Matthew Tkachuk officially done with the calgary flames

There is it, the second major blow of the summer for the Calgary Flames. According to Jeremy Rutherford of TheAthletic, Matthew Tkachuk has notified the Calgary Flames that he WON’T sign a long term deal with the club. This means either the Calgary Flames follow through with arbitration, where he would HAVE TO sign a 1 year deal, or the Flames can trade him. It will most likely be a trade, as the Flames have no real reason to give him a 1 year deal, it would give him was less value as opposed to a trade, where teams could sign him to a long term extension right away, or the Flames could do a sign and trade. The point being, Matthew Tkachuk’s time in Calgary is almost certainly over.

In the 2021-2022 season, Tkachuk had 104 points in 82 games, which included 42 goals. In the playoff he had 10 points in 12 games. The 24 year old winger certainly has a lot of value, and this is a big hit on the Flames who are now losing both Johnny Gaudreau and Tkachuk in one summer. Tkachuk, if traded, will likely sign a long term extension valued at around $8M-$9.5M per year. It seems that Tkachuk wants a long term deal, and he certainly has some control about his destination, depending on who offers the Flames a reasonable trade for them to accept. There is no chance for a team to offer sheet Tkachuk due to the club elected arbitration.

According to Rutherford, potential teams / locations that Tkachuk would be willing to sign a long term deal with include St. Louis, Las Vegas, Florida, Nashville, Dallas, as well as potentially New Jersey, or The New York Rangers.

Tkachuk already looks to have one foot out the door, following in the footsteps of 115 point former teammate Johnny Gaudreau, who left the Flames this summer in free agency to sign with the Blue Jackets. Tkachuk definitely won’t be going to the Blue Jackets, but he’s certainly done with Calgary and the organization.