'THE NEXT CUP IS THE BEST ONE'

In the end, hockey was only part of the equation.
When the clock struck 10 and the newest Flame began fielding offers from teams around the NHL, the driving force behind his eventual decision came down to one word:
'Fit.'

"We've heard nothing but great things about the city," said a smiling Blake Coleman. "I've played youth hockey tournaments up there, and obviously when we played the Flames, it was usually in the bitter part of winter. But that's really my only experience in Calgary.
"So, I talked to as many people as I could that played there. My wife spoke with some of the wives and girlfriends - things like that, to get all sides of the (picture)."
What the Colemans learned was that this kind, caring, hockey mad community was the best place to raise their young family.
"It feels like 'us,'" the winger said. "We like to be around good people. It sounds like the people in Calgary are wholesome people, and that the lifestyle is very comfortable for families. It's still a very passionate fanbase and hockey is a big deal in that town, and that's important to us as well.
"It really checked all the boxes that we were trying to dive into. That was ultimately (what led) to our decision."
In Coleman, the Flames are getting one of the most versatile players on the market - "low mileage," as Flames GM Brad Treliving says, and a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning after being traded from the New Jersey Devils in the spring of 2019.
He recorded 14 goals and 31 points last year (a 20-goal, 45-point pace), before adding another 11 points (3G, 8A) in 23 playoff dates.
It was a ride he won't soon forget.

Coleman was a mainstay on the Bolts' wildly popular and game-changing energy line with Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde over the past two brackets. Despite having a 'third line' distinction, that trio actually played the second-most minutes of any of Tampa's forward units, and were commonly deployed against the opponent's best players, or late in games when nursing home a victory. Often, both.
But with the inevitable salary cap crunch putting an end to that magical run together, Coleman was destined to be on the move. In fact, all three members of that vaunted checking troupe are no longer in the Sunshine State, only a few weeks into the off-season.
Coleman, though, was one of the most highly sought-after free agents in the pool, commanding a six-year, $29.4M pact from the Flames on a day when more than half a billion was doled out to players, league wide.
That type of long-term commitment shows belief.
On both sides.
"In big moments Blake is a guy who is trusted by his coaches," Treliving said. "He's a big minute-eater, plays against top lines and is able to produce offence. ... He plays in the trenches, but I think his skill is very understated."
Coleman's addition not only adds a legitimate scoring threat to a right side in need of some punch, but he also comes with a respected, championship pedigree - something he hopes will resonate in a Flames locker-room that's looking to make a similar strides in the fall.
"I think any time you go through a battle-hardened season, a battle-hardened playoff run, you're going to pick up and learn things," Coleman said. "There were experiences from our first playoff run that I used during our second, and I expect to carry on into my future.
"There are so many momentum swings, and I remember in my early playoff experiences getting caught up in those and they can really get away from you if you go down a hill too far. Just keeping that even keel and really understanding how long a seven-game series really is and things like that.
"I'm excited to bring that to the room. I know there are other guys who have been in that situation as well, so I'm not the only one. I'm excited to be in a group and be able to say that we're champions like that.
"But they always say the best Cup is the next one and that's the way I feel, so I'd love nothing more than to win in Calgary as well."
In 301 career games, the 5-foot-11, 207-lb. winger has accrued 71 goals and 126 points, along with 241 penalty minutes. He has plenty of bite to his game and should fit beautifully in a Darryl Sutter system.
The 29-year-old also has a penchant for the highlight-reel - twice in the past two years becoming the NHL's YouTube sensation with some of the prettiest goals on record.
The biggest came in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final only a few weeks ago when he drove hard to the net and converted a Goodrow feed with a spectacular diving effort to beat the buzzer. It was almost a mirror image of his antics in the fall of 2019, when he out-raced then-Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and - from his keester - one-handed the puck over the glove of the goaltender.

But forgetting, for a moment, the panache of these nonsensical tallies, the Plano, Tex. native has been a consistent contributor that will automatically add some sizzle to the Flames' forward corps.
Scoring goals is what he does.
And the Flames need more of it to not only contend for a playoff spot next year, but to become a high-powered, perennial contender.
"They may have missed playoffs last year, but they've been a good, competitive team the last five years," Coleman said of his new crew. "They have high-end skill. They have some depth. They have good goaltending now. I think there's a lot of good pieces. I think, maybe, they were a couple players away last year.
"It seems like they've made some other good moves and pieces you need moving forward.
"It excites me to be in that competitive group, where we think we should make the playoffs. In this league, the parity is so strong, in my opinion, that any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to win the whole thing.
"It was half-hockey and half-life (decision), and having a family is very important to me.
"But the hockey side of it? I do believe in it, and it's strong."
The rest of the summer now promises to be busy.
Coleman, along with his wife, Jordan, and children, Charlie and Carson, have begun packing their things and will soon depart for Canada. The cold winters await - but it hasn't, for one second, tempered their excitement.
It's a new city, new team, new adventure for all in one of the hottest hockey markets around.
What more could a guy want?
"We wanted to play in front of a passionate fanbase," Coleman said. "We wanted to be in a market where hockey is important and valued.
"It certainly played a role for us. We've been in some pretty good hockey markets and Tampa has obviously come a long, long way and we had a great following here.
"But Canada's a different animal. Life is hockey up there and that excites me.
"It's a bonus for us."