[Signing] Flames sign Tkachuk (3 yrs, $7 mil AAV)

[sureLoss]

Torie Peterson @ToriePeterson
#Flames fans, we'll be live-streaming today's press conference with Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Treliving at 4:15 PM MT - it will be on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Calgary Flames dot com, and our app.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Its a good deal...not great.

Im sure he would have preferred something like Marner got, but that was never happening here and Meehan knows that.

His biggest win is the QO at 9M. That is a pretty nice starting point for a longer term deal after this one expires.

7M a year for the next 3 is also OK for him as it eliminates any worries about his future financial security should he suffer a career ending injury during that time.

Again though Im guessing had he been presented with 9.5 or 10M X 6 or 7 years he would have jumped all over that as well. This years cap structure for the club prevented that though.

In May I was convinced this thing would be a 6 year deal around 8.5 per. I think I underestimated that a bit though. I was always sure that if there was a short term deal, it would be 3 X 6.5 or 7 though. I just didn't think that would be the way either side went but the landscape changed the second Aho signed his offer sheet and then again when Marner took Dubas to the woodshed.

Been a fascinating thing to watch though....and as usual nothing was settled until real pressure points were close (losing money and/or games).

I think he has just enough time to get into good enough gameshape that he will be on the opening night roster. 5 practices and one game...maybe not quite what you want but enough they can play him.

If you compare it to the deal Meier signed on July 1, it's a pretty sweet deal for Tkachuk.

Meier gets 6.6 million in bonuses in the first two years, Tkachuk gets 7.5.

Tkachuk gets his 9 million dollar season a year before Meier gets his 10 million dollar season.

Over the next 3 years Meier will make 14 Million total while Tkachuk will make 21.

Pretty nice negotiation from Newport's perspective.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Torie Peterson @ToriePeterson
#Flames fans, we'll be live-streaming today's press conference with Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Treliving at 4:15 PM MT - it will be on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Calgary Flames dot com, and our app.

I wonder if there will be regional restrictions.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

If you compare it to the deal Meier signed on July 1, it's a pretty sweet deal for Tkachuk.

Meier gets 6.6 million in bonuses in the first two years, Tkachuk gets 7.5.

Tkachuk gets his 9 million dollar season a year before Meier gets his 10 million dollar season.

Over the next 3 years Meier will make 14 Million total while Tkachuk will make 21.

Pretty nice negotiation from Newport's perspective.

The Meier contract is a bit of an outlier for timing as well.

I do think it's fair to say that the RFA class in general did a good job against NHL teams looking to hold the line.

I don't think Tkachuk's contract is much different from many of them given production, but the three year bridge and killer final year was a win for the agent side in all cities affected.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

At least it is done. Not quite as good as Benning’s deal for boeser given they have very similar point production in their first 3 years, but it fits within the Flames salary situation. Longer term would have been better but Neal/Lucic prevented that option.

Tkachuk has 174pts in 224 games playing a shutdown role on a second line for a first place team

Boeser has 116pts in 140 games being a first liner on a bottom feeder

Boeser is also 10 months older than Tkachuk. Boeser has slightly better ppg but has played 84 less games and has missed double digit games every year.

Decent deal for both but Tkachuk while being younger is far more proven than Boeser.

[FurnaceFace]

This is from LeBrun on the Athletic. You can take or leave his source but it's interesting if the original sticking point was a 5 year deal.

In fact, the Tkachuk negotiation — frigid for so long — got going in earnest in the day and a half leading to Wednesday’s conclusion, according to a well-placed source.

And like Point, it includes a $9-million final year salary, which is huge for these players. It means Tkachuk has some serious leverage if talks on a longer-term deal stall. He can select salary arbitration for a Year 4 salary — which presumably would be at least $9 million a year, and bridge the gap right to UFA status in the summer of 2024. That’s a last resort, of course, the plan would be to sign long term, but the point here is that the structure of this three-year deal by Newport Sports ensures that Tkachuk now has more control over his long-term, contractual path.

The Flames, though, would much rather live with this three-year bridge deal and its ramifications rather than sign him to a five-year deal which would have walked him straight to UFA without any hurdles, the five-year term a real sticking point early in those talks.

[AC]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

This is from LeBrun on the Athletic. You can take or leave his source but it's interesting if the original sticking point was a 5 year deal.

