The New Jersey Devils traded Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames earlier in the offseason. He was an RFA looking for a major pay raise, and New Jersey saw it best to unload him to make more room on their cap sheet and blue line. 

Trading Nemec to Calgary was the first big player move that Sunny Mehta made since becoming a first-time NHL GM. Since then, he has had a solid off-season, and more may be on the horizon. 

On Monday, the Flames announced a contract extension for Nemec, who locked in a five-year deal with a cap hit of $7.25 million. This is a deal where the Flames are paying for the player that they hope he becomes, rather than the player that he is right now. 

Nemec is a former 2nd overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft, so the pedigree is there. He can create offense if he’s in the right situation, but he must work on his defensive game if he’s ever going to truly drive a pair in any of the three zones. 

In 155 games played, Nemec has 16 goals and 33 assists for 49 points. He had somewhat of a breakout last year, as he had 11 of those goals to go with 15 assists for 26 points in 68 games played. 

A lot of his ice time in the NHL has been in the shadow of guys like Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes. In Calgary, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do with more opportunity. If he reaches his true potential, his contract will then look like a bargain. 

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