There has been a lot more to talk about this season then maybe a lot of us thought there would be. It is just past American Thanksgiving and the Calgary Flames currently sit in a divisional playoff spot, somewhere we never imagined the Flames would be at this point in the season.
When looking at the success the team is having, it could be because of two of the younger players on the team doing a lot of the heavy lifting, those being Dustin Wolf and Connor Zary. Both of them have been exceptional in their own rights. Wolf has been single-handedly winning the team games on most nights, and Zary has been a human highlight reel on a nightly basis.
Zary will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Wolf will be eligible to sign an extension as of July 1. Craig Conroy’s main job this offseason should be locking up both Zary and Wolf to long-term deals, and with the past this team has had, it has to be the main priority.
Wolf and Zary’s seasons up to this point
The expectations for both Wolf and Zary were set pretty high coming into this season. Both have been highly touted players within the Flames system for years and this year would finally be the season where both of them would be here for the entirety of it.
Zary had a nice season a year ago when he burst into the season in November. He collected 34 points in 63 games and easily became one of the Flames’ most exciting players to watch on a nightly basis. There was an outside chance that Zary could have been in the Calder Trophy conversation at one point.
Meanwhile, Wolf got himself into 17 NHL games a year ago, but he has dominated the AHL for three years, it was expected this was the season he would become a full-time NHL goaltender.
Both have not disappointed up to this point. Wolf has cemented himself as the team’s #1 goaltender as he is currently rocking an .921 SV% and a 2.47 GAA, he also recorded his first shutout of his career earlier this month. Wolf has been the main reason the Flames are where they are in the standings. Most games he has played in probably would have resulted in a loss for the club if he didn’t play as well as he did. The Flames have another potential award candidate for the second year in a row as I would consider Wolf the frontrunner for the Calder Trophy. I think there has to be an argument for him to also be in the Vezina Trophy conversation. That is how good Wolf has been this season.
Zary has also been impressive. While his point totals this season don’t pop off the charts, he has been electric every single game, and with a little more luck on his side, his point totals would probably be a lot better. He has made a seamless transition over to the centre position and he looks so much more comfortable there as he is able to control the game through the middle of the ice as opposed to having to work off the wall. He is controlling the game better than any Flame right now, and the good news is that he has been heating up as of late. He gets more and more confident with each passing game, and I totally anticipate that to continue moving forward.
Why the Flames need to extend both Wolf and Zary long-term
I think everyone will agree that locking down both Wolf and Zary to max term, eight-year extensions would be in the organization’s best interest. After how the team handled the Matthew Tkachuk contract in 2019, I can guarantee that the Flames won’t be messing around when it comes to both Zary and Wolf.
While Zary may not have the pedigree of Tkachuk, he is still going to be a massive piece of the Flames moving forward, and that is something I wouldn’t mess around with, that should be an eight-year deal for him all day long. He has the skill, he is a pain to play against, and he is playing centre—simply put, they need him here for as long as possible.
There won’t be any excuse for it either, the Flames have tons of cap space and the salary cap should be going up this summer. It won’t be a case of the Flames pinching dollars to make it work, they will have all the resources to make it happen. That long-term deal for Zary must get done.
When it comes to Wolf, he will not need a contract for next season, but he will be eligible to sign an extension come July 1. Now, I don’t know if Wolf or his agent will have any interest in signing this summer. If Wolf has a good rest of the season, he may bet on himself to have an even better one next year to up his asking price.
However, if Wolf brings home some hardware this summer in the means of a Calder Trophy, he may be inclined to sign given his value will be at a high. The Flames should be doing whatever they can to get a long-term deal done with Wolf. He is the future in the net, and with all the troubles the Flames have gone through to find a legit number one over the last decade, it should be a no-brainer to get Wolf locked in so they don’t have to worry about it. Don’t overthink it, just get it done.
The Flames need to embrace both these netminders just like fans will embrace the Epic Toto site.
Craig Conroy has a huge job ahead
Conroy and the rest of the management team cannot afford the fumble this summer when it comes to Zary and Wolf (you can even add Matthew Coronato to that mix). He will have the chance to lock in two franchise cornerstones and can have the fanbase breathe a sigh of relief unlike when the team lost Tkachuk due to not having a long-term deal done.
If both Wolf and Zary are interested in long-term deals, there is no other alternative—those deals have to get done, and they should be the number one priority for Conroy this summer.
