Hanifin, Flames making progress on contract extension

The Calgary Flames are actively engaged in talks with blueliner Noah Hanifin about a long-term contract extension.

The 26-year-old pending unrestricted free agent confirmed to reporters on Monday that his agent and the Flames are having conversations about a new deal. Hanifin is in the last season of a six-year, $29.7 million extension he signed in 2018.

“My agent has obviously been in discussions throughout the year with management and [general manager Craig Conroy],” Hanifin said.

“They’re definitely having discussions. When there’s news to report, I’ll let you guys know.”

While it was reported during the summer that Hanifin, a Boston native, had indicated his preference to play in the United States, he said he had always been open to a future with the Flames beyond this season. Hanifin simply wanted to come back to the city and see how he felt in a new environment under Conroy and new head coach Ryan Huska. 

“Sometimes, being patient with things helps and just giving yourself time to think about the process and what you want to do,” he said.

The Flames acquired Hanifin and centre Elias Lindholm (also a pending unrestricted free agent next summer) from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018 in exchange for blueliner Dougie Hamilton, forward Micheal Ferland, and the rights to defenceman Adam Fox.

Hanifin, who recently eclipsed the 600-game mark, was drafted fifth overall in 2015 and has grown up in the Flames organization. He already ranks inside the top-15 among all-time Flames defencemen in games played, assists and points. 

“I’ve always been so comfortable here,” he said.

“My family loves it. My parents come out all the time. They love coming out and visiting.”

“He’s settled his game down a little bit from when he first came here,” said Huska, who coached the team’s defence under Darryl Sutter for two seasons.

Signing Hanifin would be a significant victory for the Flames, a smaller-market franchise that has had trouble retaining free agents over the years, including stars Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. It would also lock in a very young but experienced blueliner whose role has steadily grown on the team.

The past three seasons, Hanifin has been on the Flames’ top defence pairing alongside Rasmus Andersson. If the two parties agree to a maximum, eight-year extension, Hanifin would be a Flame through his prime and still be just 34 years old when the deal expires. Calgary’s top-three blueliners on paper for next season would be Hanifin, MacKenzie Weegar, and Rasmus Andersson, all of whom would be 30 years old or younger. 

“Twenty-six is still young,” Huska said.

“He’s a really solid defenceman.”

Hanifin would also get to stay in a city and with an organization he has a genuine love for.

“I’m happy there are discussions happening,” he said.

“It’s a great place to play hockey. The fans here are unbelievable. It’s exciting coming to the rink everyday with the fans and people and how passionate they are. It’s a great group of guys in the organization, from the trainers to management, coaches, players, everybody. There’s a lot of great people here. That’s what makes it a special place.”

Flames’ offence sputtering thus far

Hanifin and the Flames have gotten off to a 2-3-1 start to sit in fourth place in the Pacific Division. While there was an expectation they would score more with new assistant coach Marc Savard at the helm, their offence has decreased early on this season. Calgary’s goals-per-game have dropped from 3.15 to 2.67 and slot shots have decreased from 14.2 per game to 11.0, which ranks 30th of 32 teams. 

“We need to create more opportunities offensively,” forward Jonathan Huberdeau said.

Huberdeau has four points in six games but was minus-4 in the Flames’ 6-2 loss to the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday.

“We need to play more in the offensive zone…we’re chasing the puck a little too much.”

Huska characterized the star’s play as “up and down, like the rest of our team.”

“There’s been stretches where the puck’s been on his stick and he’s done good things with it, and there’s been other times where he’s almost at times looks like he’s thinking too much,” he said of Huberdeau. “We want him to just be free and play and a lot of that means you’re moving your feet and you’re playing on instincts.”

Like last season, the head coach has gone to the line blender early. Huberdeau has already played with two centres (Lindholm and Nazem Kadri) and two right wingers (Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube). Against Detroit, three of the four forward lines were new. 

“I don’t think we’ve found [chemistry] yet, so we’re still mixing and matching,” Huska said.

“There has to be an element of grit on a line. There has to be an element of pace on a line, and there has to be some guys that can make plays in order to be effective.”

Huska also highlighted one glaring area the team has to improve ahead of Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers. 

“If you look at one thing that has caused a lot of issues in regards to turnovers against, a lot of them are coming off our mistakes with the puck,” he said.

“We’re giving opponents too many opportunities…it’s something we have to do a much better job of moving forward if we want to have a chance to win.”