Treliving may end up spending a little more than originally planned, but after signing Troy Brouwer, Brian Elliott, and Chad Johnson, management was able to address every major need already this offseason. Further tweaks can easily be made if necessary.

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