Flames GM Brad Treliving took care of another bit of housekeeping on Friday when he signed Josh Jooris to a one-year contract extension worth $975,000.
Jooris, a restricted free agent, was scheduled for player-elected arbitration on July 28th.
On the surface this signing may not seem like much but it is - at least temporarily - a steal for the Flames.
Jooris scored 12 goals and 24 points in 60 games last season as a rookie. Even if he fails to fully match that production - or simply records 24 points in 82 games - he'll be worth the money on his point totals alone.
The real value comes in his defensive game.
Jooris was very good possession-wise for the Flames but he was particularly effective at playing in his own zone and suppressing shots.
Note: minimum 650 minutes played. As you can see only Mark Giordano and Paul Byron were better at limiting the opposition's shots at even-strength. That Jooris was able to do that as a rookie is impressive.
Since Jooris is good defensively at 5 vs 5 it should come as no surprise that the same held true while killing penalties.
Note: minimum 65 minutes played. The sample size was relatively small but it's certainly not a coincidence that the Flames' top-5 shot suppressors at evens were their top-5 shot suppressors on the penalty kill.
Jooris will never be a big point producer but he can chip in offensively and his defensive game is a lot better than most people realize. That makes him a steal - at least for this season - at $975,000.
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