Under the terms of the CBA, teams can’t throw fabulous riches at unsigned free agents or prospects. The entry level system caps salaries at $925,000 per season. But the way teams can get around that is by utilizing performance bonuses.
Under general manager Brad Treliving, the Flames have signed 40 players to entry level deals. Here’s a quick gander at how he spent his money (and how he used bonuses).
F David Wolf – European free agent
One year, $867,500 cap hit, $57,500 performance bonus
If a free agent is highly pursued, the easiest thing for a team to do is bump up either the cap hit or the performance bonus. Here, the Flames bumped up the cap hit and shelled out a little bit of performance bonus, probably for games played in the NHL. (Note: Wolf’s deal was primarily negotiated by the Brian Burke regime and then filed and announced after Trelving started.)
F Sam Bennett – Draft pick
Three years, $925,000 cap hit, $6,900,000 total performance bonus (evenly split)
Bennett got the fairly standard mixture of Category A and B bonuses on his ELC; $850,000 (the max) for Category A and $1,450,000 per year in Category B.
D Kenney Morrison – College free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
To land Morrison, the Flames maxed out the cap hit but didn’t need to dip into any bonuses at all.
F Austin Carroll – Draft pick
Three years, $670,000 cap hit, $110,000 total performance bonus (front loaded, first two years)
As a late pick, Carroll didn’t have a ton of leverage. But if he was going to make the NHL (he didn’t), it was going to be as a fourth line mucker. A low cap hit gave him a chance, and in exchange he got a bit of a games played bonus thrown in.
F Garnet Hathaway – College free agent*
Two years, $690,000 cap hit, $170,000 total performance bonus (front loaded, but both years) (Signed an AHL deal out of college first)
Remember Carroll? Well, with Hathaway the Flames had the benefit of knowing how close he was to the NHL after a season on an AHL deal. So he got a little bit more in terms of base pay and a bit more for bonuses (for games played).
G Jon Gillies – Draft pick
Three years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
Gillies was coming off an NCAA championship and the Flames likely wanted him to sign, so they jacked up the base cap hit to get a deal done.
D Jakub Nakladal – European free agent
One year, $817,500 cap hit, $107,500 performance bonus
Nakladal had some options, so he got decent base pay and a decent performance bonus. (It’s unclear if he got a games played bonus or a low-level Category A allocation.)
F Hunter Smith – Draft pick
Three years, $692,500 cap hit, $697,500 total performance bonus (front loaded, but all three years)
At the time, Smith was highly touted. But like Carroll, it seemed like his path to the NHL was as a mucker. So he took a lower cap hit and got a decent amount of bonuses – probably games played – thrown in.
G Mason McDonald – Draft pick
Three years, $822,500 cap hit, $125,000 total performance bonus (front loaded, first two years)
McDonald got a fairly solid base cap hit, plus what seems like a games played allocation in the first two seasons.
D Oliver Kylington – Draft pick
Three years, $730,833 cap hit, $397,500 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Kylington’s deal was weird, in that his deal had two slide years because of the age he signed at. But he got games played bonuses in all three years of his deal and a fairly moderate cap hit.
D Rasmus Andersson – Draft pick
Three years, $755,833 cap hit, $322,500 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Andersson’s deal slid once, so his cap hit also a little wonky, but he got a nicely medium-sized cap hit and some games played bonuses in all three years.
G Nick Schneider – Junior free agent
Three years, $675,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
The Flames liked the undrafted Schneider’s hustle in training camp and offered him the least expensive deal they could – three years at league minimum with no bonuses. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, he signed.
F Andrew Mangiapane – Draft pick
Three years, $705,000 cap hit, $285,000 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Mangiapane was a sixth round pick and seemed content to take a deal with a very low base cap hit and some games played bonuses thrown in for fun.
F Mark Jankowski – Draft pick
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, $1,137,500 total performance bonus (back-loaded, but both years)
Jankowski had completed his fourth year of college and the Flames were excited about him. So he got what was likely Category A bonuses built into his deal. Then he spent the entire first season in the AHL anyway.
F Daniel Pribyl – European free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
European free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary.
G David Rittich – European free agent
One year, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
European free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary.
F Matthew Tkachuk – Draft pick
Three years, $925,000 cap hit, $2,550,000 total performance bonus (evenly split)
Tkachuk got rookie max salary, plus maximum Category A bonuses in every season.
G Tyler Parsons – Draft pick
Three years, $759,167 cap hit, $497,500 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Parsons received a lower cap hit than a few others did, but his deal had decent amounts of bonuses built in. (The amounts seem like they were likely games played bonuses.) Relative to Tkachuk (2016’s first rounder) and Dube (2016’s second rounder) his deal was fairly standard, though.
F Ryan Lomberg – College free agent*
Two years, $710,000 cap hit, no performance bonus (Signed an AHL deal out of college first)
Lomberg was in virtually the same situation as Hathaway. He signed a deal with a slightly bigger cap hit, but didn’t have any bonuses baked into his deal.
