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Flames Rumors

Calgary Flames Activate Yegor Sharangovich From IR

October 26, 2024 at 7:55 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

The red-hot Calgary Flames are getting a major offensive jolt off the injured reserve. The team announced they’ve activated Yegor Sharangovich from the injured reserve shortly before tonight’s matchup against the Winnipeg Jets.

Calgary didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move before the game tonight thanks to yesterday’s demotion of youngster Matthew Coronato. There are big expectations for Sharangovich in southern Alberta this year after a solid 31-goal, 59-point performance in the 2023-24 season.

Contractual expectations were added as well. The Flames signed Sharangovich to a five-year, $28.75MM extension this past offseason which begins at the end of his current deal marking a large commitment from an organization that was previously thought to be heavily retooling.

He hasn’t been able to build on any of those expectations yet this season. Sharangovich fell awkwardly into the boards of the Flames’ final preseason game, necessitating a move to the team’s injured reserve with a lower-body injury to start the year. Calgary’s offensive has been more than fine without Sharangovich up to this point. They’re off to a 5-1-1 record through seven games and sit ninth in the league in GF/G with 3.57.

He’s already reassumed his role on the team’s top line next to Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko. He’s been left off the scoresheet tonight so far after two periods against the Jets but has registered two hits on the night.

Calgary Flames| Transactions Yegor Sharangovich

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Bill Hay Passes Away At Age 88

October 26, 2024 at 5:51 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

Former Chicago Black Hawks player Bill ’Red’ Hay has passed away at the age of 88. Hay played through eight seasons in the NHL before pursuing a career as the Calgary Flames’ chief executive officer, then Hockey Canada’s President and chief operating officer. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2015 and honored in the ’Order of Hockey in Canada’ in 2021. He was born into a rich hockey family – the son of Charles Hay, who also served as Hockey Canada’s president at one point. Hay’s uncle Earl Miller was also a prolific hockey pro, playing six seasons in the IHL and five seasons in the NHL, including a tenure with the Black Hawks 20 years before his nephew would join the team.

Red Hay jumped into hockey prominence well ahead of his pro career. He played junior hockey with the Regina Pats in 1952 and 1954 – interrupted by a brief five games at the University of Saskatchewan. He recorded 78 points in 62 WJHL games with Regina and supported the team to a runner-up finish for the 1955 Memorial Cup, where his tournament-leading 23 points in 15 games weren’t enough to top a Toronto Marlboros roster led by Mike Nykoluk. With a hardy juniors career out of the way, Hay moved to Colorado College in 1955 and joined their hockey team in 1956. He’d proceed to have two legendary seasons with the Tigers program, totaling 153 points in 69 games with the school and leading them to an NCAA Tournament Championship in 1957. That stands as the most recent championship in Colorado College’s men’s hockey history, though the team continues to play at a top level today.

Hay would move to the senior WHL for a year with the Calgary Stampeders in 1958, then kick off a career with the NHL’s Black Hawks in 1959. He was an immediate sensation, recording 55 points in 70 games as a rookie – enough to beat out Murray Oliver, Ken Schinkel, and 19-year-old Stan Mikita for the 1960 Calder Trophy. Hay’s production grew through the next two seasons, even supporting Chicago to a Stanley Cup win in 1961. That season motivated Hay to a career-year in 1961-62 – when he tallied 63 points in 60 games – though he’d ultimately lose out in a return to the Cup Finals, getting trumped by a Maple Leafs program spearheaded by Frank Mahovlich and Dave Keon. Hay’s success continued beyond the disappointing end, and he’d ultimately total 386 points in 506 games, and eight seasons, with Chicago. His playing career came to a close in 1967, when a 31-year-old Hay was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 Expansion Draft – and opted to pursue a managerial career rather than play for his franchise’s new rival. He was named Calgary’s CEO and Hockey Canada’s president in the early-1990s, serving as an instrumental piece of the merge between Hockey Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association years later.

Hay was born into a successful hockey family and properly carried the torch through over 40 years in high-end roles. His influence carries on through the success of Colorado College, the Calgary Flames, and Hockey Canada as a whole. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to his friends, families, and all those impacted by his half-century career influencing top hockey.

