'Love Playing For The Flames'

MacKenzie Weegar is a big fan of giving his teammates lots of nicknames, including Matt Coronato.

Matty Superstar, Matty Manhattan, Matty Scoresheet, to name a few.

You can now add Matty New Long-Term Contract, which has perhaps the nicest ring of them all.

The Flames announced Saturday they had signed the explosive forward to a seven-year deal, with an AAV of $6.5M, locking up a key piece of the franchise’s young corps.

“They really were looking for the long term,” said Flames GM Craig Conroy. “Matt wants to be here long term, and that says a lot about him and where this is kind of going, moving forward. We wanted him long-term, too”

“We had quite a few guys to do and to be able to get Matt done first and move forward and then get ready for the other guys, it's just great for the organization. As far as him being locked in long term, he’s a big part of the future, and we expect great things from him so we're looking forward to seeing where this goes, but really nice to get him done and have him locked up for seven more years.

"He's going to be a core piece here moving forward. It's exciting for the franchise and the city.”

Coronato played his first full NHL campaign this year, skating in 77 games and scoring 24 goals and 47 points, including potting four game-winners. He finished third in team scoring behind Nazem Kadri (35 goals and 67 points) and Jonathan Huberdeau (28 goals and 62 points).

The 22-year-old winger is back home in Greenlawn, N.Y., spending time with family and getting out to support his brother who’s playing his final year of high school lacrosse before going to Bucknell this fall.

“I'm really excited about it,” he said of the deal. “I love playing for the Flames. I love the city so I'm excited to be here long term and continue to get better and grow with this team.

“I love all the guys, I love the staff, so it's just it's an exciting day for me and my family.”

While his wicked shot – hard and accurate – is his calling card, Coronato has worked hard to improve his play across the board and it showed this season.

“It’s the little things, it's the puck battles, to win more puck battles, get a little quicker. And he's been working hard on his skating. It's gotten much better,” explained Conroy. “And then you see this year, at the beginning of the year, he wasn't out there at the end of games, then he was, when we're protecting a one-goal lead. He's out there, he’s reliable. And he did that because of the work ethic. He does win more battles, and he understands what he has to do to be effective in the whole 200-foot game.

“It's the way he backtracks, the way he comes back in the zone, picks up his man, takes care of the D zone, those are all things that he continues to get better at, and I think it's just going to continue as he gets more and more comfortable in the league.

“I can't wait to see where this is going to go.”

“I think, for me, I'm always trying to learn from the older guys and there's so many guys on our team with experience with being in the playoffs or playing meaningful games,” explained Coronato. “Being able to watch all these older guys, and especially to play with Backs and Colesy for the majority of the year, I picked up a lot of things I think from them and just being able to have conversations with guys.

"We’ve got such a close group in that locker-room and everyone wants to help each other get better so being a part of that is really fun and it's special.”

Speaking of special, hard to talk about Coronato’s season and not mention the team’s trip to New York in March.

It was Coronato's first time playing back where he grew up, scoring a goal in the famed MSG against the Rangers and adding another one against the Devils in Jersey.

But he saved his best for last, scoring twice at UBS Arena (his 19^th and 20^th of the season) – a stone’s throw from Greenlawn – as the Flames gathered some big points to stay in the playoff hunt.

“It was a fun opportunity for me to get to play in front of so much friends and family and have all that support time was awesome and it definitely meant a lot,” said Coronato. “Those were big games down the stretch for our group and I think if you ask any guy on our team, getting to play in meaningful games all the way down the stretch was so much fun and hopefully next year we're able to get into the playoffs.”

That roadie obviously stood out for Conroy as well.

“Well, it's funny, you kind of saw him get more and more comfortable as he went along (this season),” said Conroy. “And just to see him kind of progress, and it really did kind of come to a point where, hey, that our season was on the line (on that trip). Every game was so important. And the way he kind of rose up in those big moments, especially down the stretch, how well he played, it just said to me this guy is figuring it out.”

Back to that shot.

Everyone knows the hardest thing to do in the NHL is score goals and Coronato has all the tools and with time comes the valuable experience to make himself even more lethal, game-in and game-out.

“Everybody can see the shot,” said Conroy. “And it's in practice, too. You watch him all the time. He's shooting to score every time he shoots a puck. And he's shooting it hard. And his release - he's really figured out how to get it off quick, and how to kind of put himself into positions, and how to get free. Sometimes he knows he's got to back up a little bit, where he was right in the slot before, he's like, OK, I gotta move away from there. And that's what I noticed this year. He was able to find open, small areas where he could get that shot off. And, you know, I think 24 (goals) was a great year.

“We're hoping for more,” smiled Conroy. “But it's just nice to know that you have a guy that his first mentality is shot first.”

With contract in hand now, Coronato’s focus is firmly on the upcoming season.

“I just want to continue to improve and find little ways that I can help the team more, whether it be on the defensive side of the ice or maybe finding ways to get open more in the offensive zone,” said Coronato. “Just trying to always look for little things that I can do that help this team continue to win and playoffs is gonna be a big goal for this group so I'm already excited to get back to it next season.”