Early this morning the Flames acquired Jay Bouwmeester's rights from the Panthers in exchange for Jordan Leopold and a 3rd round pick. As James Mirtle points out, that's all fine and dandy, but signing Jaybo at an estimated $8 million per season is going to put the Flames in a tight spot with the salary cap. With about 17 players signed, Calgary only has about $8 million left to spend, so some bigger names will have to get moved off that roster, potentially.
Well, assuming the Flames do sign Bouwmeester, the 2 big names that at some point in time were rumored to be signed by the Canucks are gone. This can mean several things:
- Jaybo is from Alberta and may want to play closer to "home."
- Mike Gillis refused to offer a top defenceman and a pick.
- Gillis is focussed on directing money towards the Sedins and Luongo long term, and some crazy free agent signing..