Flames have an incentive to get Connor Zary signed soon

Pals, the National Hockey League’s collective bargaining agreement has a lot of weird twists, turns and quirks. Within one of those quirks lies a pretty big age-related incentive for the Calgary Flames to get 2020 first round selection Connor Zary signed before the end of 2020.

The quirk lies within one of the clauses governing entry-level contracts that’s known as “the slide rule.”

There’s two CBA sections that are key here. Article 9.2 defines the age of players as it relates to their entry-level signings:

As used in this Article, “age,” including “First SPC Signing Age,” means a Player’s age on September 15 of the calendar year in which he signs an SPC, regardless of his actual age on the…