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Calgary Flames Recall Dustin Wolf

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With regular starting netminder, Jacob Markstrom, out for the next few days with a lower-body injury, the Calgary Flames have recalled top goalie prospect Dustin Wolf to fill the crease void. This will mark the third call-up for Wolf this season, with the other two coming as emergency loans in early November and December, respectively.

For Wolf, it is hard to name a more anticipated goalie prospect throughout the league. Last season playing for the Flames AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, Wolf rather famously produced a 42-10-2 record in 55 games, maintaining a .932 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average. His production over the course of last season was good enough to earn him the Les Cunningham Award, Aldege Bastien Memorial Award, Harry Holmes Memorial Award, President’s Award, and First Team All-Star honors.

Although his numbers are technically down this year in the AHL, he is once again getting off to a tremendous start. In 23 games played for the Wranglers, Wolf is once again carrying a solid 16-6-1 record, while carrying a .929 SV% and 2.27 GAA. Throughout his previous two call-ups to the Flames, Wolf has managed to play in five games, touting a 1-2-1 record with a .893 SV% and 3.46 GAA.

In recent weeks, there have been conflicting reports throughout the NHL that Calgary may entertain offers for Markstrom at this year’s trade deadline, although the proposed deal would require a large amount of assets headed back to the Flames. At any rate, whether it be by moving out Markstrom for a massive return, or finding a landing spot for backup goalie, Daniel Vladar, the sense around Calgary is that the Flames will need to make a move in the near future to clear out a full-time role for Wolf at the NHL level.

Pacific Notes: Markstrom, Kuznetsov, Golden Knights

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With trade season now in full swing, one member of the Calgary Flames who has found his name mentioned in several rumors is goaltender Jacob Markstrom. As the Flames enter a transitionary period in their organization, and with goalie prospect Dustin Wolf ready to make the jump to the NHL, the logic behind moving Markstrom has never been more clear for Calgary.

However, in an article by James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now, he includes a quote from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman pouring cold water on the idea of the Flames moving Markstrom as he says, “From what I understand, Calgary has a very high bar here in terms of they’re not going to bother Markstrom with just anything. It would have to be something massive for them or somewhere they absolutely believe Markstrom would want to go before they would even consider going to him. I think that’s where things stand with Markstrom, the Flames, and anything right now”.

Assuming that Friedman is accurate, Calgary’s asking price for Markstrom may push too many teams away, although something could come together over the offseason. With teams such as the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils all looking to upgrade their situation in the crease, it would be incredibly rare for a team to part with a substantial amount of assets during the regular season.

Other notes:

  • Staying in Calgary, the Flames announced earlier today that they have sent down defenseman Yan Kuznetsov to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Kuznetsov was recalled for the second time this year on January 9th and would make his NHL debut the same day against the Ottawa Senators. Skating in just under 12 minutes of the game against Ottawa, Kuznetsov was held scoreless in his debut, as he put two shots on the net and also blocked one.
  • After sending him down earlier this morning to make way for Brendan Brisson, the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Byron Froese on an emergency basis due to the possibility of Chandler Stephenson missing time with an illness (X Link). Producing a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 games, the Golden Knights’ depth continues to be tested, as more and more of their typical players continue to miss games for the team.
  • In more news coming from Vegas, both Adin Hill and Jiri Patera are not ready to return to the team, although both goaltenders are currently skating (X Link). Relying on goaltender Logan Thompson heavily over the last few weeks, the Golden Knights are now relying on their fourth-string goaltender to serve in the backup role, as 23-year-old, Isaiah Saville was recalled yesterday on an emergency basis.

Oliver Kylington Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Basis

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01/10/24: The Flames have issued a positive update on Kylington’s progress. He’s “trending towards playing” in the Wranglers’ game tomorrow night against the Ontario Reign. Should he end up playing, it will be Kylington’s first game action since May 2022.

01/04/24: The Calgary Flames have announced that defenseman Oliver Kylington has been sent to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the purpose of a conditioning assignment.

Following that announcement, the Flames issued a statement from Kylington which reads as follows:

I feel I’m in a good place with my mental health and ready to take another step forward. Returning to Calgary has been the right decision. I’ve felt tremendous commitment from Flames ownership, management, and my teammates, and I am appreciative of the support and resources made available to me. I also thank my family, friends, and the fans for their encouragement. I’m looking forward to getting on the ice in a team environment and back to my everyday life. I have missed it very much.

Kylington has not played since 2021-22, as he missed all of last season and so far all of 2023-24 for personal reasons. In early December, Flames head coach Ryan Huska gave an update on Kylington’s status, communicating that the Swedish blueliner was still a long way away from returning.

Now, according to today’s announcement, it appears Kylington is now far closer to a return to the NHL than it seemed a little more than a month ago. Kylington’s conditioning stint can last up to six days, or three games, whichever period is longer, although the Flames can request an extension of two games if they decide that would be necessary for Kylington’s fitness to play in the NHL.

