NHL notebook: Tkachuk, Flames agree on three-year deal
CALGARY—Grit and goals returned to the Calgary Flames in time for the regular season with the re-signing of Matthew Tkachuk.
The Flames announced a three-year, $21-million (U.S.) deal with the 21-year-old winger Wednesday morning.
Head coach Bill Peters said Tkachuk will play in the final pre-season game Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. Calgary opens the regular season Oct. 3 against the Colorado Avalanche.
“It’s not like he was in the Bahamas on the beach, so I know he’s been working hard,” Peters said. “We’ll try to get him up to speed as quick as we can. He’s a smart player so I don’t see any issue there.”
Tkachuk’s new contract makes him the highest-paid Flame in terms of average annual value. It is back-loaded, according to capfriendly.com, with a thirdyear payday of $9 million.
Star winger Johnny Gaudreau and captain Mark Giordano are both on the books with salary cap hits of $6.75 million through the 2021-22 season.
Top-line centre Sean Monahan, 24, stands at $6.375 million through 2022-23.
“I’m sure he’ll take all the guys out for dinner, but other than that, money is behind the scenes,” Monahan said. “You just play hockey and you’re teammates and friends.”
Tkachuk has 71 goals and 174 points in 224 regular-season
NHL games since being drafted sixth overall by the Flames in 2016.
SCOUT’S HONOUR: Seattle’s expansion NHL franchise has hired former U.S. Olympic team captain Cammi Granato as a professional scout.
Granato is one of a handful of women working on the hockey operations side of an NHL franchise and she is the only female pro scout currently in the league.
Last year, Toronto hired Hayley Wickenheiser as their assistant director of player development and Noelle Needham as an amateur scout.
Granato, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010, is one of five pro scouts Seattle announced Wednesday.
The franchise also added former NHL players Stu Barnes and Ulf Samuelsson, both of whom worked as assistant coaches in the league following the end of their playing careers. John Goodwin and Dave Hunter round out the pro scouting staff.
A BLUE JACKET: Columbus Blue Jackets centre Brandon Dubinsky likely will miss the start of the season with a wrist injury.
GM Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday the 33-year-old Dubinsky is out indefinitely. No other details were provided.
Dubinsky, who is entering his 13th NHL season, has 153 goals and 285 assists in 823 career games with the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. He had six goals and eight assists in 61 games last year.