[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by devo22

did Bahl play 21 minutes per game because the Flames weren't a very good hockey team, or weren't the Flames a very good hockey team because Bahl played 21 minutes per game? I think that's an important distinction to make. I agree with statement A, but I don't agree with statement B. Going through our roster, it's actually crazy how bad the defense looked on paper outside of Weegar and Andersson ... Hanley, Pachal, Bean, Miromanov. Not a good group, even though Hanley and Pachal performed admirably IMO.

In a perfect world, Bahl plays something closer to 18 minutes. And yeah, I think it's fair to question whether you have to pay a guy like him 5m a year. Then again, you're hoping he can take another step and solidify himself as a legit top 4 guy ... and let's not forget that guys like Gudbranson bagged 4m/year in free agency years before a higher cap was even on the horizon.

Fair question that the Athletic also asked as they consider it one of the worst deals of July 1st.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/646...st-deals-2025/

Tough RFA bets

Not every RFA bet is made equal. Even with team control, there’s still room for error if a team misevaluates what they have. That’s easier on defense, where a lust for size can lead to ignoring actual on-ice quality. Kevin Bahl and Nicolas Hague are two prime examples of that. How either player is getting over $5 million is beyond me.

Even with the cap growing, a $5 million cap hit should still be reserved for defensemen who can actually play in the top four. It’s fair to be skeptical that either Bahl or Hague can do that to an effective enough degree to be worth it. While Bahl was in that role for the Flames last season, that was out of necessity more than merit. Bahl’s presence there was part of the reason the Flames weren’t a very good hockey team. As for Hague, he struggled in third-pair minutes with Vegas last season, making him a difficult bet to move up the lineup on a worse team. To Hague’s credit, he’s at least been close to the calibre of a No. 4 defenseman in the past, but the Predators should be paying for what he is now — a fine third-pair guy — not what he used to be.

I'm not losing sleep over the deal because the Flames aren't up against the cap or in win-now mode. Bahl will have to improve somewhat going forward to make the deal fair for the Flames but I don't know if that's too tall of an ask.