Kylington, a pending UFA, has a $2.5MM cap hit that is currently placed on LTIR. The Flames would need to activate him off of that last to get him back onto their roster, though that shouldn’t be a major issue as CapFriendly currently projects them to have more than enough cap space to do so. The team also currently has an open roster spot on its 23-man roster.

As for where Kylington could slot in once he returns to the Flames’ lineup, it’s not immediately clear whether he’d immediately return to playing alongside veteran Chris Tanev. Tanev is currently playing next to Noah Hanifin, so it could be that Kylington takes Jordan Oesterle’s spot alongside MacKenzie Weegar, or Dennis Gilbert’s spot next to Rasmus Andersson.

In any case, this development is an extremely positive one for the Flames. The left side of their defense is notably thinner than their ironclad right side, so adding a player who scored 31 points in 73 games during his last NHL season will certainly help matters there.

Flames GM Craig Conroy Comments On Deadline Plans

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It’s been another disappointing season for the Flames, who sit 12th in the Western Conference with a .500 record and are down to a 19% chance of making the playoffs, per Hockey Reference. Early-season optimism around extending their many pending unrestricted free agents has now turned into trade discussions for most, already moving fan-favorite blueliner Nikita Zadorov out the door to the Canucks earlier this season.

The team has an extremely well-rounded offense with 11 players scoring over 20 points thus far, but they haven’t received top-end production from the higher-ups in their lineup. Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri currently hold a tie for the team lead in points with 32, and their 30th-ranked power play certainly isn’t helping them in the goal-scoring department. They’ve slipped significantly in terms of limiting quality scoring chances against under first-year head coach Ryan Huska, too, leading to an uncharacteristically low 23rd-place defense despite a bounce-back year from starter Jacob Markström.

On track to miss the postseason for the second straight season in the post-Johnny Gaudreau/Matthew Tkachuk era, it’s no surprise multiple Flames have found themselves in trade rumors regardless of their contract status. GM Craig Conroy commented on what’s unfolded thus far and what we can expect to see from the Flames in the coming months in an interview with The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek published this morning. Asked about whether the Flames would go full scorched-earth at the trade deadline and ship out multiple high-caliber names without immediate replacements, the first-year manager expressed hesitancy.

“There is a balance between short- and long-term,” said Conroy. “You don’t know what you’re going to get for certain assets that you have — or what’s to come. Or maybe somebody here wants to re-sign with you. All those things are still out there… You want to get your young guys in, but you want to put them in an environment with some veteran guys that can show them how the NHL works. Because there’s going to be ups and downs with the (Connor) Zarys, the (Martin) Pospisils and the Dustin Wolfs.”

Reading between the lines, it’s clear Conroy isn’t chomping at the bit to give the keys to the team’s rookies just yet. Zary, namely, has had quite an impressive stint since being recalled from the AHL early in the season, posting nine goals and 21 points in 31 games while assuming top-six minutes and tying for fourth on the team in goals. But this is the 22-year-old’s first run in the NHL, and it’s been an injury-plagued and inconsistent development path for the 2020 24th overall pick. Conroy reiterated his desire to not let major assets walk for nothing, and players like top-line center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin will still likely find new homes by March 8, but his approach for the future allows the Flames to take money back in those deals in the form of serviceable veterans.

However, what Conroy’s retool plan means for Wolf is less clear. A couple of teams have called about Markström, per a report last night from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, but the Flames haven’t been shopping him. The 33-year-old has two seasons remaining after this with a $6MM cap hit and a no-movement clause, meaning whether a deal comes to fruition is entirely out of Conroy’s control. Despite his menial 11-11-2 record, Markström’s advanced numbers are squarely back in the above-average territory this season with a .908 SV% and 10.3 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. It’s not the form he displayed en route to his second-place Vezina Trophy finish in 2021-22, but his GSAx figure ranks ninth in the NHL at the time of writing. If the Flames still have the intention to try and return to the playoffs in the next few seasons with some personnel changes, it doesn’t make much sense to trade away a cost-effective top-ten goalie.

Wolf’s .930 SV% and four shutouts in 21 games with AHL Calgary this season speaks for itself, though, even if his short time in the NHL this year (five games played, 1-2-1 record, .893 SV%) wasn’t all that promising. He’s still just 22 years old and deserves a spot on the roster sooner rather than later. It would surprise no one to see Conroy aggressively step up efforts to move backup netminder Daniel Vladar, who’s been one of the worst in the league this season with a .883 SV% but an inexplicably higher points percentage than Markström with a 6-5-2 record in 13 appearances.

There’s plenty of time yet for the Flames, though, who have just under two months until the deadline. If they do intend on being active players, which seems like an accurate assessment by all accounts, Conroy needs the runway to form what will likely be multiple financially complex deals.

Flames Have Received Trade Interest In Jacob Markstrom

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With several teams looking for help on the goalie market, we’ve seen several veterans speculated as possible fits, including John Gibson, Jake Allen, and Kaapo Kahkonen, among others.  But some teams appear to be aiming higher as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that at least two teams have called the Flames about the potential availability of veteran netminder Jacob Markstrom.

