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The Calgary Flames have finally reached the cap floor with the recent extension of 24 year old centerman, Joe Colborne.

Coming into the 2014 offseason as an RFA, Colborne was determined to work with the team to ink a new contract, as the forward often mentions how much of a dream it has been to play for his childhood team. And while Colborne filed for salary arbitration, he never doubted that things would work their way out.

“We’re in a situation where I really want to be here. I love being here. It’s my hometown, why wouldn't I? And they want me to be here, so it’s not like some of the past arbitration cases where there’s some hostility involved.” said Colborne.

"It's all exciting to be coming back to my hometown team," he said. "Whatever role they see me playing in, I'll take and run with."

Joe finally got his extension as the Flames signed him to a 2 year, $2.55M contract with an AAV of 1.275 per year. All things considered, this is a very good contract for both sides. Colborne hasn’t exactly demonstrated a ton of success so far in his young career, and the Calgary organization would like him to earn those extra cap dollars.

Despite being 24 years old, last year was Colborne’s first full NHL season which saw 28 points in 80 games played. Prior to last year, Joe only played a total of 15 NHL games over the course of two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and amassed a total of 5 points. Last season, the young centerman stood at 6’5, 215lbs and despite being a rather large man, he was often criticized of being too “soft”.

In fact, this criticisms was most dominant during his years playing for the Maple Leafs, and would often frustrate the coaching staff as he would often be knocked off the puck without much effort. That said, and having watched him develop over the past three seasons, I am noticing an improvement in this regard as Colborne starts to fill in. Keep in mind, he is only 24 years old and has a way to go yet.

With that established, it was reported that Colborne has put on some extra muscle over the summer so far and is currently around the 225lbs mark. An added 10lbs of muscle is a lot for just about anyone, and it will do wonders for Colborne, provided he doesn’t lose any foot speed because of it.

With respect to next season, it is likely that Joe spends a fair amount of time on the wings as he found more success in this position than he did down the middle. Given the need for an extra right winger or two, it is likely that coach Bob Hartley keeps rolling with the youngster in the 3rd line RW spot for the time being. I would also expect to see the coaching staff give Joe some added PP time as he certainly has a knack for finding the back of the net when provided the chance.

When looking over Colborne’s production so far, it is important to note a few things; a) his ice time b) competition and c) his line-mates. In looking over the raw numbers, Colborne was actually 6th overall in points/60 for the Flames last season as the youngster played limited minutes.

With respect to QOT/QOC (quality of team-mates/competition), Colborne was 17th in terms of the quality of players who he played with last year, and 14th in quality of competition.

That said, he was clearly not exactly “relied upon” to play against top lines, however he also wasn’t afforded with much in terms of line mates who could help improve his play, either. As him and his game continues to mature, it would stand to reason that his QOC/QOT will improve. How that will affect his overall production, however, is left to be seen.

In terms of Joe’s possession numbers(calculated by shots for/against), let’s just say he’s at about the middle of the Flames pack for last year in both CF% and FF% which are used together to assess individual player performances, in that regard.

At the moment, there aren’t really any simple or advanced stats to offer that will compliment this young player, however I believe that Joe has all the right tools and drive to succeed in the NHL and he happens to be playing for an organization that will likely afford him the time needed to develop.

Thanks for reading!

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