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Is Ryan Suter an option for Calgary?

July 13, 2021, 2:36 PM ET [23 Comments]
John Gove
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Flames are reported to be a potentially active team this offseason. So whenever a "big name" becomes available, you cannot help but ask, "would he be a fit in Calgary?"

Tuesday, news broke that the Minnesota Flames intend on buying out the mammoth contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Although the 36-year-old Parise does not make a ton of sense for the Flames, I'm not convinced the same thing can be said about Suter.

Even at 36 years of age, the 16-year veteran is still a reliable and effective blueliner. The offensive production to a bit of a dive this past season in Minnesota, but Suter still averaged 22:11 minutes of ice-time while recording 65 blocks, 38 hits, and registering a plus-nine (take that for what you will). Sometimes with veterans past their prime, people hesitate to get behind acquiring them because they worry it's more for the name and not the quality of the current player. That is not the case with Suter, who would fit well in many teams' second-pair.

The main reason why Suter catches my attention for Calgary is the reality that they could potentially lose Mark Giordano to Seattle. As I've already said countless times before, Brad Treliving finds himself in a position where protecting his captain actually is not in the team's best interest. On the flip side, the Kraken will certainly be intrigued by the exposed veteran and bring him aboard to provide leadership to the new franchise.

If Giordano is indeed Seattle-bound, the Flames will need a short-term solution to shore up the top-four while Juuso Valimaki continues developing. Going after makes too much sense. Treliving can likely get him on a short-term contract (two or three years) at a reasonable price. As I mentioned, Suter still has value, so Calgary won't get away with paying him peanuts. Still, it should be far less than Giordano's current $6.75 million cap hit.

A Hanifin, Suter, Tanev, Andersson (names in no particular order) top-four does not sound half-bad for a team looking to turn things around next season.
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