All The Members Of the Calgary Flames In Need Of A Contract For 2022-23
The Calgary Flames were the top team in the Pacific Division this past season, but they still went home after two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Winning in the playoffs is hard, but it seems like this team is just about ready to turn the corner to success, that is if they can keep a lot of their free agents around.
The Calgary Flames have 11 players from their active roster without contracts for next season. Only a few of them are going to be RFAs this offseason with a lot of players available to hit the open market.
This is basically a moment for the Flames to decide what they want to do for the future of their franchise. They get to pick which players to build around and which players to let go of.
With three of the Flames’ four top point-getters from this past season all without contracts, this definitely is going to be an interesting offseason in Calgary. Let’s go through the upcoming free agents the Flames have to worry about this offseason.
The Forwards:
Andrew Mangiapane
Mangiapane played in all 82 games this past season putting up 35 goals and 20 assists during that time. He was a critical top-six forward for this team and even had six points during the postseason. The former 2015 6th-round pick has spent his entire career in Calgary and definitely is someone the Flames should re-sign.
Matthew Tkachuk
What else needs to be said about Matthew Tkachuk? He is one of the brightest stars this team has. He put up 42 goals this season and over 100 points. He plays physically and is always making an impact on the ice. Tkachuk is going to be the face of this franchise for as long as he chooses, it will just be interesting to see whether or not he values term on his next contract or continues to roll with a shorter deal to stay in control of his future.
Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Gaudreau is a player who needs no introduction. The Flames great has been with the team his entire career since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft. He is someone this team has counted on this past season to lead and he did not disappoint having a career year putting up 115 points in 82 games. With Gaudreau, Tkachuk and Mangiapane all without contracts for next season, that makes up three of the top four point-getters this team has. Trying to bring back all three definitely should be a priority this upcoming offseason.
Ryan Carpenter
Ryan Carpenter was a late trade deadline addition to this team from the Blackhawks. It cost the team a 2024 4th-round pick. it will be interesting to see whether or not the Flames decide to bring back Carpenter who has been with some successful teams in the past in San Jose and Vegas.
Calle Jarnkrok
Calle Jarnkrok is another trade deadline addition for the Flames. It is an example of when deadline deals only look good when the team ends up winning. Jarnkrok was traded from Seattle in exchange for a second, third, and seventh-round pick in different draft years. Jarnkrok put up four points including a goal this postseason.
Trevor Lewis
Trevor Lewis was a good bottom-six forward this past season for the Flames putting up 16 points in 80 games. He is someone who can play physically as he is third on the team in hits behind only Nikita Zadorov and Milan Lucic.
Brett Ritchie
Brett Ritchie played in 41 games with the Flames this past season scoring just three goals during that time. Ritchie scored a few goals in the playoffs and is someone the team shouldn’t have any issues re-signing if they choose to.
The Defensemen:
Oliver Kylington
Oliver Kylington was a good top-four defenseman this past year for the Flames. The 25-year-old is one of the younger defensemen this team has to offer and he is the only defenseman who qualifies for restricted free agent status. He is one defenseman this team is going to want to bring back.
Erik Gudbranson
Erik Gudbranson registered 17 points this past season. He is 30 years old but did a great job in that top-four spot helping to share the workload so young guys like Kylington and Juuse Valimaki did not have to take on that big of a load this season. With the hopeful emergence of Juuso Valimaki Gudbranson is a defenseman the team might not have to bring back next season.
Michael Stone
Michael Stone has been with the Flames since a 2017 trade from the Arizona Coyotes. With the Flames, he has done a good job in a bottom-pairing role but he is someone the team could choose to move on from depending if they want to take their blue line in a different direction.
Nikita Zadorov
Nikita Zadorov is an interesting choice for the Flames. He is physical and definitely is built for playoff hockey but sometimes he can be a step behind when the team needs him the most. His physical play definitely is a big addition to this team and he really shined this season after previous misfortune on his previous teams in Chicago and Colorado. Zadorov might be looking for a bigger cap hit, but it makes sense that Zadorov would want to stay with a team he had success with this past season.