Two former Calgary Flames players, Sean Monahan and Nikita Zadorov, have been listed among the worst free agency signings of the summer, according to Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz. Both players, Monahan with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Zadorov with the Boston Bruins, reached lucrative UFA deals, but whether they will stick to them is a real question mark.
Is Monahan officially your old flame again?
Monahan, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Blue Jackets, is one of the NHL’s incredible comeback stories. He had a great 2023-24 season, scoring 26 goals and 59 points split between the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets.
Monahan was essentially discarded by the Flames. Traded at a loss, it didn’t take long for him to establish himself in Montreal and become a lucrative acquisition for the Habs. Tagging two first-round players ultimately, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes looked like a genius when Monahan was sent to the Jets for a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round selection in 2027. The Os Jets tried to keep Monahan this offseason, but he ultimately chose Columbus, where he will reunite with another former Flames forward, Johnny Gaudreau.
Gretz wonders if Monahan can keep up his performance. His high shooting percentage of 15.2 percent jumped to nearly 20 percent after his trade to Winnipeg. Was last season an exception? Or is Monahan back to the same levels he was during his heyday with the Flames from 2014 to 2019?
The Blue Jackets have invested heavily in Monahan and hope his final seasons are the norm rather than the exception following serious health issues.
Zadorov, one of the free agency overpayments
Zadorov’s six-year, $30 million contract with the Bruins is also questionable. No doubt he enjoyed the buzz surrounding his performances last season and the lack of physically imposing blueliners playing his style of game has made him a hot commodity this summer.
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However, Gretz suggests that Zadorov will be asked to do more than he can probably handle. At the very least, his new salary will require a certain level of performance and consistency. It is questionable whether he can live up to these expectations. If Boston wants him in a regular top-four role, Zadorov could be exposed as a more one-dimensional defender.
Did Flames make the right decision in moving forward?
Timing is crucial when considering decisions that may not be directly linked to future transactions. In other words, evaluating Calgary’s decision to part ways with these two players can be tricky, as it often involves comparing different contexts. That said, it’s intriguing to wonder if it was wise for the Flames to move on from these players.
Perhaps the answer lies in the moment of the two movements.
Monahan, once an important part of Calgary’s core, struggled with injuries and a decline in his performance was the reason the Flames bowed out. One could argue that it would have been difficult to predict this kind of return.
It’s hard not to look back at the Monahan deal and think the Flames were impacted by that trade. They gave up a conditional first-round pick to get rid of their $6.375 million cap hit. Waiting a little longer could have brought a much greater return. Perhaps they could have avoided the sweetener dump that would have been a useful part of this new reconstruction.
Meanwhile, Zadorov, while a physical presence, has never quite fit into a first-pairing role with the Flames. The Flames received a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick in exchange for Zadorov, who appears dejected after seeing what he signed in Boston. That said, Calgary’s decision to part ways with a player who was doomed to leave and chase big money meant he would likely leave no matter what.
