Brad Treliving has a fairly daunting job ahead of himself during his first off-season as the general manager of the Calgary Flames. The roster he is inheriting certainly has some glaring holes and while all of them cannot be addressed during one summer, deciding what he wants to do with pending unrestricted free agent Mike Camalleri has to be at the very top of his to do-list.

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Edmonton - June 3, 2014 - Brad Treliving has a fairly daunting job ahead of himself during his first off-season as the general manager of the Calgary Flames.

The roster he is inheriting certainly has some glaring holes and while all of them cannot be addressed during one summer, deciding what he wants to do with pending unrestricted free agent Mike Camalleri has to be at the very top of his to do-list.

The 31 year old is coming off a 26 goal season, and looks to have been rejuvenated by all the young blood being inserted throughout the Flames lineup.

He especially seemed to be form a nice chemistry with young centre Mikael Backlund before missing the final two regular season games with an upper body injury.

Last year marked the final year of the former second round pick's 5 year/ $30 million deal he signed with the Montreal Canadians and one has to wonder if he is expecting the same sort of dollars this time around? I sure hope not, as Camalleri was coming off two seasons of 0.99 points/game and a 0.77 points/game with the Los Angeles Kings and a career high 1.01 points/game during his first tour of duty with the Flames.

During the past three years Camalleri finished with a .68 points/game in an injury plagued season, .73 during the lockout shortened 2013 campaign and .71 this season. Sorry but that is not a $6 million man by any stretch. Could he fetch those dollars on the open market? Probably not but they don’t call it Free Agent Frenzy for nothing. You can bet there will be more than a few GM’s willing to throw around millions like its candy.

Camalleri will turn 32 this June and is clearly on the downside of his career. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some good hockey left in him and the Flames certainly need all the help they can get. With a young roster, and not a ton of depth on the wings, Camalleri fills a void. The hardest thing to do in the NHL today is score goals, and Mike Camalleri can do that but he is not worth $6 million a year. He also brings a nice veteran presence to a young squad that is coming off what was a surprising 2013-14 campaign.

For me the issue between Treliving and Camalleri won’t be money, as Calgary has a boat load of cap space, but the potential term of any deal could turnout to be "the" sticking point. Camalleri has a young family who have likely brown accustomed to being in the Stampede city and will likely be looking for a long term deal, something which the Flames may not be willing to do. Elliot Friedman of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada reported the two sides have met, but did not mention any dollar fihure or term. Friedman reported that there is a deal there to be made between the two sides but at this point it is nothing more than speculation.

In my mind, it seems as though Mike Camalleri wants to remain a Calgary Flame. The team is very competitive and looks to be rebuilding quickly and in the correct manner. In a perfect world, the organization would love to keep Camalleri around for a variety of reasons, most notably his ability to put the puck in the net and his leadership abilities. There appears to be a potential deal here but it will ultimately come down to both sides willingness to meet each other half way. For Calgary’s sake, I hope they do.

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