Calgary Flames| Chicago Blackhawks| Hockey Hall Of Fame| NCAA| NHL| WHL Bill Hay

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames

October 26, 2024 at 2:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Flames.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $69,288,958 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Matthew Coronato (one year, $925K)
F Samuel Honzek (three years, $918K)
F Connor Zary (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses
Coronato: $850K
Honzek: $500K
Zary: $212.5K
Total: $1.5625MM

When he was with the Flames, Coronato’s role and production were limited and he was deployed the same way early on this year before being demoted earlier this week.  With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal is likely coming his way, one that shouldn’t cost much more than his current deal.  Meanwhile, his bonuses are unlikely to be met.  Honzek made the team out of camp, playing his first four NHL games but has already landed on IR.  It’s too early to forecast what his next deal will be while his bonuses aren’t likely to be reached unless there is a portion split off for games played.

Zary, meanwhile, is a bit more established after getting into 63 games last season where he averaged over half a point per game.  He’s at a better rate in the early going this year while ranking in the top five for ATOI.  Someone with this type of profile could land a longer-term agreement which would likely push past the $5MM mark.  The safer bet here would be a bridge deal, however, one starting with a three.  If he stays at his current pace, he should easily reach his one ‘A’ bonus.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Kevin Bahl ($1.05MM, RFA)
D Tyson Barrie ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Joel Hanley ($787.5K, UFA)
F Adam Klapka ($775K, RFA)
F Andrei Kuzmenko ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Anthony Mantha ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Brayden Pachal ($775K, UFA)
F Kevin Rooney ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Dan Vladar ($2.2MM, UFA)

Kuzmenko is one of the more intriguing potential unrestricted free agents this coming summer.  His first year was quite impressive with 39 goals and 74 points but there was still some uncertainty about his repeatability, leading to this contract.  That wound up being wise for Vancouver as Kuzmenko struggled last season to the point of being a cap dump to the Flames.  To his credit, he played better after the swap and is off to a good start this season.  If he gets back to that 30-goal mark and shows that last year was the outlier, he could still land a contract around this price point with a bit more term this time around heading into his age-29 year.  But if he struggles again, something closer to $4MM might be where he lands.

Mantha didn’t have a strong market this past summer, leading to this contract where he’s hoping to play a big role and show that he’s worth a pricey long-term agreement.  He’s off to a decent start early on and the perceived upside might still be there.  If he rebounds, something in the $5MM range could happen; otherwise, he could stay around this price tag.  Rooney has had a very limited role with the Flames over his first two-plus seasons with them.  Accordingly, he should be closer to the league minimum moving forward.  Klapka has seen fourth-line action in his limited NHL minutes.  Accordingly, while his qualifying offer is for just under $814K, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Calgary offer a deal for the minimum with a higher AHL salary next time.

Barrie had a rough year last season and despite a track record of being a solid offensive producer from the back end, his market basically cratered to the point of needing to take a PTO.  With a limited role early on, it’s hard to project much of a raise at this point unless he can secure a full-time spot.  Bahl is more of a throwback stay-at-home defender and the lack of offensive numbers will hurt him.  Still, he’s viewed as part of their longer-term plans so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a four or five-year deal come his way with a price tag starting with a three.

Hanley hasn’t played much in the NHL in recent years but he has also been a full-time NHL player since the 2020-21 campaign, albeit primarily in a seventh role.  That’s likely to keep him around the minimum next time out, probably again on a one-way price tag.  Pachal has also spent a lot of time in the sixth or seventh role and while he’s getting a chance to play more regularly in Calgary, it’s still on the third pairing.  Accordingly, it’s hard to see him landing much more than $1MM next summer.

Vladar struggled considerably last season before undergoing hip surgery.  If he were to repeat the same type of performance this year, he’d be looking at closer to half of this price point.  However, indications are that he’s now healthier than he was the last couple of years and is off to a good start in limited action.  Given the ups and downs, he’s probably not going to be able to command top dollar for a backup option but the two-year, $6.6MM deal Laurent Brossoit received from Chicago this summer might be doable if Vladar has a bounce-back year.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Rasmus Andersson ($4.55MM, UFA)
F Mikael Backlund ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Jake Bean ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan Lomberg ($2MM, UFA)
D Daniil Miromanov ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Martin Pospisil ($1MM, RFA)
G Dustin Wolf ($850K, RFA)

At 35, Backlund is nearing the end of his playing days but he still played top-line minutes last season and is averaging even more early on this year.  As long as he can hold down a regular spot in the top six and be his usually strong self defensively, Calgary will do well with this deal.  If that holds up through next season, another short-term contract in this price range could happen.

