Flames clear big offseason hurdle, sign Sean Monahan to new 7-year deal
The 21-year-old forward has already put up some incredible numbers
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
The Calgary Flames made some improvements to their roster through free agency earlier in the summer, but they had much more important things on their to-do list, like signing young stars and restricted free agents Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. They got one half of that task completed.
The club announced Friday that Monahan has signed a seven-year extension that is believed to be worth around $44 million with an annual average expected around $6.3 million according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That total is unconfirmed, but assuming it's near that, it easily makes the 21-year-old Monahan the highest paid forward on the team and second highest-paid player at any position.
Calgary also buys up three years of Monahan's unrestricted free agent eligibility at a high, but reasonable price. His deal is similar to that of Nathan MacKinnon, who re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche earlier this summer. MacKinnon was selected five slots ahead of Monahan as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, but it is the Flames center who has been the most productive player in the draft class with 80 goals and 159 points over his first 237 NHL games.
Monahan has surpassed expectations already and has found a tremendous running mate in Gaudreau. That's why it's so important for the Flames to get the Gaudreau deal done as quickly as possible as well. Whether it's at the same price Monahan just signed for remains to be seen.
The Flames will have over $8 million in salary cap space heading into next season with the Gaudreau deal left to complete. He's become one of the most exciting forwards in the league, so it's not unreasonable for him to be seeking an even larger sum that Monahan just received. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, though.
With Monahan and Gaudreau -- whenever he signs -- together for the foreseeable future, the Flames have put together a strong core to continue building around. That group also includes defensemen Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton and T.J. Brodie, who are all under multi-year contracts as well. After a disappointing finish last season, the Flames can start pushing forward to brighter days with that group leading the way.
After GM Brad Treliving gets the Gaudreau deal done, he can sit back and feel like it was a pretty good offseason for his club, which also included the acquisition of goalie Brian Elliott, UFA winger Troy Brouwer and drafting highly-touted prospect Matthew Tkachuk.
