A tidy bit of business.
And one of the newest members of the Flames defence corps is excited for what lies ahead.
Simon Nemec put pen to paper on a new five-year pact Monday, a deal that - at an AAV of $7.25 million - makes him the highest-paid defenceman on the squad.
But even at the tender age of 22, Nemec is ready to be one of the go-to guys in Calgary next season, and having his new contract done this early in the summer allows plenty of time for him to acclimatize to his new environs after being dealt to the Flames by the New Jersey Devils in June.
“It’s good to have the contract right now, in this part of the summer,” Nemec said Monday over the phone from his home in Slovakia. “Now we can plan everything else.
“If you see that D corps, I think it’s pretty good. I think it’s going to be great competition for me and the other players. I feel confident to play a lot of minutes and be one of the leaders of the team. That’s going to be my goal for next season.”
Where Nemec slots in among the Flames’ top-four remains to be seen, but he could well line up alongside his former New Jersey teammate Kevin Bahl. Nemec, who had 11 goals from the blue line for the Devils a season ago, acts as an ideal foil to Bahl’s reliable, stay-at-home presence and it’s clear that the young Slovak is eager to be a big part of Calgary GM Craig Conroy’s vision moving forward.
“I’m really happy and really excited for the next five years in Calgary,” said Nemec. "I’ve heard so many good things from all the players, so I’m really excited.”
Two of those players are Nemec’s countrymen. Martin Pospisil and Sam Honzek have each lined up with Nemec in international duty and in the weeks since the trade, Nemec admits he’s leaned on the pair for tips about his new home in Southern Alberta.
“So many players texted me after that trade,” Nemec recalled. "It’s good for me and I’m really happy with that.
“My Slovak teammates, I asked them a lot of questions about Calgary and they’ve been pretty helpful.”
Nemec is targeting a mid-August arrival to get settled in Calgary, a month or so before the Flames’ pre-season opener Sept. 20 against the Kraken.
In the meantime, he’s doing anything and everything back home in Slovakia to make sure he hits the ground running once he arrives here.
Ready to stake a claim for a big role in his first season in front of the C of Red.
“I’m doing my off-ice stuff and on-ice too; I’m on the same plan as last year, I started skating a little bit earlier, a month after the season,” said Nemec. “I felt pretty good last year, so I just wanted to do the same thing this year.
“I’m working hard right now and waiting for the new season.”
