What is a better way to get back into playoff contention other than signing the biggest free agent?

This is a Free Agency Profile, where we look at players the Calgary Flames could target when free agency opens on July 1, 2025. 
In this edition, we’ll take a look at the most notable free agent, Mitch Marner.
<h2>Mitch Marner’s stats</h2>
Marner has consistently been one of the best players in the league and is (was?) a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ core four. This season was his career-best, scoring 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games.
The 28-year-old right winger also has two 30-goal seasons to his name, including 35 goals (and 97 points) in 72 games back in 2021-22. For his career, Marner has 221 goals and 520 assists for 741 points in 657 games.
There may be some concern about his playoff performance, especially after the 2024 post-season, where he scored a goal and three points in seven games. However, both times the Leafs advanced to the second round, Marner has finished either first (2023) or second (2025) in points-leaders for the Leafs.
In his nine-season career, Marner and the Leafs have never missed the post-season, with the 28-year-old scoring 13 goals and 63 points in 70 games. That’s more points than William Nylander (58 in 67 games) and Auston Matthews (59 points in 68 games).
<h2>Mitch Marner’s contract outlook</h2>
Marner is going to have one of the largest contracts in hockey history. Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112 million contract kicks in next season with an annual average value of $14 million. Matthews has the next highest AAV of $13.3 million, followed by Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million AAV.
It’s projected that Marner will slot in behind Matthews but ahead of MacKinnon and even Connor McDavid (well, until he likely extends with the Oilers).
Per <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WuCp8WHgCaTAijtVsww-C-1qmdBdNBiTbDIPdJr_Fwo/edit?gid=1769332179#gid=1769332179">AFPAnalytics</a>, Marner is projected to make $12.953 million, but for simplicity&#8217;s sake, let’s just round that up to $13 million. Moreover, Marner is an unrestricted free agent, meaning there could be a potential bidding war for his services.
<h2>Is Mitch Marner a fit for the Flames</h2>
With all that being said, is Marner a fit for the Flames?
According to <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/calgary-flames-craig-conroy-nhl-free-agency-ufa-mitch-marner-kevin-bahl-morgan-frost-connor-zary">Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli</a>, the Flames are setting their sights on a top free agent when free agency opens on Canada Day. Although the Flames haven’t been linked to Marner according to Seravalli, it makes perfect sense as they are looking to bring in an impact scorer.
If the Flames were to sign Marner, he instantly becomes the best player on the roster, slotting in on the first line as a right wing beside his former Leafs teammate, Nazem Kadri. Add in a scorer like <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/04/matt-coronatos-extension-could-set-the-tone-for-busy-flames-off-season/">Matt Coronato</a>, and that is a pretty darn good first line.
Moreover, the Flames have a whole bunch of unused cap space. They have a projected cap hit of $67.36 million and will need to sign restricted free agents Martin Pospíšil, Morgan Frost, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka, and Kevin Bahl. Even with all five of those players signing, the Flames will have a bunch of cap space remaining as next season’s salary cap rises to $95.5 million, giving the Flames $28.15 million to work with.
With their rebuild, does it logically make sense for the Flames to pursue a high-end talent like Marner before accumulating their picks? Well, with Dustin Wolf’s emergence as one of the best netminders in the league, that has expedited their rebuild process. Add in top prospect Zayne Parekh to a team that barely missed the post-season, and the Flames have a chance of making it next season without Marner. If the Flames were to add Marner, they could easily contend for a top-three spot in the Pacific Division.
What’s more is that signing Marner wouldn’t take up any of their assets aside from their cap space. That means they’ll keep their two first-round picks in the coming draft, as well as the 2026 draft, <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/five-flames-takes-time-for-conroy-to-take-advantage-of-the-desperate-dallas-stars">unlike if they were to trade for a Dallas Star</a>. The Flames could bolster the lineup at the trade deadline with those picks or further deepen their prospect pool.
Thanks to cap space and the team’s future, the Flames going all in on Marner makes sense, especially if they intend to avoid a full-on rebuild.
<hr />
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
<h1>This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters</h1>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-131942" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png" alt="" width="1024" height="341" srcset="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png 1024w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-300x100.png 300w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-768x256.png 768w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1536x512.png 1536w, https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg.png 1800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Crystal Waters is your Crystal Clear Choice for Home Comfort Solutions, including all plumbing, heating, and cooling equipment repairs, maintenance, and installation. Founded in 2001, and completing over 30,000 projects, our qualified professionals are the guardians of your home’s mechanical heart.
Call Crystal Waters Plumbing and Heating today at 403-219-4100 for a complete mechanical system audit, and learn how we can partner with you to ensure your home is optimized for safety, health, and comfort. Or check them out at <a href="http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1727918572019000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3vaooTqBXRsNchXvQ30iLG">www.crystalclearcalgary.com</a>

What is a better way to get back into playoff contention other than signing the biggest free agent?