That's no surprise. Tkachuk flat out said in an interview during the year that the 5 year deal concept was really intriguing after Matthews signed his.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

This is from LeBrun on the Athletic. You can take or leave his source but it's interesting if the original sticking point was a 5 year deal.

I thought he was 4-years from UFA? This articles suggest 5 years?

Plus, IIRC, if a player chooses arbitration, doesn't the team get a choice of 1 or 2 years? if that's the case, no reason why these RFA's would chose to go, their choice would be to accept he QO to UFA or perhaps not but continue to negotiate. Or is my memory simply wrong on that?

[FlamesNation23]

Originally Posted by AC

That's no surprise. Tkachuk flat out said in an interview during the year that the 5 year deal concept was really intriguing after Matthews signed his.

Dubas really set the precedent and now all other GM's are going to have to deal with it. Hope the leafs tank this year

[dino7c]

3x7 has probably been on the table for a while...I think the team knocking off 250k after Point signed would be a bit of a D move and not worth it in the long run

[getbak]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I thought he was 4-years from UFA? This articles suggest 5 years?

Plus, IIRC, if a player chooses arbitration, doesn't the team get a choice of 1 or 2 years? if that's the case, no reason why these RFA's would chose to go, their choice would be to accept he QO to UFA or perhaps not but continue to negotiate. Or is my memory simply wrong on that?

If a player is a year away from gaining full UFA status, the team can only elect for a one-year arbitration award. At the end of this contract, Tkachuk will be a year away from being UFA-eligible.

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I thought he was 4-years from UFA? This articles suggest 5 years?

Plus, IIRC, if a player chooses arbitration, doesn't the team get a choice of 1 or 2 years? if that's the case, no reason why these RFA's would chose to go, their choice would be to accept he QO to UFA or perhaps not but continue to negotiate. Or is my memory simply wrong on that?

Yea, there is a little logical hole in the "3 year deal, and accept the qualifying offer in year 4 and walk as a UFA" narrative . I mean, we have been talking in this thread for MONTHS about the issues with a 1 year deal, and it not providing any long-term guaranteed money in the event of a serious injury. Accepting a 1 year qualifying offer would be much the same, especially considering that he could re-up long term before this contract is even over. Seems its in the players best interest to get that long term deal, as long as the fit with the club and the team situation is a good. No reason to think the grass is greener somewhere else. I think the Flames success over the next three years is critical to getting these young UFA's like Johnny, Monny and Chucky to extend here.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by getbak

If a player is a year away from gaining full UFA status, the team can only elect for a one-year arbitration award. At the end of this contract, Tkachuk will be a year away from being UFA-eligible.

Thank you. So the article is wrong about the 5 years. Presumably Tkachuk wanted a 4 year (or perhaps 3 year) term. Flames presumably wanted at least 5 years to cover off 1 UFA year at least.

[delayedreflex]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I don’t think there is a chance Tkachuk takes is QO in year 4 unless he falls off a cliff and is not worth $9M. I could see it far more likely he goes to arbitration and gets awarded $10M+ on a one year then walks to free agency.

Until I hear otherwise I am going to be optimistic he gets a long term deal a year before free agency and signs for the 8 years and is given the C in year 1 of that extension.

Does anyone know if teams can opt for a 2-year term for arbitrator-awarded AAVs? I seem to recall that used to be the case, but I don't know where to look this up.

If yes, then an arbitrator awarding, say, $10.5M and the Flames getting that for 2 years would mean that Tkachuk would be averaging ~$8.2M/yr over the 5 years - but I think breaking it up into the 3x $7M + 2x $10.5M is definitely better for the Flames as it helps them manage the cap in the short term. There will definitely need to be some major re-jigging in 2-3 years though.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by delayedreflex

Does anyone know if teams can opt for a 2-year term for arbitrator-awarded AAVs? I seem to recall that used to be the case, but I don't know where to look this up.

If yes, then an arbitrator awarding, say, $10.5M and the Flames getting that for 2 years would mean that Tkachuk would be averaging ~$8.2M/yr over the 5 years - but I think breaking it up into the 3x $7M + 2x $10.5M is definitely better for the Flames as it helps them manage the cap in the short term. There will definitely need to be some major re-jigging in 2-3 years though.