Lomberg was brought over from Florida in free agency on a deal that will be tough to justify from a value perspective as this contract for a player coming off a seven-point season isn’t much bang for the buck.  However, GM Craig Conroy identified that he wanted to add some grit and the fact it cost this much to get him suggests he had a relatively strong market.  Pospisil wound up on a bridge deal after only securing a regular NHL spot last season.  Even so, it’s a team-friendly agreement and if he shows he’s capable of more offensively, it will be a significant bargain.  If he can move into a top-six role – something they’ve already experimented with – he could triple this (or more) in 2026.

At the time Andersson’s deal was signed, it looked a bit risky.  He hadn’t recorded more than 22 points in a season and had yet to average 20 minutes a game.  However, it has worked out arguably better than Calgary could have hoped for.  His offensive production has improved considerably, topped by a 50-point effort in 2021-22.  He has become an all-situations player who has played on the top pairing for the last few years.  That alone will help give him a very strong market in free agency before even considering the fact he’s a right-shot player, the side that is always in premium demand.  A max-term deal with an AAV starting with a seven looks like a given at this point, if not more.

Bean came to his hometown team after being non-tendered by Columbus, taking a pay cut in the process to do so.  Once touted as a high-end prospect, he has settled in more as a depth defender to this point in his career.  This price tag for a regular on the third pairing is manageable but he’ll need to find a way to at least get into a number five slot if he wants to beat $2MM again next time out.  Miromanov was acquired and quickly extended last season, giving him some security and Calgary a low-cost two-year look at a player who had shown flashes of upside in his limited action with Vegas.  At this point, establishing himself as a full-timer is the first goal, one that would allow him to stay around this price tag.  If he works his way into a fourth or fifth role between now and then, doubling this (or a bit more) could be doable.

Wolf already looks like quite a bargain given some of the other contracts promising but unproven goalies have signed recently (with an AAV higher than Wolf’s total contract value).  He’s their goalie of the future and if he locks down the starting role by then, his next deal should vault past the $5MM mark at a minimum.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Blake Coleman ($4.9MM, UFA)

Coleman had a breakout performance last season, notching 30 goals while passing the 40-point mark for the first time of his career.  From a value perspective, this price tag would be a bargain if he could maintain that type of output.  Of course, his point total is usually in the 30s and at that level, this is an above-market contract.  That said, with the role he fills and Calgary’s cap space, it’s not an overpayment they’re probably too concerned about at this point.

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Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer

F Jonathan Huberdeau ($10.5MM through 2030-31)
F Nazem Kadri ($7MM through 2028-29)
F Yegor Sharangovich ($3.1MM in 2024-25, $5.75MM from 2025-26 through 2029-30)
D MacKenzie Weegar ($6.25MM through 2030-31)

When the Flames picked up Huberdeau in the Matthew Tkachuk trade, it’s fair to say that a bit of regression was expected after he put up 115 points.  But it wouldn’t be fair to say that having his point total cut by more than half was the expectation.  After being a premier playmaker at times in Florida, he hasn’t found his footing in Calgary though he’s off to a better start this season.  At a minimum, he needs to get back to a top-line level of production.  From there, he needs to get to the upper echelon of scorers to provide a reasonable return on his deal.  In the meantime, his contract now stands as one of the worst in the NHL from a value perspective.

Kadri hasn’t been able to get back to the same level of production he had in his final year with Colorado which helped earn him this contract.  He did, however, record the second-highest point total of his career last season and is still logging top-line minutes.  In the short term, he should provide fair value on this deal but that’s unlikely to be the case for the final couple of years when he’s in his late-30s.  Sharangovich had a great first season with Calgary, blowing past his career highs offensively to help earn his extension.  He played an all-situations role in the top six last season and as long as he continues to do so and produces at a similar level to the 31 goals and 59 points he had a year ago, they should get a good return on his new deal and a great return on his current expiring pact.

Weegar was the other key piece in the Tkachuk-Huberdeau swap.  His first season saw him take a step back but last year, he had the best year of his career while notching 20 goals and 32 assists.  Given the demand for a right-shot defender, getting a top-pairing one locked up at this price tag is good value for Calgary and while he might have to play a lesser role by its conclusion, they should benefit from it being a below-market contract for most of the deal.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

F Jacob Markstrom ($1.875MM through 2025-26)

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Wolf
Worst Value: Huberdeau

Looking Ahead

With the Flames operating not too far above the cap floor for this season, cap space won’t be an issue for them for a while.  They have ample room to fill the center spot they’re looking to add or to take on money to help facilitate a trade.  If they wind up sellers, the $65MM floor could come into play which will be something to keep an eye on.

