Flames avoid arbitration with Kylington, sign him to two year deal

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Calgary Flames have avoided an arbitration hearing with defenseman Oliver Kylington, signing him to a two year deal worth $2.5 million per season.

Check it out:

Kylington put up an impressive 9 goals and 31 points in 73 games with the Flames last season and really broke out as a big contributor on the team's back end. To get him under contract at a reasonable cap hit and with reasonable term is an absolutely stunning move by Flames GM Brad Treliving. Personally, I predicted that the Flames would either have to pay up in the neighbourhood of $4 million for a short-term deal or go longer term to get the cap hit down. As it is, Treliving was able to get Kylington under contract for cheap and he keeps flexibility with just a two year term. 

On the flip side, this is a true 'show me' deal for Kylington. If the 25 year old Swede can continue to progress and deliver more value to the Flames he'll get paid handsomely in two years' time. Kylington is betting on himself here, no doubt about it.

It's the kind of deal that you rarely see these days and, frankly, it's kind of refreshing. You have a GM saying, 'here's what we're able to do. We believe in you, but we need to see more.' And the player accepts that, takes a fair deal and then gets to work on earning his next paycheck. It's a bold move on both sides and I think it has the possibility to work out for both sides in the end.

With Kylington now inked the Flames have just forward Andrew Mangiapane left to sign. And, of course, there are the ongoing rumors about signing free agent star Nazem Kadri. On the back end however, the Flames boast Kylington, Noah Hanifin, MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andresson, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Juuso Valimaki. Not bad, not bad at all. With a healthy Jacob Markstrom holding down things between the pipes, I think the Flames could be one of the stronger defensive teams in the Western Conference this upcoming season.