F Dillon Dube – Draft pick
Three years, $778,333 cap hit, $397,500 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Dube’s deal was fairly standard as far as early picks go. He got less cap hit than Tkachuk – his draft’s first rounder – got, but he got some games played bonuses throw in to sweeten the deal.
D Josh Healey – College free agent
Two years, $858,750 cap hit, $132,500 total performance bonus (only first year)
Healey was a college prospect with some options, so the Flames gave him a decent cap hit and some performance bonuses. (The bonuses were probably games played.)
F Spencer Foo – College free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, $1,700,000 total performance bonus (evenly split)
Foo got a two year deal at rookie max salary, plus maximum Category A bonuses in each season.
D Juuso Valimaki – Draft pick
Three years, $894,166 cap hit, $1,275,000 total performance bonus (evenly split)
Valimaki got a fairly standard middle of the first round draft pick deal. His cap hit skewed lower because of his slide year, but he received $425,000 worth of Category A bonuses in all three years.
F Glenn Gawdin – Junior free agent
Three years, $775,833 cap hit, $447,500 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
Gawdin was in the midst of a very nice WHL season when he signed with the Flames. He received a mid-range cap hit, but he received bonuses (probably games played) in all three seasons. (His deal was kind of weird, though, as he signed when he was 20 and so the first season of his deal he spent in the WHL anyway, so it was functionally a two year deal.)
F Matthew Phillips – Draft pick
Three years, $733,333 cap hit, $50,000 total performance bonus (two of three seasons)
As a late pick, Phillips got a relatively low cap hit but he did get some games played bonuses built into the deal.
F Yasin Ehliz – European free agent
One year, $730,000 cap hit, $70,000 performance bonus [European assignment clause]
It’s unclear if Ehliz got a low-ish cap hit because it was felt it’d make him easier to get onto the NHL roster or because he didn’t have a ton of suitors. He had some games played bonuses built into things.
F Luke Philp – College free agent
Two years, $817,500 cap hit, $215,000 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but both years)
Philp definitely had some options, but the Flames lured him in with a decent cap hit and what were likely games played bonuses in each year.
F Dmitry Zavgorodniy – Draft pick
Three years, $786,666 cap hit, no performance bonus
Zavgorodniy signed fairly early (relative to a lot of late picks). He got a higher cap hit than other late picks, notably Phillips, but he received no bonuses.
G Artyom Zagidulin – European free agent
One year, $842,500 cap hit, $82,500 performance bonus
Zagidulin had some options, so the Flames gave him a fairly high cap hit along with some performance bonuses (probably games played).
F Adam Ruzicka – Draft pick
Three years, $801,666 cap hit, $145,000 total performance bonus (front-loaded, but all three years)
A mid-round pick, Ruzicka received a decent cap hit and games played bonuses in all three seasons.
F Martin Pospisil – Draft pick
Three years, $796,667 cap hit, $40,000 total performance bonus (two of three years)
Pospisil was drafted in the same round as Ruzicka, but a year later. With less of a track record, he received a slightly lower cap hit and fewer bonuses.
D Carl-Johan Lerby – European free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus [European assignment clause for first season]
European free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary.
D Alexander Yelesin – European free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, $850,000 total performance bonus (evenly split)
European free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary, and hey we’ll throw in $425,000 of Category A bonuses per season, too. (He got Valimaki’s deal, albeit only for two seasons.)
F Eetu Tuulola – Draft pick
Three years, $806,167 cap hit, $347,500 total performance (front-loaded, but all three years)
Tuulola was playing pro in Europe and that likely factored into the Flames giving this late round pick the deal he got. He got a decent cap hit and what are likely games played bonuses in all three seasons.
F Jakob Pelletier – Draft pick
Three years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus
Pelletier got the standard late first round pick deal: rookie max salary, but no bonuses.
D Colton Poolman – College free agent
One year, $842,500 cap hit, $85,500 performance bonus
Poolman was likely less coveted than Mackey, so he got slightly less of everything. (His bonuses are likely games played.)
D Connor Mackey – College free agent
One year, $925,000 cap hit, $425,000 performance bonus
College free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary, and we’ll throw in $425,000 of Category A bonuses, too.
F Emilio Pettersen – Draft pick
Three years, $903,333 cap hit, $65,000 total performance bonus (two of three seasons)
Pettersen got an interesting deal, in the sense that he’s a late pick that got a fairly high cap hit. His performance bonuses are likely games played based.
D Johannes Kinnvall – European free agent
Two years, $925,000 cap hit, no performance bonus [European assignment clause for first season]
European free agent with options? Please take maximum base salary.
G Dustin Wolf – Draft pick
Three years, $815,833 cap hit, $35,000 total performance bonus (two of three seasons)
Compare this deal with Schneider’s – Wolf got a lot more. (And hey, Wolf’s base cap hit is actually higher than Parsons got.)