Calgary is presently near the beginning of a rebuilding cycle and there aren’t any big-ticket contracts on the immediate horizon with Kuzmenko being the most prominent one to deal with next summer while Andersson and Wolf will be in line for big raises in 2026.  Even with that, they’re in very good shape from a salary cap perspective and should be for the foreseeable future.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Calgary Flames| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Salary Cap Deep Dive 2024

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Calgary Flames Reassign Matthew Coronato

October 25, 2024 at 4:05 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

The Calgary Flames are reducing their roster to 22 players, with a pair of forwards eligible to be activated off the team’s injured reserve. The organization announced they’ve reassigned forward Matthew Coronato to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

Yegor Sharangovich and Samuel Honzek are expected back relatively shortly with the latter likely headed to AHL Calgary upon activation. Sharangovich has yet to play a game for the Flames this season but should immediately be relied upon as one of the team’s best offensive weapons. He’s coming off a debut season in Calgary scoring 31 goals and 59 points in 82 contests.

Honzek surprisingly made the Flames’ roster out of training camp but doesn’t have a comfortable spot in the lineup, especially with Sharangovich expected back. The 19-year-old rookie skated in four games for Calgary before succumbing to an upper-body injury and failed to put himself on the scoresheet while averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game.

Coronato found himself in a similar situation. As the former 13th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, Coronato brought a level of skill to his game that doesn’t typically mix well in any team’s bottom six. He has brought up his level of physicality to start the campaign with 10 hits in five games but doesn’t carry the proper level of defensive awareness required for regular minutes on the third or fourth line.

Coronato could find himself back in the NHL on a more consistent basis depending on Calgary’s contention status during the trade deadline season. The Flames have a pair of potential trade chips in Anthony Mantha and Andrei Kuzmenko which could open up the necessary roster spot for Coronato should a trade happen. He’s coming off a solid rookie season with the Wranglers last year scoring 15 goals and 42 points in 41 contests.

Calgary Flames| Transactions Matthew Coronato

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Rooney Activated Off IR

October 24, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

  • Calgary has activated forward Kevin Rooney off injured reserve, relays Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). The 31-year-old suffered a concussion in the opening period of their season opener earlier this month.  Rooney is in his third season carrying a $1.3MM price tag but has five points in 51 games in a Flames uniform.  Their roster is now at the maximum of 23 so roster moves will be needed to activate Yegor Sharangovich and Samuel Honzek off injured reserve, both of whom skated today.

Calgary Flames| Edmonton Oilers| Montreal Canadiens| Snapshots| Winnipeg Jets Evander Kane| Kevin Rooney| Ville Heinola

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Honzek Transferred To Injured Reserve

October 19, 2024 at 2:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

  • The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Calgary Flames| Florida Panthers| Snapshots| Transactions| Vancouver Canucks| Waivers Aleksander Barkov| Dakota Joshua| Frank Vatrano| Jansen Harkins| Jonah Gadjovich| Matthew Tkachuk| Samuel Honzek| Tomas Nosek

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Flames Looking To Add Center Depth

October 18, 2024 at 1:18 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 8 Comments

The Flames’ 4-0-0 start to the 2024-25 season is unexpected, to say the least. After finishing 24th in the NHL last year, many expect them (and still do) to drop further down the standings now that they’ve firmly cemented themselves in teardown mode, trading away a pair of key pieces in Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markström this past summer.

But that hot start has created a renewed sense of optimism in Calgary for a few reasons. One is Jonathan Huberdeau, who’s in the second year of an eight-year, $84MM extension that looked like an albatross after he failed to hit 20 goals or 60 points in each of his first two seasons with the Flames. He’s on fire out of the gate, recording three goals and three assists for six points in four appearances and is averaging 18:40 per game, his heaviest usage since arriving in Calgary.

The other is the play of 23-year-old Dustin Wolf. He’s arguably the sport’s top goaltending prospect, and he was always going to be the biggest storyline in Calgary this season. While he’s split starts evenly with Daniel Vladař thus far, he’s been the far superior option with a .944 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and 3.5 GSAA.

Their performances and flawless record so far have Flames general manager Craig Conroy considering restocking the cupboard instead of continuing to sell off pieces in a retool. A middle-six center is high on the list of desires, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said Thursday.

