After breakout season, Flames put faith in Matt Coronato to be franchise pillar
“At 22 it’s only going to get better from here.” After his breakout season, the Calgary Flames are putting their faith in Matt Coronato, with the expectation that he remains a pillar for years to come. Eric Francis has the story.
CALGARY — One can only imagine the emotion involved in having your parents and siblings by your side as you sit in your childhood home, signing a $45.5 million contract at age 22.
But what one doesn’t need to wonder is whether the tab for that evening’s celebratory dinner will be picked up by the kid with the newfound riches.
“Ya, I think maybe I should,” chuckled Matt Coronato, hours after signing off on a seven-year extension with the Calgary Flames at $6.5 million AAV.
Coronato can expect to pick up plenty of dinners over the next little while, as he feels indebted to so many for helping him ascend from first-round draft pick to certified pillar of the franchise.
It’s been a four-year journey that included a handful of AHL demotions that came to an abrupt end one month into this year, his second season with the team.
One week after a Halloween recall from the Wranglers, Coronato had a memorable evening in Montreal that changed plenty.
A USHL sniper and Harvard stud whose world-class shot had yet to turn into a regular scoring threat in the bigs, Coronato scored the game-tying goal in the dying minutes of the game.
Seven seconds into overtime, he scored the winner using that release Flames faithful have been salivating over.
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It was a moment many saw as his coming-out party — a proclamation that not only were his days in the minors over, but he was well on his way to finding the scoring touch the Calgary Flames will depend heavily on for many years to come.
“When I look back, it’s hard to pick one moment that was a turning point, because I really feel like over the course of the whole year I learned a lot,” said Coronato, who went on to score 24 times this season.
“But for sure, that game in Montreal gave me a little confidence and made me feel pretty good.
“Playing with Backs (Mikael Backlund) and Colesy (Blake Coleman) after I got called up, and how level-headed they approached the game, maybe helped the most.
“They played a huge role. The two of them I can’t thank enough for how much I learned this year.”
Indeed, they too can expect a few dinners on ol’ Matty’s Amex.
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After a 2023-24 rookie season in which Coronato spent half the season in the AHL, working on defensive play, board battles and his skating, those two vets helped him become so reliable that he was often on the ice to preserve leads late in games.
Not only did his 24 goals and 47 points in 77 games land him third in team scoring, he also led all forwards in plus-minus at +6.
That combination of defensive responsibility and unlimited offensive upside made him an easy choice to lock up long term as one of the Flames’ most important building blocks.
“I want to be a guy that helps this team win for a long time,” said Coronato.
“I love what the team is doing. I love all my teammates and the staff too, and I think the future is bright in Calgary, and I’m excited to see what they keep doing.”
Craig Conroy said the groundwork for the deal was laid in a late-season trip to New York, where Coronato scored key goals in all three games in front of friends and family.
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It pushed him over the 20-goal mark, earned him a trio of significant performance bonuses and had people start to question whether expectations of perennial 30-goal seasons should be heightened.
“I played a lot with (Mike) Cammalleri, and I see him like that,” said Conroy of the former 39-goal scorer.
“I don’t want to limit him, but I do think at 22 it’s only going to get better from here.
“That game in Montreal was huge for him. It gave him the confidence that he can do this. I thought his game got so much better, and then he went into New York and did what he did.
“He’s getting so much more comfortable, and because he now does all the things we wanted him to work on, the coach trusts him late to preserve leads.”
On a team woefully short of right-handers, Conroy also thinks Coronato can continue to be effective at helping the team with key faceoffs.
Coronato is now so highly thought of that he was invited to play for the U.S. at the worlds, which he eventually opted to turn down for medical reasons.
His focus is on being his best in Calgary next year, where expectations will continue to soar for the kid picked 13th overall in 2021.
With a new building just two years away and plenty of optimism surrounding the culture and young personnel being developed in Calgary, Coronato is the first of a handful of core pieces the Flames hoped to lock up long term.
The list of other top RFAs Conroy is working on extending includes Kevin Bahl, Connor Zary, Adam Klapka and Morgan Frost. Even Dustin Wolf, who has another year before he’s an RFA, is eligible to sign long-term after July 1.
“This is a great start,” said Conroy, before chuckling.
“Just a handful more to go.”
