Flames Should Look to Make a Deal for Panthers’ Duclair

While the Calgary Flames have picked up things as of late with points in five of its last six games, one thing remains true; this team could use another scoring forward in their top nine.

By all accounts, Brad Treliving is still looking to add a forward with some offensive flare to his group, and, as fate would have it, there may be one available on a team that he swung a massive deal with this summer.

Panthers May Be Forced to Move Duclair

As a result of a torn Achilles tendon during offseason training, Anthony Duclair has yet to play in the 2022-23 season. That could soon change, however, as the 27-year-old is quickly progressing through his recovery and, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, is expected to return in the near future.

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Given how productive Duclair has been through his first two seasons as a member of the Florida Panthers, you would think his return would be nothing but great news for the organization. Unfortunately, however, it is just creating more of a headache for general manager Bill Zito, who has his team in a very tricky salary cap predicament at the moment.

As things stand right now, the Panthers are at the league’s maximum cap hit. This means, that in order to activate Duclair and his $3 million salary from long-term injured reserve (LTIR), they will need to move out some money, or, perhaps trade Duclair himself. If this is indeed the route that the Panthers choose to go, there will be plenty of interest from several teams, and the Flames should be one of them.

Duclair An Extremely Productive & Affordable Player

As mentioned, Duclair is on a deal that pays him just $3 million annually, and has an additional season remaining on that contract. That is a very team-friendly number for a player who, despite taking some time to find his way at the NHL level, has become very productive in recent years.

Prior to signing his three-year, $9 million deal with the Panthers during the 2020 offseason, Duclair was coming off of a breakout campaign with the Ottawa Senators in which he scored 23 goals and 40 points in 60 games. He followed that up with a very solid 10 goals and 32 points in 43 outings during his first season as a Panther, and was even better in 2021-22, with a career-best 31 goals and 58 points in 74 contests.

Numbers like that are solid for nearly any player in the NHL,…