Martin Pospisil’s Calgary Flame Extension is the Real Head Grabbing – Hockey Writer –
Calgary’s Flames had some big news on Wednesday, although that’s not what anyone expected. Instead of announcing the Rasmus Andersson trade, the Connor Zary contract extension or even Dustin Wolf’s contract extension, they announced an extension to striker Martin Pospisil.
Related: 5 Reasons Calgary Flame Will Be Better in 2025-26
Pospisil has paid him $1 million in the 2025-26 contract, and will then become a restricted free agent (RFA). The flames failed to sign his potential RFA status, bringing him to a three-year, $7.5 million deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.5 million.
Pospisil has to be excited about it because he raised his salary by 150%. You have to feel good about the 25-year-old, who has been in danger of his career due to head injuries since his head injury. While this is a great story for Pospisil, it’s a very puzzling deal for the flames and may have a bigger negative impact than you think.
POSPISIL retreated last season
Few players’ progress is linear in the NHL or in any sport. Pospisil is no exception because he went backwards in 2024-25. The 6-foot-2 forward entered the NHL in 2023-24, entering the NHL like a sabotage ball, scoring everything with 109 minutes of free throw minutes in 63 games. Although some work is needed to ensure he plays between online, his future looks promising.
Pospisil does perform higher between 2024-25, but creates an ugly tendency to fine. The frustrating head coach Ryan Huska has grown to his displeasure with the lack of discipline in the Slovak striker.
In addition to the inappropriate penalties in 2024-25, Pospisil’s offensive numbers took a hit. After scoring eight goals and 24 points in his 63 rookie season, he only scored four goals and 25 points in 81 games. While not expected to be a difference in the flames, he is one of several players who could use deeper scores last season.
This is what makes Pospisil expand, thus giving head grabs like General Manager (GM) Craig Conroy. The two-year, $2 million extension was in the 2023-24 season, when Pospisil had seen the best hockey ball from him so far. He took a step back last season but reached a deal with more money and semesters.
From the upper limit point of view, this is not important to the flame. They have a lot of cap space and CAP is expected to continue to rise in the coming years, which is by no means possible to hurt their contracts. However, its role is to show players that performance does not always indicate the dollar in the contract.
If Pospisil is able to raise the salary after a disappointing season, what is the expectation to stop any other flame player from moving forward, hoping for the exact same thing in the future? If you are Zary, why did you agree to a two-to-three-year deal with a $4 million hat hit rate when you see your companion in Pospisil Net? While Pospisil is a favorite among Flames fans, it has to be very naive to show that anywhere he offers is close to the same impact as Zary.
Related: Flame fans should start to worry about Connor Zary
While it may not matter in the end, these types of transactions with the replaceable bottom player are transactions where GMS cannot overpay, but Conroy does this this time. It’s something he can’t get used to, or it could seriously damage his team’s chances of reaching the competition window in the coming years once they win the Stanley Cup.
