Some intriguing news out of Calgary today as the Flames have agreed on a one-year, $3.8 million deal with KHL standout Roman Cervenka.
“Roman is a highly skilled player with great hands, excellent vision and the ability to score goals at an elite level of play,” said GM Jay Feaster. “Our scouts in Europe identified him as someone who could slot into our top six forward group and play in the NHL as a top two line centre.”
Cervenka, 26, has starred with Omsk Avangard of the KHL over the last two years. He was named an All-Star, led the KHL in goalscoring and led the recently-finished playoffs in points (22 in 20 games).
He also represented the Czech Republic at the 2010 Winter Olympics and was Jaromir Jagr’s linemate during Jagr’s final year with Omsk.
"[Flames assistant GM] John Weisbrod went to see him play early in the KHL Playoffs and came away confirming everything we had heard from our scouts in Europe,” Feaster continued. “We made an aggressive pitch to convince him that Calgary was the perfect place for him to start his NHL career, and we are extremely pleased Roman agreed.”
The Cervenka signing could spell the end of Olli Jokinen’s time in Calgary. The 33-year-old Finn is an unrestricted free agent and faded badly down the stretch, posting a minus-14 rating while scoring just two goals with no assists.