Connor Zary is set to become a restricted free agent next summer, and with how key of a piece he has become for this team, the Flames need to lock him up on a contract. However, Zary only played 63 games last year, and this year will likely be the first year he plays a full 82 games.
Have the Flames seen enough from Zary to know what kind of potential he has as an NHL player and should they lock him down long-term early? Or do they need more time to determine what Zary’s place on this team will be five years down the line? How should the Flames approach extending Connor Zary? We asked, you answered.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
What people want for Zary’s next contract
We presented the below poll to our readers.
Max term, right now
Most readers believe that the Flames should aim to get an eight-year contract done with Zary. Many fans are still recovering from the Matthew Takchuk saga, where instead of signing Tkachuk for eight years, Brad Treliving decided to sign him for only three years, practically walking him to free agency, just so Michael Frolik could remain on the team.
As a result, the Flamers were forced to accommodate Tkachuk’s trade request when he had one year left on his deal, as he would have just left the next summer. The last thing that Flames fans want to see is that exact same scenario occurring again. We have seen many teams give out max-term contracts to their young RFAs after the Tkachuk saga. Elias Pettersson, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Sieder, Jeremy Swayman, Quinton Byfield, and more all got long-term deals from their teams. Looks like the teams around the NHL saw Calgary’s mistake and have learned from it.
Give a bridge deal
Unsurprisingly, not many of our readers want this to happen. And the reason again, has to be from lessons learned from Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames are in a rebuilding phase, and while they still have to be smart with their cap space, the team will also likely be below the cap limit for the next couple of seasons at least. Now isn’t the time to look for saving a dollar here and there.
The Flames can take advantage of their cap space and lock their young players in long-term, and from this poll, it looks like that is what Flames fans want to see.
Let the season finish first
A good amount of readers selected this option. Zary really impressed with his performance last year, however, there still are some unknowns about him. Do the Flames see Zary as a centre long-term with the Flames? Or will he remain as a winger? Does Zary fit the mould of the rebuild that the Flames are trying to execute? What is Zary’s ceiling?
The Flames need to have answers to all of these questions and more before they are able to offer Zary a long-term contract. The Flames might just elect to use this season as a time to assess Zary and how he plays with increased responsibility placed on him, and from that they may have a better idea of what his next contract may look like.
Learn from prior mistakes
I think there is one goal and objective that the Flames need to focus on when approaching this contract, and future RFA contracts. The below tweet says it best.
Calgary Flames, I beg you, please don’t mess this up.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
You must be logged in to post a comment.