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Calgary Flames to sign Derek Ryan, Austin Czarnik |
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NHL free agency officially gets underway today at noon eastern and the Calgary Flames will be active.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Freidman is reporting the Flames are not only signing Derek Ryan, who has been linked to the club since the day Bill Peters was hired, but also Austin Czarnik.
I've written about Ryan countless times over the last few weeks, and will do so again in more detail when the dust settles, so I'm not going to spend too much time on this one.
He's a really solid 3rd line center who can also play right wing and contribute on special teams. Through two NHL seasons Ryan has averaged 37 points per 82 games and won better than 56% of his faceoffs.
His 5v5 on-ice and production numbers are pretty solid, too, and he's a much needed right-handed shot. The money may be a *tad* high but that's what happens when you play a premium position in a thin market.
Austin Czarnik is one of my favorite sleepers in this year's class.
Here is what I wrote about him in May:
This year's crop is pretty bleak but I think a guy like Austin Czarnik is worth a shot. His AHL numbers have been outstanding. In 59 games with Boston over the last two seasons, he posted a 54 Corsi For% and produced points at a similar rate to Sam Bennett while spending a big chunk of his minutes alongside Matt Beleskey, who has tallied eight points in his last 64 NHL games.
Further to that, Czarnik's AHL numbers were actually better than Yanni Gourde's at the same age. I'm not at all suggesting Czarnik will turn into the next Gourde. The latter put up 64 points(!) as a rookie.
I do, however, think Czarnik is a good bet to turn into a solid bottom-6 forward, which is what the Flames are signing him to be. I like this contract.
It'll be interesting to see if GM Brad Treliving has anything else up his sleeve for today (or the near future).
Word is he was eying Patrick Maroon – likely to fill the role Micheal Ferland played.
Recent posts:
Ryan appears likely to sign with Flames
Reviewing the Flames' 2018 draft class
On the blockbuster trade between the Flames and Hurricanes
Flames name Hakan Loob head European pro scout
Dynamite U21 seasons from Andersson + Kylington put them in good company
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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