Coleman signs six-year, $29.4 million contract with Flames

Blake Coleman signed a six-year, $29.4 million contract with the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $4.9 million.

"I've played youth hockey tournaments up there, and obviously when we play the Flames, usually in the bitter part of winter," Coleman said. "I talked to as many as I could that had played there. My wife spoke with some of the wives and girlfriends, things like that, just to get all sides of the coin. It just feels like us.
"We like to be around good people. It sounds like the people in Calgary are just wholesome people and the lifestyle is very comfortable for families. It's still a very passionate fan base, and hockey is a big deal in that town, and that's important to us as well. It really checked both sides of the boxes that we were really trying to dive into and that was ultimately our ultimate piece to make the decision."
The 29-year-old forward scored 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 55 regular-season games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help them win the Cup.

Selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round (No. 75) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Coleman has scored 126 points (71 goals, 55 assists) in 301 regular-season games for the Lightning and Devils, and 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 53 playoff games.
Coleman also won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020. He said he's looking forward to bringing a similar culture to Calgary.
"I know there are other guys who have been in that situation as well, so not the only one excited to be in a group and be able to say that we're champions like that," Coleman said. "They always say the next Cup is the best one, and that's the way I feel, so I'd love nothing more than to win in Calgary as well."
The Flames on Wednesday also acquired restricted free agent defenseman Nikita Zadorov in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and signed forward Trevor Lewis to a one-year, $800,000 contract. The 34-year-old reunites with Calgary coach Darryl Sutter, for whom he played winning two Stanley Cup championships with the Los Angeles Kings (2012, 2014).
"They missed playoffs last year but they've been a good team, competitive team the last five years," Coleman said. "They have high-end skill. They have some depth. They have good goaltending now. I think there's a lot of good pieces. In this league, the parity is so strong in my opinion that any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to win the whole thing. I think based off my talks with people about Sutter and how he runs things and the way I play, it seemed like a good fit in that aspect as well."
NHL.com independent correspondent Aaron Vickers contributed to this report