Flames Top 25 Under 25: #4- Noah Hanifin

#4 - Noah Hanifin

Position: D

Age: 21

Team: Calgary Flames (NHL)

Drafted: 2015, Round 1, Pick 5 (Carolina Hurricanes)

Last Year: N/A

Voting Points: 2994

One young defenceman for another younger defenceman. That’s how you can look at the Flames getting Noah Hanifin in the deal that sent Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox to Carolina during the NHL Draft. Hanifin is 21, been pretty solid in his 3 years in the league and the second #5 overall pick the Flames received in the trade (Elias Lindholm being the other). Now, you could argue Calgary did give up a lot. Ferland and Hamilton are “proven” commodities, but Calgary got younger AND if they can lock Hanifin up long term, the Flames may have actually fleeced the Hurricanes. MAY being the operative word,

In his 3 years in the league Hanifin has been a consistent point producer on the blue line. The Boston native has had 22, 29 and 32 point seasons in the NHL. Not only have his point totals increased each year, but so have his shot totals. In 2017-18 he fired 165 pucks at the net, the most of his young career (57 better than his 108 total of 2016-17). Defensively, when you compare him to Hamilton (Dougie averaged a little over 2 minutes more TOI per game), Hanifin was on the ice for 68 even strength goals, Hamilton 71.

The wildcard now becomes what kind of contract will the Flames and Noah Hanifin settle on? According to CapFriendly the Flames have a little over $7 million to play with and you would think Hanifin would take up a significant chunk of that. The Flames starting defence, as it is currently signed, is on the hook for $19.7 million dollars, with only Mark Giordano being signed beyond 2019-20. Brad Treliving, give or take a few signings, has been pretty good at manipulating the cap, so there’s a chance the Flames could get him locked up at a reasonable deal for both sides. Calgary traded a lot to get Hanifin and Lindholm and it would only make sense to get the Boston College product signed for the long term.

Is #4 a good landing spot for Noah Hanifin? Vote below in our poll!