It was announced on Saturday that Calgary Flames forward Matt Coronato signed a seven-year, $45.5M extension. Coronato was one of the few restricted free agents on the Flames to-do list. He scored 24 goals and 47 points throughout 77 games.
Discussions of an extension began in March while the Flames were on their swing through Coronato’s home state of New York. Being around everything you are familiar with and grew up around, and still having that desire to play across North America for the next seven years, shows that he is dedicated to the organization, and there is a real hunger to be part of what Calgary is building. It is a stark difference from where the organization was two years ago. People want to be here.
Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 reported that neither side brought up the idea of a bridge deal. This should be a vote of confidence for the fanbase and the organization. The joke of American-born players wanting to be in Calgary was getting old and Coronato shot that narrative down.
A 180 from six months ago
Coronato started the season as an extra skater. He made his season debut four games into the season against the Edmonton Oilers, appeared in four games, and then was sent down to the AHL. At the time, it felt like the Flames were reverting to the old ways. The kids weren’t going to play. He spent a week with the Calgary Wranglers and was recalled to the NHL. The quick reassignment was the jumpstart to his season.
He has come leaps and bounds since October of 2024. One of Coronato’s biggest draws when he was drafted was his shot. The accuracy through the USHL, as well as his time at Harvard, has only refined itself through time.
His skating was a bit of a concern heading into the season. He worked with a skating coach last offseason, and the hard work showed. Speed and stamina were concerns, but he managed to iron out most of the kinks. Coronato became a consistent scoring presence for the Flames. The translation from his growing confidence to his game on ice continued to improve all season long.
Comparable signings
You can immediately point to two players from the 2021 draft class as comparables for the Calgary Flames’ Matt Coronato extension: Matty Beniers and Dylan Guenther. Beniers was drafted second overall by the Seattle Kraken, while Guenther was drafted ninth overall by the Arizona Coyotes. Both players signed seven-year, $7.14M extensions last summer.
Beniers has 62 goals through 249 NHL games. The Kraken have been in a similar situation as the Flames in terms of “rebuilding” from the expansion draft and building around a young player like Beniers.
Guenther has 51 goals through 148 NHL games. The then-Coyotes were knee-deep in their rebuild before being moved to Utah. Things have been moving along there and making nice progress. Just like Seattle and Calgary, they are working their way toward building a young contending team.
Coronato’s ceiling
Coronato’s deal is a steal. You get Coronato through his prime at a very good price, even with the cap rising. Three years from now, we may look back at this contract similarly to the MacKenzie Weegar deal. It feels like a great deal for everyone around. You get a player who is continuing to grow and will likely be a regular 30-goal scorer until he is 29.
He and Connor Zary are two skaters you want to build around. The long-term deal for Coronato is that extra vote of confidence you need to move forward through the rebuild. Zary’s also an RFA that should have a deal done well before the season begins. The future of Coronato, Zary, Dustin Wolf, and Zayne Parekh is bright.
Not to mention, you have this beautiful new arena and facility in the works. Calgary is sure starting to look like the place to be.
