Next season, the Calgary Flames could look quite a bit different, by necessity.

Sure, they have some $27.1-million to spend against the cap, but they have only 12 players under contract, and some of their pending free agents will be, shall we say, big-ticket items.

Let’s start with the obvious: Two-thirds of one of the best lines in hockey this season is up for new deals. Johnny Gaudreau is an unrestricted free agent, after tying for second in the league in scoring with 115 points. Matthew Tkachuk is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent who’s a year away from UFA status, and his qualifying offer is $9-million. He was seventh in the league in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) this year, largely because he’s an excellent 200-foot forward.

If the Flames have all that cash to spend, and want