Finally some good news for the Calgary Flames this season. On Sunday evening, the Flames announced that Matt Coronato, their first round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and NCAA hockey star for the Harvard Crimson, has signed a three-year entry-level contract.
Coronato signs contract with Calgary
Coronato was selected 13th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Flames, and has gone on to become a superstar at the NCAA level for Harvard. He is 5’10” and 185 pounds, shoots right, and played both centre and right wing for the Crimson. He should feature on one of the Flames’ top two lines, but who Coronato plays with remains to be seen.
After Harvard’s NCAA season came to a close last week, several NCAA players have signed deals, including Coronato’s teammates. Coronato is now the latest of the Crimson cohort to sign an NHL deal.
Coronato’s salary for all three seasons is $925K with $850K performance bonuses for the second and third years. Per Pat Steinberg, Brad Treliving talked with Coronato’s agent John Kofi Osei-Tutu on Saturday, then spoke with Coronato on Sunday morning. The timeline between Harvard’s exit out of the NCAA tournament and getting Coronato signed spanned just over 48 hours.
In Harvard’s 2022–23 season, Coronato scored 20 goals and 16 assists in 34 games. Five his his goals were game-winning goals. That’s some clutch play from the rising star. Last season as a rookie in the NCAA, Coronato scored an coincidentally scored 36 points as well, but had an 18-goal, 18-assist stat line instead.
Slotting Coronato into the lineup
Coronato’s contract begins in the 2022–23 season, meaning he will burn the first year of his contract. The Flames have eight games left in the season and Coronato is elegible to play in all of them. Their next game is on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, and Coronato will be with the team starting Monday.
Since Coronato was not on the Calgary Wrangler’s AHL roster by the deadline a few weeks ago, he will not be eligible to play for the Wranglers in the rest of their regular season or playoffs. Coronato will be in the NHL for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.
Welcome to the C of Red, Matt!
Photo from @NHLFlames on Twitter.