I asked the same question and getbak clarified that the team cannot ask for 2 years if the player is 1 year from UFA.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Thank you. So the article is wrong about the 5 years. Presumably Tkachuk wanted a 4 year (or perhaps 3 year) term. Flames presumably wanted at least 5 years to cover off 1 UFA year at least.

Tkachuk would've wanted 4, yes, but it would been a non-start from Calgary's perspective.

5 years walks Tkachuk to free agency, but the timeline fits in better with Calgary's existing contract situation and buys a year of free agency.

Tkachuk probably also wanted 5 years because it forces the team to pay up significantly for that single UFA year. That's what makes Marner's deal so expensive, buying the UFA years. Same with Matthews. It's why all these prominent RFAs are going less than the term that would take them to Free Agency, it keeps the overall AAV down for the team but gives the player larger potential earning power in future contracts.

Tkachuk is going to be poised to take advantage of either a larger cap in 3 years, or significantly less escrow on a much larger contract value.

It's an excellent deal for him and I think illustrates that the Flames had basically no options to make the numbers work on a deal longer than 3 years.

[sureLoss]

Link to the Tkachuk press conference stream scheduled to begin at 4:15 MT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJBMHjYTVyk

[Superfraggle]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanTrev

Yea, there is a little logical hole in the "3 year deal, and accept the qualifying offer in year 4 and walk as a UFA" narrative . I mean, we have been talking in this thread for MONTHS about the issues with a 1 year deal, and it not providing any long-term guaranteed money in the event of a serious injury. Accepting a 1 year qualifying offer would be much the same, especially considering that he could re-up long term before this contract is even over. Seems its in the players best interest to get that long term deal, as long as the fit with the club and the team situation is a good. No reason to think the grass is greener somewhere else. I think the Flames success over the next three years is critical to getting these young UFA's like Johnny, Monny and Chucky to extend here.

It's certainly better than if he was UFA at the end of this contract and I definitely agree with the idea that the importance of it is being overblown. The point behind that narrative is simply that the team no longer has the leverage of forcing him to sign or not play. In year 4, from the team perspective, they either extend the qualifying offer and risk him accepting it to become UFA as early as possible or they don't and he becomes a UFA even earlier. Nothing is stopping them from negotiating a better long-term deal before that, and yes, there are more considerations from the player side of the fence.

[gamesaver]

Well I am glad it's finally done. Honestly I always thought Chucky is not planning on spending his whole career in Calgary, I think him and Brady still have that childhood dream of playing together in St. Luis. They have roots there, families, friends. How proud would Keith be seeing them both on the same line with the Blue notes. This has always been there, no matter who drafted them. I think he loves playing in Calgary because of the canadian market, how fans are invested into hockey and because he sees the team as really competitive, capable of achieving great deeds in next 3 seasons. But beyond Johnny's and Gio's contract there is a big question mark what will come after them. If you guys are concerned about what will happen when those expire, he has every right to be concered as well. I cannot blame him for that.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by gamesaver

Well I am glad it's finally done. Honestly I always thought Chucky is not planning on spending his whole career in Calgary, I think him and Brady still have that childhood dream of playing together in St. Luis. They have roots there, families, friends. How proud would Keith be seeing them both on the same line with the Blue notes. This has always been there, no matter who drafted them. I think he loves playing Calgary because of the canadian market, how fans are invested into hockey and because he sees the team as really competitive, capable of achieving great deeds in next 3 seasons. But beyond Johnny's and Gio's contract there is a big question mark what will come after them. If you guys are concerned about what will happen when those expire, he has every right to be concered as well. I cannot blame him for that.

When Tkachuk becomes a UFA ...

· Pietrangelo will be 34-years-old
· O'Reilly will be 33-years-old
· Tarasenko will be 32-years-old
· Schenn will be 32-years-old
· Faulk will be 32-years-old
· Schwarz will be 31-years-old
· Parayko will be 31-years-old
· Sundqvist will be 30-years-old
· Binnington will be 29-years-old
· Barbashev will be 28-years-old
· Fabri will be 28-years-old
· Dunn will be 27-years-old

· Brady Tkachuk will be at least two years away from UFA.

That does not look to me like a winning roster in four year's time, and the Blues could arguably be in worse shape than the Flames by then. Tkachuk would still be waiting an additional two years to fulfill his childhood dream of playing with his brother. Is he really prepared to risk two years in his mid-twenties just for an outside chance of playing in his home town with Brady? I seriously doubt it.