Sean Monahan is one of the premier young talents in the NHL. The 21-year-old has scored 21+ goals in his first three seasons, scoring 27 goals and 63 points in 2015-16. Monahan has more than proven he’s a core piece for the Flames and currently he’s a restricted free agent. The Flames forward told TSN he wanted to be in Calgary for the rest of his career and would prefer to sign a long-term deal.
“I definitely want to be there for a long time,” Monahan said. “So I would prefer a longer-term contract, but that’s not up for me to decide. So I think I want to be there, I want to be in Calgary for the rest of my career, so that’s something that I’m looking forward to doing.”
It’s quite the declaration of commitment from the young star. Monahan is so enthused in Calgary, he even admitted he’d take a cheaper deal if it meant the Flames could bring in more talent with the excess money.
“Our goal is to bring a Stanley Cup to Calgary, so if that’s what it is, that we can bring other players in, to have a little extra money room and get them in to help us to be a better team, I think that’s the idea.”
The Flames should lock up Monahan to a long-term deal immediately giving his willingness to sign one and at a discounted rate. Calgary also needs to sign Johnny Gaudreau, also a restricted free agent, to a long-term deal. Keeping both them in the organization for years to come is the right move to make.
[NHL.com]
