After last off-season of RW Kris Versteeg signing a one-year deal with the Calgary Flames, about a dozen NHL teams are interested in the Alberta Native.
Lots of changes happen in a year’s time, hey? Last season, Kris Versteeg was at the Edmonton Oilers training camp, one of the only teams offering him a spot in their camp. However, he decided to go with his childhood team and signed with the Calgary Flames for virtually the same price that the Oilers offered him – $950K for a one-year contract.
Well, like I said, things change because now, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, about a dozen teams have reached out to him with offers. But the Flames absolutely need to re-sign him. Versteeg has also made a point to say back in March that Calgary is number 1 for him.
Via Calgary Herald:
"Calgary Flames Flame for Thought Fantasy Hockey: Potential Calgary Flames sleeper picks More headlines around FanSided: — Flames captaincy updates and candidate rankings — Camp Notes: Calgary Flames Prospects at the Young Stars Classic — Could Flames Goalie Dan Vladar Be A Trade Option for the Avalanche? — Roundup: Lindholm, Backlund, Hanifin Contract Updates — Luck, Goalies & Coaching: Three Questions for the 2023/24 Calgary Flames More News at Flame For Thought “I would love to be here,” said Versteeg who has played for Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Florida, Chicago (again), Carolina and L.A. “This has been an amazing year for me. It started off a little rough with getting hurt at the start of the year and then not knowing where I was going to fit in the lineup.“Since I came back from that (groin) injury, I was finding my way into the lineup and finding my role on the team. It’s been exciting. It’s been fun trying to help the young guys. I’ve been playing with Benny a lot lately and trying to help his career blossom. It’s been fun all around.”“Me and my agent have talked a lot about different scenarios and situations,” he said. “Being in Calgary is obviously No. 1 for me. I have my family, I have my friends. I feel like I’ve made a lot of good friends on the team and in the organization. Here is where my heart is, especially right now. But things change and you never know.“The business is pretty crazy.”"
Business is pretty crazy since almost half the NHL teams want him on their team now. He also said that if he’s in Switzerland come September, his agent is getting fired. No need to be worried Mr. Versteeg’s Agent, you’re all set. But please come to a deal with Calgary.
There are multiple reasons why the Calgary Flames MUST re-sign Versteeg.
Number 1: The most important reason of all, choosing the Flames over the Oilers
Of course, there’s absolutely no way that as a Flames fan, you can hate this guy for this reason alone. Even if he had zero points this season, he still gets a thumbs up from me. He was at the Oilers training camp and was offered a deal for virtually the same price. But at the last minute was basically like, “Just kidding, bye guys, I’m going to Calgary.”
For that alone, he’s a fan favourite. But moving on to real reasons.
Number 2: Good price for a bottom-six winger
Due to injuries, Versteeg missed 13 games last season. But in the 69 games he played, he racked up 15 goals and 37 points. I know it’s not an insane amount of points, but first of all, bottom-six wingers aren’t meant for primary scoring. 37 points in 69 games is a good amount from secondary scoring. 16 of those points came on the powerplay, a powerplay that struggled for almost half the season. He was used as a first powerplay unit for the majority of the season and was effective with the man advantage.
Related Story: Flames Daily - Playoff Push, Kris Versteeg
Not only that, but he’s versatile. When the Calgary Flames still didn’t quite have that top-line RW, he played alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. And performed well. Now, he didn’t play a whole lot with them, but he was able to is the main point.
Like I said, he got 37 points, but remember, he was only getting paid $950K. Let’s look at some other bottom-six forwards for the Flames:
- Troy Brouwer: 25 points in 74 games, $4.5 million avg. salary
- Matt Stajan: 23 points in 81 games, $3.125 million avg. salary
- Lance Bouma: 7 points in 61 games, $2.2 million avg. salary
Of course, we also had a few others guys like Alex Chiasson and Sam Bennett, but they both get paid a little less than Versteeg do (they still got less points than him, however).
He’s a solid winger who’s versatile and can play on almost any line. And he’s extrememly consistent. Definitely a guy you want to keep.
Number 3: His playoff experience
A good reason why the Calgary Flames even brought Kris Versteeg was his playoff experience (I mean, they did the same with Troy Brouwer, but we saw how that turned out). And his playoff experience definitely showed. He was easily one of the Flames best players during their playoff run this year that was unfortunately ended way too short.
Versteeg had one goal and four points in the four playoff games the Flames had. He also showed up on the powerplay, with three of those four points coming on the powerplay, one being the goal.
Points aren’t everything, but if you watched the series, you would see how confident Versteeg looked in his game and it helped boost up the team. He was also somewhat of a leader for youngster Sam Bennett, who has been struggling during the regular season, but somehow finds his game during the playoffs.
Number 4: Can help Sam Bennett
Like I mentioned, he’s somewhat helping Bennett. Above, he even said so himself that it’s fun playing with the young guys and helping their careers, like Sam Bennett. We’ve seen that Bennett’s been struggling, but Calgary Flames management and coaching staff are still confident in the 21 year olds future and potential.
We saw how much a player like Jiri Hudler helped guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan when they started their NHL seasons. Versteeg can do something similar with Bennett who’s still young and malleable.
Gaudreau and Monahan owed a lot of their success in 2014-2015 to Jiri Hudler and they mentioned how they learned a lot from him. Versteeg’s already made a point that it’s fun to help the younger guys. He can not only help Bennett, but new Flames Curtis Lazar as well who’s been struggling with the Ottawa Senators.
Number 5: These videos
Honestly, just for these videos alone, he should be re-signed. I mean, I know I said that about the Oilers thing, but I truly mean it this time.
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The only thing I’d like is for everyone to stop calling him Verbeauty. Other than that, I hope Kris Versteeg chooses the Flames. Again.