First, Kevin Bahl decided to stay in Calgary for the summer.
Then, on Saturday, he decided to stick around with the Flames for six more years.
The first choice didn’t lead directly to the second, but it did make it awfully easy for the towering defenceman to simply pop in to the Saddledome to put pen-to-paper on a deal that will carry an annual cap-hit of US$5.35 million.
And like so many people who have decided to settle in Calgary over the years, after a long winter, being able to see the city in the spring for the first time certainly didn’t hurt his desire to stick around.
“We were hanging out the first couple weeks and like a month ago we got, like, 29 degrees and just sunny every day for a week or two and I was like ‘OK, I can hang out here no problem, it’s actually pretty beautiful’, “ Bahl said. “Just going to Banff and stuff, it’s a nice, dry heat.
“It’s like ‘Holy smokes, it’s beautiful here’. “
Bahl will have many more chances to enjoy the finer pleasures of Calgary over the next six years and he is going to have the opportunity to establish himself as a core piece of a young Flames blueline that it’s hoped will lead the team back to contention sooner rather than later.
After being acquired from the New Jersey Devils in the trade that sent Jacob Markstrom the other way last summer, Bahl didn’t waste any time making an immediate impression.
Still only 25-years-old, the 6-foot-6 and 230 lbs. Bahl established an easy chemistry with Rasmus Andersson and played in 73 games, recording three goals and 20 points while finishing third on the team in average ice-time, logging 21:23 per night.
Those are all career highs, and Bahl isn’t going to be counted on to lead the power-play or drive the offence. He’s a stay-at-home type, but the Flames need those. He’s also left-handed, which means you could easily see him playing alongside someone like Zayne Parekh or Hunter Brzustewicz when they break into the NHL full-time.
All that makes Bahl a good fit for the Flames and as his long-term commitment signals, the feeling is mutual.
“I remember when I got traded here, it was all ‘Oh, how are the Flames going to do?’ “ Bahl explained. “It was unbelievable, I came into the first meeting and I don’t know anybody and I forget if it was (head coach Ryan Huska or GM Craig Conroy), but one of the first things that was said and maybe the first sentence was ‘This team right here, our goal is to make the playoffs. There’s nothing else in our mindset, we’re going to make the playoffs.’
“Every single day during the year, it was ‘We need to win every single game …’ Just coming into that first meeting, I was like ‘I like this’. “
For the Flames, getting Bahl signed to an extension represents an important piece of business just days before free-agency opens. His best years are ahead of him and his combination of skill and size is something the Flames just don’t have elsewhere in their defensive corps.
“I think when you watch the games this year, when he wasn’t in the lineup you’re missing that big, heavy, long defender,” said Flames GM Craig Conroy. “I thought his puck-play got much better as the season went along and he actually was more physical as the season went along, too.
“Sometimes you want him to be more physical at that size, but I did see that progression and I do think he’s going to keep taking steps. He’s still only (25)-years-old and I think the sky’s the limit. To have him locked-up and be a big part of this moving forward is big.”
The Flames signed Matt Coronato to a seven-year extension earlier in the spring and with Bahl now committed, Connor Zary and Morgan Frost remain the biggest names on their list of soon-to-be restricted free-agents.
The spectre of an Andersson trade looms large, too, as he’s entering the final year of his contract and reports indicate an extension isn’t close. Bahl hasn’t talked to his defensive partner about the situation.
“If he was around I’d probably want to talk to him about it, just pick his mind on it. I haven’t really reached out, it’s hard with something like that,” Bahl said. “Love the guy to death, he’s an amazing competitor, he’s one of those guys, he’s just chippy, a ratty little guy, amazing competitor and he’s going to show up every day.”