There’s not usually much trade activity to start a season, but I’m told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a center to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six, preferably someone that fits their age scheme… and a right-shooting center, at that. 

The Flames have multiple injuries up front at the moment, but only one plays center: depth piece Kevin Rooney. Captain Mikael Backlund and sophomore Martin Pospisil have anchored Calgary’s second and third lines to start the year behind Nazem Kadri on line one. Veteran AHLer Justin Kirkland has done well filling in for Rooney in fourth-line duties since he landed on IR last week.

While Backlund is still an excellent, defensively responsible pivot and more than capable of centering a second line, his offensive numbers dipped sharply to just 39 points in 82 games last year. For a 35-year-old, there isn’t much hope for a rebound. Pospisil is a natural center with a goal and four assists thus far, but he struggles to win draws with just a 44.1% career win rate through 67 NHL appearances. He was primarily utilized on the wing last season and would likely shift back there should Conroy accomplish his goal.

But while Calgary may be signaling the end of their brief retool on the backs of a resurgent Huberdeau and strong showings from youngsters like Pospisil, Wolf, and Connor Zary, they haven’t done nearly enough to put themselves firmly in buyer territory. That means Conroy pursuing the usual crop of pending UFA pivots who are likely to be trade deadline rentals doesn’t make much sense – nor would a pending UFA fit the “age scheme” Seravalli referred to.

That means he’s likely willing to pay a bit more for a younger center with term (or at least a few years of team control), assumingly one with more offensive upside than either Backlund or Pospisil project to offer at this stage. Could that come from a divisional rival like the Ducks, who still have Trevor Zegras to offer after he was embroiled in trade rumors for most of the summer? He’s a left-shot, but at 23 years old, he fits Calgary’s likely timeline for a return to playoff contention. After dealing with injuries for much of last season, he has two points through three games this year and is under contract through next season at a $5.75MM cap hit.

Over in the East, there’s a more expensive and, at this stage, riskier option likely available, but he checks all of Conroy’s reported boxes as a right shot. Like Zegras, checking in at 23 is Sabres pivot Dylan Cozens, who’s struggled to do much of anything in 2024-25. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has just one assist and a -3 rating in six appearances under head coach Lindy Ruff.

Cozens signed a seven-year, $49.7MM extension midway through a breakout 2022-23 campaign that saw him record 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 81 games, finishing fifth on Buffalo in scoring. But last season, the first one covered by that extension, he regressed to 18 goals and 47 points in 79 games. If the start of his season is any indication, he may see his total output drop by another magnitude in 2024-25.

There’s legitimate upside, but a $7.1MM cap hit through the end of the decade is an incredibly risky bet for a team that’s arguably making a snap judgment about their future over a week-and-a-half hot stretch. Realistically, things still need to play out until Conroy makes notable swaps.

Calgary Flames| Newsstand

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Samuel Honzek Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

October 17, 2024 at 12:05 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Flames rookie Samuel Honzek will miss significant time after being listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced. He likely sustained it on his last shift of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Blackhawks, during which he took a heavy hit from Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy with less than three minutes left on the clock.

The Flames haven’t yet placed Honzek on injured reserve, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they do so in the coming days. They’re down to 12 healthy forwards without him and don’t have a roster spot open for a recall.

Honzek, 19, already has a lengthy recent injury history. An abdominal injury he sustained during the preseason with Calgary in 2023 delayed his season debut with WHL Vancouver until December, while another one suffered while playing at the 2023 World Juniors cut short his draft year. That didn’t stop Calgary from selecting the 6’4″ Slovak forward with the No. 16 pick, though.

Given that injury history, it’s fair to assume the Flames will be extremely cautious with his return. He’s in his first full season of pro hockey after spending the last two seasons in major junior play and was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong exhibition performance. The left-winger has yet to make much of an impact for the undefeated Flames, though, going without a point and averaging 12:47 through his first four NHL contests.

Honzek was logging time at even strength on Calgary’s top line alongside Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, so they’ll have to find a replacement in the interim. Their whole stable of current right-wingers – Kuzmenko, Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, and Matthew Coronato – all have experience playing the left side and could flip over. 6’8″ right-winger Adam Klapka, who played in Calgary’s first two games but was scratched for the last two, will likely re-enter the lineup against the Kraken on Saturday if the Flames don’t make a corresponding transaction.

