The Calgary Flames have been extremely active this summer.
They signed three free agent forwards – James Neal, Derek Ryan, and Austin Czarnik – to add more scoring, depth, and versatility up front.
They pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Hurricanes that saw five valuable pieces swap hands.
There was also some addition by subtraction buying out the overpaid, inefficient, Troy Brouwer up front.
While the bulk of the work is done, there still remains one big item on Brad Treliving's off-season to-do list. That, of course, is getting restricted free agent defenseman Noah Hanifin locked up.
Negotiations have been going on for a while – that's common for notable RFAs without arbitration rights – but they appear to be nearing an end. The two sides are very close to an agreement, according to a report from Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
"It's super close," Hanifin said of his contract prior to playing in the Comm Ave Charity Classic at Boston University. "I want to be there and hopefully they want me to be there. My intentions are to be ready to go to camp soon. I'm excited and I can't wait for it all to be settled."Calgary general manager Brad Treliving said in a text message Friday he also thinks they're close to getting Hanifin signed.
You could certainly make the case a bridge deal is the way to go – though Hanifin has continually improved, he hasn't played a full season as a top-4 guy in a non-sheltered role – but I think a long-term deal will be the path of choice.
For one, I doubt it'd take months to haggle over a couple hundred thousand on a two or three-year deal. There are so many comparables for what a bridge deal would look like. I just don't see it taking that long.
Having bought out Brouwer, the Flames also have enough money to give Hanifin a long-term deal and leave some wiggle room for other obligations – such as paying Matthew Tkachuk's performance bonuses.
In June it was speculated Hanifin's camp is looking for something in the ballpark of six years, $30 million.
I don't know that those will be the exact terms – I'm sure Treliving would fight to knock the number down a little bit – but something in that range seems to be the likely conclusion.