This is a Free Agency Profile, where we look at players the Calgary Flames could target when free agency opens on July 1, 2025. 

In this edition, we’ll take a look at the most notable free agent, Mitch Marner.
<h2>Mitch Marner’s stats</h2>
Marner has consistently been one of the best players in the league and is (was?) a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ core four. This season was his career-best, scoring 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games.

The 28-year-old right winger also has two 30-goal seasons to his name, including 35 goals (and 97 points) in 72 games back in 2021-22. For his career, Marner has 221 goals and 520 assists for 741 points in 657 games.

There may be some concern about his playoff performance, especially after the 2024 post-season, where he scored a goal and three points in seven games. However, both times the Leafs advanced to the second round, Marner has finished either first (2023) or second (2025) in points-leaders for the Leafs.

In his nine-season career, Marner and the Leafs have never missed the post-season, with the 28-year-old scoring 13 goals and 63 points in 70 games. That’s more points than William Nylander (58 in 67 games) and Auston Matthews (59 points in 68 games).
<h2>Mitch Marner’s contract outlook</h2>
Marner is going to have one of the largest contracts in hockey history. Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112 million contract kicks in next season with an annual average value of $14 million. Matthews has the next highest AAV of $13.3 million, followed by Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million AAV.

It’s projected that Marner will slot in behind Matthews but ahead of MacKinnon and even Connor McDavid (well, until he likely extends with the Oilers).

Per <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WuCp8WHgCaTAijtVsww-C-1qmdBdNBiTbDIPdJr_Fwo/edit?gid=1769332179#gid=1769332179">AFPAnalytics</a>, Marner is projected to make $12.953 million, but for simplicity's sake, let’s just round that up to $13 million. Moreover, Marner is an unrestricted free agent, meaning there could be a potential bidding war for his services.
<h2>Is Mitch Marner a fit for the Flames</h2>
With all that being said, is Marner a fit for the Flames?

According to <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/calgary-flames-craig-conroy-nhl-free-agency-ufa-mitch-marner-kevin-bahl-morgan-frost-connor-zary">Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli</a>, the Flames are setting their sights on a top free agent when free agency opens on Canada Day. Although the Flames haven’t been linked to Marner according to Seravalli, it makes perfect sense as they are looking to bring in an impact scorer.

If the Flames were to sign Marner, he instantly becomes the best player on the roster, slotting in on the first line as a right wing beside his former Leafs teammate, Nazem Kadri. Add in a scorer like <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/05/04/matt-coronatos-extension-could-set-the-tone-for-busy-flames-off-season/">Matt Coronato</a>, and that is a pretty darn good first line.

Moreover, the Flames have a whole bunch of unused cap space. They have a projected cap hit of $67.36 million and will need to sign restricted free agents Martin Pospíšil, Morgan Frost, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka, and Kevin Bahl. Even with all five of those players signing, the Flames will have a bunch of cap space remaining as next season’s salary cap rises to $95.5 million, giving the Flames $28.15 million to work with.

With their rebuild, does it logically make sense for the Flames to pursue a high-end talent like Marner before accumulating their picks? Well, with Dustin Wolf’s emergence as one of the best netminders in the league, that has expedited their rebuild process. Add in top prospect Zayne Parekh to a team that barely missed the post-season, and the Flames have a chance of making it next season without Marner. If the Flames were to add Marner, they could easily contend for a top-three spot in the Pacific Division.

What’s more is that signing Marner wouldn’t take up any of their assets aside from their cap space. That means they’ll keep their two first-round picks in the coming draft, as well as the 2026 draft, <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/five-flames-takes-time-for-conroy-to-take-advantage-of-the-desperate-dallas-stars">unlike if they were to trade for a Dallas Star</a>. The Flames could bolster the lineup at the trade deadline with those picks or further deepen their prospect pool.

Thanks to cap space and the team’s future, the Flames going all in on Marner makes sense, especially if they intend to avoid a full-on rebuild.

<hr />

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
<h1>This article is brought to you by Crystal Waters</h1>
<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-131942" src="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2099/08/CW_logo_Horz_RGB_WhtBkg-1024x341.png" alt="" width="1024" height="341" />Crystal Waters is your Crystal Clear Choice for Home Comfort Solutions, including all plumbing, heating, and cooling equipment repairs, maintenance, and installation. Founded in 2001, and completing over 30,000 projects, our qualified professionals are the guardians of your home’s mechanical heart.

Call Crystal Waters Plumbing and Heating today at 403-219-4100 for a complete mechanical system audit, and learn how we can partner with you to ensure your home is optimized for safety, health, and comfort. Or check them out at <a href="http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.crystalclearcalgary.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1727918572019000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3vaooTqBXRsNchXvQ30iLG">www.crystalclearcalgary.com</a>

Recent articles from Ryley Delaney

Breaking News