The Calgary Flames entered the 2023–24 season with a large amount of cap space and ended the season with a large amount of cap space. In the midst of a roster reset, that is expected. But it also presents an opportunity to exploit other teams who are up against the cap.
The Flames were open to using their cap space last season, but no such deals were made. This summer, they’ll have about $15–$16M. That’s assuming there are no big unrestricted free agent signings that stray away from their plan. That assumes restricted free agents Kevin Bahl, Morgan Frost, and Connor Zary come in at a combined $11-$12M. That is a lot of money to work with.
I would argue that the two holes in the Flames’ lineup last year were left defence and centre. Specifically, a right-shot centre. Joel Hanley helped to plug the hole and had a much better season than was anticipated. The Flames expended a 2025 second-rounder to bring in Morgan Frost to plug the centre of the ice, even though he’s a left shot. If they had used their cap space effectively last summer, they could have plugged both holes from the beginning of training camp and received significant assets as well.
The Sharks and Penguins used their cap space effectively last summer
In one of the most bizarre trades in recent memory, the Detroit Red Wings dealt Jake Walman—who had two years left at an AAV of $3.4M—and a 2024 second-round draft pick—who the San Jose Sharks used to select Leo Sahlin Wallenius—for nothing. Walman put up 32 points in 50 games and was then shipped off to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2026 first-rounder and prospect Carl Berglund. The Sharks gained three assets—two being prime assets—for nothing in return.
There was talk all year of the Flames wanting a young right-shot centre. Well, the Nashville Predators committed a bunch of money in free agency and needed to get rid of Cody Glass. Glass had one year left at an AAV of $2.5M before becoming an RFA. The Predators dealt him, as well as a 2025 third and a 2026 sixth, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for nothing. After 15 points in 51 games, Pittsburgh dealt Glass to the New Jersey Devils for a 2027 third-round pick in a deal that also involved AHL players and a prospect. So, the Penguins received two third-rounders and a sixth-rounder to take on Glass.
Some names to keep an eye on this summer
The most obvious name to me is Matt Dumba. He is signed for another year at an AAV of $3.75M. The Dallas Stars will be facing an uphill battle to make their team cap-compliant next season. They have Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, and Jake Oettinger’s extensions hitting the books, giving them just under $2M in projected cap space.
That is without the likes of Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Jamie Benn, and Evgenii Dadonov heading to unrestricted free agency, and Mavrik Bourque facing restricted free agency. Simply put, they’ll need to clear out cap space. Dumba played in 63 regular season games, but didn’t play much as the season neared its end. He hasn’t suited up for a single playoff game through Dallas’ first two rounds.
When the Flames trade Rasmus Andersson, Dumba could be a good cushion to play minutes if the likes of Zayne Parekh/Hunter Brzustewicz need some more time. If they don’t need more time, Dumba can sit.
Other names that might be had: Justin Holl, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, and Ryan Reaves.
The Flames could also offer sheet or take on other teams’ RFAs
Using cap space doesn’t have to mean taking on cap dumps. It could also mean taking advantage of cap-strapped teams and getting an asset for cheaper than you would think. For example, we mentioned that Dallas is facing a cap crunch. Maybe you target Mavrik Bourque with an offer sheet in the third-rounder—$1.54M to $2.34M—or second-rounder—$2.35M to $4.68M—ranges? The Stars would have a lot of trouble matching.
The St. Louis Blues took advantage of the Edmonton Oilers last summer and snuck Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg for second and third-round picks. Both players were important to the Blues making the playoffs. Particularly Holloway, who finished the season with 63 points in 77 games.
The team could also look to cap-strapped teams and attempt to pry an RFA away. A team like the Vegas Golden Knights currently has $9.6M in cap space, so it appears there’s lots of room. However, if they want to take a run at Mitch Marner or Brock Boeser, they need to clear cap room. One way would be to trade Nic Hague, who is an RFA. With Vegas’ depth at defence, maybe they look to deal him for futures and allocate their ‘saved’ money from signing him to their forward group.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
