Flames arbirtration dates set

#Flames' arbitration dates – Lance Bouma, July 22; Josh Jooris, July 28; Paul Byron, July 30.

— Scott Cruickshank (@CruickshankCH) July 13, 2015

As previously covered, the Calgary Flames had three players file for arbitration. Now, like the rest of the league, dates have been set for their respected hearings. Of course, any time before then, the team and player can come to terms for an agreement. As next season's cap situation becomes of incredible importance, addressing and proactively managing the salary cap becomes a focal point immediately.

Lance Bouma is looking for a huge pay day after his previous bridge deal, in which we saw him score a career high in goals and points. With 16 goals and 18 assists last season, it's understandable that Bouma's camp is expecting much more money than his previous $775k deal. Though again, it's crucial that the Flames tread carefully as it's likely this season was an anomaly thanks to play with Mikael Backlund.

Josh Jooris turned heads and came out of nowhere last fall. He had an impressive rookie season, seeing ice time in all sorts of scenarios. His 12 goals and 12 assists were a breath of fresh air when it came to bottom six depth, providing secondary scoring. Most of Jooris' value comes from his underlying numbers and special teams work on the PK. His ceiling is relatively uncertain, though if he continues at his existing pace, he could be a great add for the bottom six.

Finally Paul Byron, thanks to his season marred due to injuries, gives the team has flexibility and actual leverage when negotiating. Despite his injuries, it looked to be a career year for Byron, playing 57 games. If healthy, it would have been very likely for him to eclipse his previous career highs. Much of Byron's actual value comes in a similar way to Jooris': special teams and underlying numbers. Byron is a fantastic penalty killer and shot suppression beast that should be coveted.

The Flames currently have $7.1M in cap space and are currently sitting with $64.27M used already. It should be emphasized that the likes of Micheal Ferland and Drew Shore were also qualified. Their pending contracts may eat up some of that existing cap space, too, if they make the roster, which is certainly possible.