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Wednesday afternoon the Calgary
Flames finally reached an agreement with T.J. Brodie.
Brodie, 23, will earn $1.75 million this season and $2.5 million in 2014-15. His contract is one-way, obviously, and will carry a cap hit of $2.125 million.
Here ares some thoughts on the extension:
- First off, credit to Jay Feaster for sticking to his guns. Feaster wanted a short-term deal and not only got the term he wanted, but also kept the cap hit nice and low. I expected Brodie would earn in the ball park of $2.5 million per season on a short-term deal so I'm rather impressed by Feaster's work to keep the hit so low. The Flames had a ton of cap space to spare anyways, but an extra few hundred thousand here and there adds up over time.
- While I wouldn't have been opposed to a long-term Roman Josi type extension, I have no problems with this bridge deal at all. It'll allow Brodie a couple full NHL campaigns for him to prove himself and allows Feaster and company more time to gauge how good he truly is. It's a good deal for both sides as if Brodie improves at all over the next couple seasons, he'll be in for a nice raise. Feaster won't have any problem paying him more should that be the case.
- On top of Brodie producing some offense, being reliable defensively and extremely mobile,
one thing he does exceptionally well is drive possession. There's a pretty direct correlation between good possession players, teams and success so it's certainly encouraging to see a 23-year-old doing what he's doing. The Flames have a little more depth and team speed this year so it'll be interesting to see if those numbers go up.
- With Brodie getting a short-term deal the Flames now retain control of his rights even after his contract expires. He'll be a restricted free agent so the Flames don't have to worry about him getting up and going anywhere. If the Flames want him back, he's theirs. Brodie will have a little more leverage in contract negotiations next time around, though, as he'll have arbitration rights.
Overall I think this is a fair contract for both sides and I look forward to watching Brodie continue to develop over the next couple seasons.
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Who will be the Flames starting goaltender this season?
Calgary Flames sign college free agent Josh Jooris.
What is Mike Cammalleri's trade value?
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