Flames sign free-agent defenceman Chris Tanev to four-year, US$18-million deal

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames signed defenceman Chris Tanev to a four-year, US$18-million contract in free agency late Friday. 

The 30-year-old has 22 goals and 118 points in 514 career NHL games, all with the Vancouver Canucks, to go along with 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 33 post-season contests.

Tanev signed as an undrafted free agent with the Canucks in May 2010 after one season at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The six-foot-two, 200-pound Tanev joins former Vancouver teammate Jacob Markstrom in Calgary after the netminder inked a six-year, $36-million deal with the Flames earlier Friday.

“Calgary is a very good team,” Tanev said on a video conference call Saturday. “A mix of young and old, very skilled players that have gone to the playoffs the last few years. I’m leaving a number of good relationships that I’ve had in Vancouver to come to Calgary, but it’s just part of the business.” 

The blue-liners’s hard-nosed style led to a number of injury problems in recent years, but he suited up for all 69 games with the Canucks playing alongside rookie phenon Quinn Hughes before the 2019-20 campaign was shuttered in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Flames signed the Toronto native the same day defenceman T.J. Brodie left Calgary and agreed to a four-year, $20-million contract with the Maple Leafs.

The Flames also shored up their goaltending depth Saturday, signing another former Canucks netminder, Louis Domingue, to a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $700,000 in the NHL.

The 28-year-old provides the Flames a third option behind Markstrom and David Riitich.

“It’s obviously a little bit bittersweet leaving a place that I’ve been for over a decade,” Tanev said. “But I’m super excited to come to a team that’s welcoming me and is excited to have me.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2020. 

The Canadian Press