The Calgary Flames will have some interesting decisions to make next summer.
After locking up Brayden Pachal to a two-year extension on Tuesday, the attention now turns to some of their key pending restricted free agents.
Forwards Connor Zary, Matt Coronato, and Jakob Pelletier will all need new deals ahead of the 2025-26 season, as will defenceman Kevin Bahl. Zary and Coronato specifically look like the types of players you want to build around, while Bahl has fit in seamlessly on the back end. There are still questions surrounding the 23-year-old Pelletier, but he’s played quite well in limited minutes since being called up from the AHL earlier in the month.
The Flames shouldn’t have any issues in terms of finding the money to sign these players. They have well north of $20 million in cap space, as per Puckpedia, and don’t have any other rostered players they need to worry about handing big money to this coming offseason. The cap is also expected to jump rather significantly, giving them a ton of flexibility.
Based on how all four have looked so far in their career, and, in big part this season, here is an idea of what you can expect their next contracts to look like.
Connor Zary
Projected deal: 8 years, $52 million ($ 6.5million AAV)
- 2024-25 stats: 32 GP, 7 G, 10 A, 17 PTS
Connor Zary is posting nearly identical stats to the 14 goals and 34 points he had in his 63-game rookie campaign a season ago. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but those who watch the 23-year-old on a nightly basis see how big of an impact he provides in many areas.
Zary’s offensive game is going to continue growing, and his play defensively is everything and more you could ask for a player his age. He’s extremely effective, whether playing down the middle or on the wing, making him the perfect player to lock up long-term. It seems a safer bet than bridging him, as the raising cap — along with his projected increase in offensive numbers — could result in a $6.5 million cap hit turning into a bargain in a short time.
Matt Coronato
Projected deal: 3 years, $9 million ($3 million AAV)
- 2024-25 stats: 27 GP, 8 G, 6 A, 14 PTS
After a rookie season that featured some growing pains, Coronato is starting to make leaps and bounds as a player right in front of our eyes. He may not be a talked-about goal scorer around the NHL just yet, but that time is coming.
The risk when it comes to locking Coronato up long term is that he isn’t as well-rounded as Zary. If he isn’t scoring, he doesn’t have the same tools to be as effective. That makes the bridge deal a safer play here, one which would allow Coronato the opportunity to bet on himself and potentially earn a boatload afterward.
Jakob Pelletier
Projected deal: 2 year, $2.4 million ($1.2 million AAV)
- 2024-25 stats: 6 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS
After an injury-riddled 2023-24 season, Pelletier seems to be regaining his confidence and getting back to the player the Flames had high hopes for a few years ago.
Many would expect Pelletier to get a similar deal to the one-year, $800,000 deal he inked this past September, but he will have salary arbitration rights for the first time this coming offseason. If he can stick with the Flames for the remainder of the season, that should help him earn a bit of a raise.
Kevin Bahl
Projected deal: 4 years, $16 million ($4 million AAV)
- 2024-25 stats: 32 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 11 PTS
Not many would have projected Kevin Bahl to be signed to an extension like the one above before the 2024-25 season began, but it’s a testament to how good he’s been in his first year with the Flames.
Bahl has quickly proven to be a great partner for Rasmus Andersson, plays a simple, mistake-free game, and has already tied his previous career high in points. His 21:35 minutes per game are third among all Flames players, trailing only Andersson (24:35) and MacKenzie Weegar (23:17).
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