Flames sign star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to multiyear deal

Flames ink Bouwmeester

CALGARY, Alberta — Jay Bouwmeester was ready to be a piece of the Calgary Flames’ puzzle instead of carrying the load for another team.

The 25-year-old from Edmonton was the biggest prize in the free-agent defensemen market and he didn’t even wait for the market to open Wednesday.

Bouwmeester agreed to a five-year, $33 million deal with the Flames on Tuesday. He didn’t even entertain any other offers.

“It just got to the point where I was totally comfortable with things here,” Bouwmeester said Wednesday. “It probably wouldn’t have really mattered what else was out there. I liked the situation. I can’t really explain it. It’s just one of those things. You just kind of know.”

The Flames’ personnel, particularly on the blue line, drew Bouwmeester to Calgary because he sees himself as a cog in the wheel of a high-end defense that includes Robyn Regehr, Dion Phaneuf and Cory Sarich.

“That’s what was one of the things that was real attractive here,” Bouwmeester said. “You look at the solid group of guys they already have. Robyn and Dion, and not just those two. Cory Sarich, I’ve played against him a long time. It seemed like it would be an easy place to slide in and hopefully have some success.”

Flames GM Darryl Sutter dealt Jordan Leopold and a draft pick to Florida at the NHL draft last weekend to get Bouwmeester’s rights and a head start on the competition to sign him. Sutter met with Bouwmeester at his Edmonton home Monday.

“We had no intention of waiting for today,” Sutter said. “We prioritized the position and the player. We talked a lot of different ideas for him in terms of longer, shorter (contracts), but what it always kept coming back to was this was the market he wanted to play in.”

Sutter later announced the signing of forward Fredrik Sjostrom.

“Freddie is a reliable two-way player,” Sutter said. “We are happy to add him to our group as we identify him as a player who plays our style of game.”

Sutter continued with the youth movement on the back end by signing Adam Pardy, another 25-year-old. He had a goal and nine assists in 60 games as a rookie last season.

Defenseman Adrian Aucoin, Anders Eriksson, Rhet Warrener, forwards Todd Bertuzzi, Mike Cammalleri, Carsen Germyn and enforcer Andre Roy all became unrestricted free agents Wednesday. Sutter didn’t intend to re-sign them.

“Today no. We’re not walking away on anybody, but at the same time the philosophy doesn’t change,” Sutter said. “It’s about young players.”

Bouwmeester played a full 82 games for the Florida Panthers the last four seasons, although he never played a postseason game during his six-season tenure there.

He’s young, durable and one of the best puck movers in the league on defense. But it’s his play without the puck that made him a hot commodity for Calgary.

Sutter bired brother Brent as the club’s coach earlier this month with a view to restoring the defensive play that dropped to 23rd in the NHL this past season after sitting at No. 1 during the 2005-06 season.

Bouwmeester, who played for Canada at the 2006 Olympics, is a part of that vision. The 6-foot-4, 214-pounder had 15 goals and 27 assists for Florida last season and his career totals there are 53 goals and 150 assists in 471 games.

“You can put him in any situation, power play, penalty kill, five on five, four on four and because he’s such a smart player and such a great skater, he brings a lot of things to the table,” Brent Sutter said. “He has a great understanding of how to play when the team doesn’t have the puck and how to pay attention to detail.”