The Calgary Flames have signed their captain Mark Giordano to a six year extension worth $6.75 million per season. Seeing as how Giordano still has a year remaining on his current deal, the extension will kick in for the 2016-17 season. He will be 33 when it begins, and 38 in its final year. If reports of the Giordano camp’s initial asking price were indeed correct, $6.75 mil per would actually represent quite the haircut, leading me to believe that term was what he obtained in exchange. At the very least, he’s finally properly cashed in on what has been an incredible journey.
The good folks at General Fanager also put details to the contract's clauses:
One more update on Giordano extension: full NTC for first 4 years, modified NTC (10 team excluded) in final 2 years. http://t.co/j80C6BnFP5
— General Fanager (@generalfanager) August 25, 2015
And of course, the Giordano contract is of some interest to us here in Jetslandia, what with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Dustin Byfuglien.
IMO, Ladd and Buff will be using the Kesler and Giordano deals as their baselines for their next deals. Because why wouldn’t they?
— Ryan Blight (@arby_18) August 25, 2015
6.9M x 6 yrs for Kesler.. 6.6M x 6 yrs for Giordano.. Trouba/Fefe need new contracts.. Chevy has to be sweating..
— Kat (@KitKat_P) August 25, 2015
Giordano’s contract certainly could be ominous for the Jets retaining Byfuglien. The market always rules in the end.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsNHL) August 25, 2015
So Buff is definitely getting Giordano money. So $7 Million or around there.
— Ian Dmytriw (@IanDmytriw) August 25, 2015
And now the news.
Central Division
Career Chicago Black Hawk and 1960-61 Stanley Cup Champion Ronald "Chico" Maki passed away Monday at the age of 76. During his NHL career, he had 435 points in 841 regular season games, in addition to 61 points in 124 playoff games. According to Norfolk News, "He was the guy that went into the corners and did the dirty work, setting up the likes of Hull and Esposito". (Norfolk News)
R.I.P. #Blackhawks Chico Maki, to whom we wished a happy 76th birthday here nine days ago http://t.co/mfvZKkS24T pic.twitter.com/EMl4MLZzZj
— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) August 26, 2015
Mile High Sticking invited outsider Sean Tierney to sip some coffee and chat about the team. Here's a terrifying quote for Avs fans: "…the Beauchemin deal is reminiscent of the three-year deal the Leafs have to Stephane Robidas last year." Tierney also says that they're likely to finish last in the Central, but we knew that already. (MHS)
Our Texan friends nail the team's three major storylines heading into training camp. On the subject of goaltending, Wes Lawrence sounds optimistic: "Here's hoping the Stars haven't bought and paid for the league's most spectacular tire-fire." (Defending Big D)
The Minnesota Wild are engaging in a nice bit of community service, donating their old seats to rinks across the state. (KARE 11)
The Stadium Series logos for Colorado, Detroit, Chicago and Minnesota have reportedly leaked. Am I the only person who doesn't hate the Wild iteration? (Yahoo! Sports)
Also in the catalog, some images for the Hawks-Wild ’16 Stadium Series game. The left is the “crest” tee. pic.twitter.com/Bmw0VJhHWy
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) August 25, 2015
In unsurprising news, Predators prospect Vladislav Kamenev is likely to begin his North American pro career with the Milwaukee Admirals. He'll be a good addition to the Perds' bottom six soon enough. (Today's Slapshot)
Chris Joseph is being inducted to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame:
Mistakes happen (I make plenty); that being said you would think they would get Curtis Joseph right; it’s not Chris. pic.twitter.com/WFDi4R7Dh9
— STL Blues History (@STLBlueshistory) August 23, 2015
Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun gives a fair and balanced assessment of the Winnipeg Jets, and not in the FOX News kind of way. I'm just going to circle this quote here, though: "If the Jets head into the season with their current roster, they are going to be hard pressed to repeat their success of last season, let alone improve on it." I have now read 10 of 10 complimentary Sun+ articles, so don't expect any more for a while. (Winnipeg Sun)
And All The Rest
Jared Clinton thinks that with regards to Johan Franzen, "It’s likely he’s not even used in the top-nine and instead utilized as a fourth-line winger and power play specialist." That right there is a hot taek, one which sounds too bold for me to believe. (The Hockey News)
The WHL's Kelowna Rockets are celebrating the franchise's 25th anniversary with really great retro jerseys. Well, at least I think they're really great. (The Hockey News)
Nice to see #Rockets coaches, scouts, management, players, media as we unveil 25th anniversary jersey #RocketsFamily pic.twitter.com/x8kWxFbbtk
— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) August 24, 2015
Craig Ramsay has been hired as a coaching consultant by the Montreal Canadiens. I'm just going to say, I've always thought he and Rick Dudley (who is Senior VP of Hockey Operations with Montreal, hmm) got a raw deal when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg. (ProHockeyTalk)
Penguins Head Coach Mike Johnston says that Phil Kessel will likely start beside Crosby, though he also immediately left open the possibility of that changing. (PensBurgh)
Tommy Wingels is a solid hole-plugger and depth forward. "If you need a model for hard work and dedication to the game, Wingels is the perfect guy to try and emulate." San Jose is asking for trouble if they expect more than that. (CSN Bay Area)
Sweden's advisory board for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is assembling a dream team, naming Daniel Alfredsson, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mats Sundin as members. (ProHockeyTalk)
I hope that Stephane Robidas recovers so that the remainder of his Leafs (and likely NHL) career won't be an unmitigated disaster, I really do. But I'm not holding my breath. (Toronto Sun)
In case you needed a reminder that Alex Ovechkin is pretty good:
Ovechkin needs 8 goals to tie Fedorov for most goals scored in NHL by Russian-born player (483). Next among active players is Datsyuk (298).
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) August 25, 2015
Blight On The Land
Ideally, I’d trade both Buff & Ladd for futures, play the kids & soft-tank for a run in the near future. Only I’d have done it 2 years ago.
— Ryan Blight (@arby_18) August 25, 2015
Looks to me like Chevy is leaving 2-3 spots open for the kids so that when they “make” the team it’ll prove that Draft & Develop is working.
— Ryan Blight (@arby_18) August 25, 2015
Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out the next installment of our Top 25 Under 25 series, featuring Jack Roslovic!