Calgary Flames| Injury Samuel Honzek

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Golden Knights Claim Raphael Lavoie, Cole Schwindt

October 11, 2024 at 1:05 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 13 Comments

10/11: The Vegas Golden Knights have reclaimed Lavoie from Edmonton, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, continuing the young forward’s bouncing between Edmonton and Vegas. He has now been waived and claimed by both teams and will be eligible to be assigned to Vegas’ minor leagues should no other team place a claim.

10/7: The Oilers and Flames have each lost a forward to the Golden Knights on waivers. Raphael Lavoie is heading from Edmonton to Vegas, while the Knights also claimed Cole Schwindt from Calgary, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Both enter a competition with recent veteran pickup Tanner Pearson to begin the season as Vegas’ 11th and 12th forwards. That’s assuming center William Karlsson is sidelined for the season opener against the Avs on Wednesday with the undisclosed injury that’s kept him out of action for over a week. They’re also significant reinforcements after Vegas lost Zach Aston-Reese on waivers to the Blue Jackets today.

Lavoie is an intriguing pickup. The 24-year-old has just seven games under his belt without a major league point, all coming last season. But Edmonton’s second-round pick in 2019 has turned into a standout offensive forward at the AHL level and has a 6’4″, 216-lb frame. He put up 28 goals and 22 assists for 50 points in 68 games last season with AHL Bakersfield, all career highs.

Schwindt has the same exact career NHL offensive stat line – no points in seven combined games for the Flames and Panthers, but he has a -5 rating compared to Lavoie’s -2. All in all, they’re players at very similar stages of their careers. Schwindt is a tad younger – he’s still 23, but was also a member of the 2019 draft class. Sent from Florida to Calgary in the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, he doesn’t have as much offensive success as Lavoie at the AHL level. He posted 36 points in 66 games for the Calgary Wranglers last year, which was a career-high.

Only one will draw in against Colorado if Karlsson isn’t ready to play. With their lack of NHL experience, it’s anybody’s guess. Both have experience suiting up at right wing and center.

After the claims, the Golden Knights have $652K in projected cap space, per PuckPedia. They need to clear a roster spot, perhaps by placing Karlsson on injured reserve.

Calgary Flames| Edmonton Oilers| Transactions| Vegas Golden Knights| Waivers Cole Schwindt| Raphael Lavoie

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Flames Recall Justin Kirkland, Place Kevin Rooney On IR

October 11, 2024 at 11:39 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Flames announced today they’d recalled center/left wing Justin Kirkland from AHL Calgary. He could make his season debut tomorrow against the Flyers. In a corresponding move, fellow center Kevin Rooney was placed on injured reserve, opening up the necessary spot on the 23-man roster to recall Kirkland, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.

Kirkland, 28, has never played an NHL game for the Flames but is quite familiar with the organization. The Predators selected him in the third round of the 2014 draft, but he was non-tendered in 2019 and landed with the Flames as a free agent. He spent the next three seasons playing for their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat, scoring 33 goals and 50 assists for 83 points in 135 games. Only after leaving the Calgary organization would Kirkland make his NHL debut, skating in nine games for the Coyotes and Ducks over the past two seasons. He posted a combined -3 rating and six shots on goal but is still looking for his first NHL point.

The lanky 6’3″ forward is a playmaker, first and foremost. He spent last year in Arizona, primarily with their AHL affiliate in Tucson. He posted eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points in 43 games for the Roadrunners, working out to the second-highest per-game production of his AHL career. His best offensive season came back in Stockton in 2021-22 when he placed fourth on the team with 25 goals and 48 points in 66 games.

A UFA last summer, Kirkland returned to Calgary on a two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $200K in the minors. He can spend up to 30 days on the NHL roster or play 10 games before he needs waivers to return to the Wranglers.

Rooney, 31, was in the lineup for Wednesday’s season opener against the Canucks but left the game in the first period after taking a heavy hit from Vancouver center J.T. Miller. He was listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury yesterday. The IR placement means he’ll miss seven days retroactive to the date of the injury, so he’s automatically been ruled out of their next three games. The soonest he’s eligible to return is Oct. 18 against the Kraken.

Rooney made 33 appearances last season after shoulder surgery delayed his debut until after the New Year. The fourth-line checker averaged 11:13 per game, posting three goals and an assist while laying 65 hits. They were all clean, as he only received one minor penalty all season. He’s logged time for the Wranglers in the past two seasons and could be a candidate to land on waivers if there isn’t a clear spot for him in the lineup upon his return.

Calgary Flames| Injury| Transactions Justin Kirkland| Kevin Rooney

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