Flames sign Mason Raymond

The Flames opened up free agency by getting the guy they nearly got a year ago: Mason Raymond. His contract is for three years, $9.5 million total – an annual average value of roughly $3.167 million.

Raymond, who will be 29 when the season starts, spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 19 goals and 45 points. Prior to that the left winger was a longtime Vancouver Canuck.

His career totals are 99 goals – his first as a Flame will be his 100th! – 124 assists, and 223 points over 456 games.

Raymond, a very fast skater who can put up a modest amount of points, is a great addition to this Flames team. He's not that old, and the contract is completely reasonable. Not to mention the fact that he's coming from Toronto, one of the worst possession teams of last season (definitely way worse than Calgary), where he put up pretty decent numbers: while he was a 44.2 CF% on Toronto, which is terrible, his CF% rel was actually +1.9%, which was tied for sixth among Toronto's regular players.

He was also, uh, rather known for always scoring on Calgary, so it'll be nice to not see things like this

anymore.

Plus, he's a hometown boy, so that's pretty cool for him.

“I’m a little lost for words to be honest. It’s a surreal feeling,” – Mason Raymond on signing with his hometown team

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) July 1, 2014

All in all: Raymond doesn’t replace Mike Cammalleri, but he’s a good, competent player who will help the Flames in terms of both possession and scoring. His deal is entirely reasonable and it’s only for three seasons. Hard to find fault in this one. Excellent signing all around.

by Ari Yanover