Calgary Flames should pursue Patrick Marleau in free agency

The Calgary Flames are reportedly interested in free agent Patrick Marleau, and they should pursue the perennial 30-goal scorer if his asking price is right.

With free agency looming, you can expect Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving to be aggressive in this year’s highly-talented market.

As it turns out, Treliving just may be going hard after one of the marquee free agents of 2017: Long-time San Jose Sharks superstar Patrick Marleau.

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Marleau will be one of the most sought-after free agents on Canada Day, and rightfully so. He’s scored 508 goals and 1,082 points in 1,493 career games. Marleau is coming off a 27-goal season at the age of 37, suggesting that he has a couple more strong years in him.

The Sharks have already had discussions to bring back Marleau, so Treliving may not even get the chance to negotiate with the future Hall of Famer.

But given his track record and remarkable consistency, it’s safe to guess that at least a dozen teams will be lining up for contract talks with Marleau.

If his asking price is reasonable, the Flames should be pursuing Marleau left, right and centre.

Flames give Marleau chance to win now

After trading for goalie Mike Smith and standout defenceman Travis Hamonic, Treliving made it clear that the Flames goal is to start winning now. Why not? Johnny Gaudreau, Dougie Hamilton and Sean Monahan are just entering their prime years. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett hope to follow suit, too.

Marleau’s aforementioned age of 37 means that he’ll be lucky if any team offers him more than a two-year deal. That means Treliving doesn’t have to stress about jeopardizing the team’s long-term salary cap situation if he were to sign Marleau.

The one thing missing on Marleau’s impressive career resume is a Stanley Cup. Does he really want to go back to an ageing Sharks team whose championship window is all but closed?

Calgary’s window of opportunity is just opening up. Furthermore, they’re always looking for players to help them get over in the ultra-difficult Pacific Division. Sign Marleau, and you know you’re getting 20-30 goals.

Deal has to be right

According to CapFriendly.com, the Flames have approximately $15 million in cap space. Mikael Backlund is the only key player on this team that needs an extension soon (he’s a pending UFA next year), so Treliving doesn’t have to save up all this cap space until 2019.

A two-year deal for Marleau worth around $5-6 million a season makes plenty of sense. But if he’s looking for a three-year contract worth a total of $15-20 million, then the Flames should kindly back off.

Adding Marleau would be more of a bonus addition. The Flames have so much scoring depth, so it’s not like they’re desperate to land him.

But why not check him out? If the Flames can show him they’re ready to win now and he’s willing to take a short-term deal, then Treliving may as well go for it.

Next: Flames Need to Re-Sign RW Kris Versteeg

It’s been a long time since the Calgary Flames made a splash in free agency, but perhaps that’ll change with a Patrick Marleau signing on Canada Day.

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