Gap Revealed in RFA Connor Zary Talks With Calgary Flames

Restricted free agent forward Connor Zary and the Calgary Flames have yet to come to an agreement on a new contract this summer, and the two sides still have a bridge to cross to get together on an extension.

Zary's second season was upended by a couple of knee injuries that limited him to just 54 games. But he showed an ability to play up and down the lineup, as well as at center and wing. He finished with 13 goals and 27 points in 54 games, a pretty similar pace to his rookie year.

According to insider Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, there's about a $1 million gap in contract talks at this point, with the Flames looking at a three-year deal worth somewhere between $3M - $3.5M annually, while the Zary camp is honed on an AAV somewhere in the mid-$4Ms.

AFP Analytics seems to side with the Flames on this one, as their stats-based formula projected Zary to land a three-year, $3.4 million extension.

But Di Marco sees a comp from earlier in the offseason that might inform the end result of these negotiations.

When all is said and done, my gut tells me that Tyson Foerster’s two-year deal with a $3.75 million AAV (with the Philadelphia Flyers) will be similar to what Zary ends up with.

Another good comp would be Shane Pinto, who had similar numbers in his first two seasons as Zary, and also signed a two-year, $3.75M AAV deal last summer with the Ottawa Senators.

The 23-year-old former first-rounder (24th overall, 2020 NHL Draft), Zary has a chance to be a second or third-line center in the league, if the Flames were to commit to that, instead of shuffling him all around the lineup, and to the wing. But the team has a lot of depth down the middle at the moment, and as noted by Robert Munnich of Flames Nation, it might take a trade (Nazem Kadri, anyone?) to open up a regular spot in the pivot for Zary in the top nine.

First things first, however, as the two sides need to come to terms on a contract to get him into camp on time next month.