West Notes: Flames, Boucher, Little

Some teams are using this pause in the schedule to take care of some contracts but the Flames won’t be among those.  After speaking with GM Brad Treliving, TSN’s Jermain Franklin reports (video link) that Calgary won’t be making any decisions with regards on their pending unrestricted free agents (highlighted by defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic) as well as whether or not to remove the interim tag from Geoff Ward until the league presents a clear path on when and how the season will resume.  At this stage, it’s hard to see a concrete timeline put in place anytime soon so this may linger for a while yet.

More from the Western Conference:

• From the same video, Franklin notes that Flames goalie David Rittich was dealing with an elbow injury during the second half of the season and had treatment on it before returning home. It’s reasonable to suggest that the issue affected his performance as from February 1st to the suspension of the schedule, he had just a .885 SV% in 11 games after posting a .913 mark before that point.
• Several European teams have expressed an interest in signing Canucks pending restricted free agent Reid Boucher, reports TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal (Twitter link). However, at this time, the winger intends to remain in North America.  Boucher spent the entire season with AHL Utica and led the Comets in scoring with 33 goals and 34 assists in 53 games.  His 67 points were second to only Sam Anas (Minnesota) in the league while his 1.26 point per game led all AHL players.
• Jets center Bryan Little could return if play resumes on the 2019-20 season, notes NHL.com’s Tim Campbell. He was ruled out for the rest of the year back in February as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a perforated eardrum but with the extended time off, he now could be available to return.  The veteran would certainly be a welcome addition to Winnipeg’s lineup and could give them a boost offensively with them in a tight battle for a playoff spot.  He has five points in seven games this season and came into the year having surpassed the 40-point mark in six straight seasons.