The Calgary Flames and newly acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau have agreed to an eight-year, $84 million contract extension, the club announced Thursday night.
The contract has an average annual value of $10.5 million and includes a full no-movement clause. Years 7 and 8 of the deal also include a partial no-trade clause, in which Huberdeau can only be traded to 12 teams.
Huberdeau was the key piece Calgary received in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in July. The Flames also acquired MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick in the trade.
Before signing the extension, Huberdeau was set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
The new contract, which starts in 2023-24, keeps the 29-year-old winger signed until 2030-31 with a significant pay rise – his current deal pays him $5.9 million per season.
The contract is broken down as follows:
• 2023-24: $7M signing bonus, $3.5M salary• 2024-25: $7M signing bonus, $3.5M salary• 2025-26: Bonus $7 million signing bonus, $3.5 million salary• 2026-27: $9.5 million signing bonus, $1 million salary• 2027-28: $9 signing bonus, $5 million, $1 million salary• 2028-29: $7 million signing bonus, $3.5 million salary• 2029-30: $9.5 million signing bonus, $1 million salary• 2030-31: $5 million signing bonus, $5.5 million salary
It is the largest contract in franchise history by some margin. The previous highest total belonged to Sean Monahan, whose seven-year, $44.625 million contract expires at the end of this season.
Huberdeau had 30 goals and 85 assists for 115 points last season, tied for second in the league with former Flame Johnny Gaudreau, who left Calgary as a free agent to sign a seven-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Huberdeau has produced at a rate close to a point per game throughout his career, totaling 613 points in 671 career NHL games.
Just days after the Flames acquired Huberdeau, who has played all 10 years of his career with the Panthers, the Saint-Jerome, Que. native indicated that he would consider a long-term deal.
“I’m open,” he said.
“We’ve never talked about it. But I’m open to staying in Calgary for a long time. We’ve only been for 48 hours and we don’t have to go to Calgary to see everything, but I’m open and I’ll leave it up to the director general and the agent. They already started talking about it. We’ll see what happens. I’m open, sure.”
Weegar, 28, is still an unrestricted free agent pending next offseason, but doubled along with Huberdeau when both players were introduced to the Flames.
“Same here,” he said. “I’m open to signing a long-term contract. It’s been quick and it’s been short so far, but the city and the team, there’s no reason not to be open about it. I’m really looking forward to my agent talk to Brad and see what’s going on. I’m very open to it.”
The Flames are on course for a Pacific Division title in 2021-22, but fell in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to cross-provincial rivals the Edmonton Oilers.
The club has been at the center of the NHL all offseason, marked by the departures of both Gaudreau and Tkachuk, which shook the hockey world and forced Calgary to reinvent itself going into next season.