Speaking during the Saturday Headlines segment during Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada coverage, Elliotte Friedman reports things are trending in a positive direction between the Flames and defenseman Noah Hanifin, and an extension for the pending UFA defenseman is a realistic outcome.
This is a continuation of a lengthy positive swing in relations between the Flames’ front office and their slate of pending UFAs. It began with captain Mikael Backlund, who inked a pre-season extension (and was awarded the captaincy) despite previously stating he’d wait out to see how the team began their season before deciding whether or not to extend.
The fact these talks are even occurring is another significant sign for the better. Hanifin reportedly made it known to GM Craig Conroy this summer that he wasn’t open to signing an extension with the team, but he reversed course once players reported to training camps in September.
Hanifin has gotten off to a strong start on the scoresheet, leading all Flames defenders in assists (and points) with four. He’s logged 22:49 per game, a touch higher than last season’s 22:39, which was already a career-high.
His pairing with the now-suspended Rasmus Andersson has had the most defensive struggles out of all the Flames’ main units, however, controlling just 40% of expected goals at even strength, per MoneyPuck.
That being said, five games is an awfully small sample size, and Hanifin has a recent history of very strong possession play. He’s become a core piece of both the Flames’ power play and penalty kill units over the past three seasons as well, logging over 30 points in three of his five full seasons as a Flame.
It could be a rather rich proposition to keep Hanifin in Alberta, however. Evolving Hockey projects an extension for the 26-year-old to boast an eight-year term with a $7.5M cap hit, certainly expected value for a pending UFA top-pairing netminder given the recent market.
But whether or not the Flames can afford that plus a hypothetical extension for Elias Lindholm in the $8M-$9M range remains to be seen. Both player’s current cap hits are a fraction of their projected extension costs — Lindholm at $4.85M and Hanifin at $4.95M.
It will be difficult to shoulder such a significant increase for a team already dealing with a significant cap crunch early into the 2023-24 season.
Without Andersson in the lineup, five of the Flames’ six defenders, including Hanifin are destined for free agency next summer. MacKenzie Weegar, locked up through 2031, is the only exception.
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