The 33-year-old is in his fourth season with Calgary after signing with them as an unrestricted free agent back in 2020.  Since then, his performance has run somewhat hot and cold with years of being in the top ten statistically and one – last season – where he had a save percentage well below the league average, checking in at just .892.

This season, Markstrom has been fairly inconsistent as well but a good showing lately has elevated his season numbers to a GAA of 2.67 and a save percentage of .908, numbers that are a considerable improvement over a year ago.  However, the Flames find themselves on the outside looking in at a playoff spot heading into tonight’s action, fueling speculation that GM Craig Conroy could be one of the more prominent sellers over the next couple of months.

That said, many of the speculative moves Calgary could make revolve around veterans on expiring contracts which is not the case with Markstrom.  He has two more seasons left after this one at a $6MM price tag, one that wouldn’t be the easiest for many playoff-bound teams to fit in on their books.  While retention is possible, multi-year retention doesn’t happen too often and there’s no guarantee that Conroy would be open to the idea.  It’s also worth noting that Markstrom has a full no-move clause.

Calgary has top prospect Dustin Wolf biding his time in the minors with the Wranglers and he is clearly their goalie of the future.  While many have wondered if Daniel Vladar would be the one to move to make room for Wolf on the roster, it’s also possible that the Flames take the bigger step and deal their current starter.  If Conroy decides to make Markstrom available, it’s quite likely that a few more teams will be looking to inquire about the cost over the coming weeks.

Calgary Flames Kevin Rooney Clears Waivers

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1/9: Rooney has cleared waivers and is awaiting assignment.

1/8: The Calgary Flames have placed forward Kevin Rooney on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move is a precursor to Rooney getting activated off of long-term injured reserve, as should he clear waivers the Flames would be able to activate him and assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

In addition to this move, Sportsnet 960’s Patt Steinberg reports that forward Jakob Pelletier has been activated off of season-opening injured reserve and been assigned to the Wranglers. Pelletier is recovering from shoulder surgery, and now he can get into some AHL practices as part of that recovery. Long-term, the expectation is likely that Pelletier will return to the NHL level as that is where he scored seven points in 24 games last season.

As for Rooney, the six-foot-two veteran pivot was originally signed by the Flames to a $1.3MM AAV contract in order to serve as their fourth-line center. He’d filled that role admirably for the New York Rangers for the prior two seasons, and was fresh off of a run with the club to the Eastern Conference Final.

Rooney struggled in Calgary, and only played in 17 NHL games last season compared to 51 in the AHL. Now likely to be a Wrangler once again, the Flames will be tagged with $150k against the cap from Rooney’s deal as $1.15MM of the full $1.3MM total is considered “buried” when Rooney is on the AHL roster.

Calgary Flames Bring Yan Kuznetsov Back Up

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1/9: The Calgary Flames brought Kuznetsov back to the NHL on Tuesday, after sending him down on Monday.

1/8: The Calgary Flames have reassigned defenseman Yan Kuznetsov back to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. This move comes just a few short days after Kuznetsov was first recalled from the AHL, and places him back with their top developmental affiliate before he’s had the chance to make his NHL debut.

The 21-year-old served as a spare blueliner for the Flames during their two road losses against the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks. There was some hope that the big 2020 second-round pick might draw into the Flames’ lineup in place of a player such as Jordan Oesterle, but that did not end up being the case.

Blueliner Dennis Gilbert was on the receiving end of a scary hit against the Nashville Predators, and although he has not played since he appears to not be in line to miss significant time. As a result, Kuznetsov is no longer needed on the Flames’ roster as a spare defenseman. And with Oliver Kylington working his way back to full NHL readiness, that’s another factor contributing to the general sense that Kuznetsov doesn’t quite have a place in the NHL with the Flames just yet.

That’s not to say he won’t have his place there relatively soon, of course. The big defenseman was solid in his first AHL campaign last year and has been making progress this season as well. Ilya Solovyov might be ahead of him on the depth chart at the current moment, as he’s already played in six NHL games, but Kuznetsov isn’t far off and this original recall illustrated that.

Snapshots: Flames, Three Stars, Lightning

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The Fourth Period is reporting that the Calgary Flames picked up trade talks with several teams last week as they look to potentially move on from several pending unrestricted free agents. The Fourth Period cited sources saying that the New Jersey Devils were one of the teams they talked to and even linked the Devils to both Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev.

The Flames currently have a record of 15-16-5 through their first 36 games which puts them five points out of a playoff spot as they near the halfway point of the regular season. The team will have a big decision to make in the coming weeks as they also have center Elias Lindholm on an expiring contract, and he is reportedly looking for a deal in the range of $9MM annually.

The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta also believes that teams have expressed interest in Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, but it’s hard to believe Calgary would deal him given that he is in the first year of an eight-year contract and has a full no-trade clause.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The NHL has announced its Three Stars of the Month, with Nathan MacKinnon taking First Star, Auston Matthews winning Second Star, and Connor Hellebuyck being named Third Star. MacKinnon won on the heels of an 11-goal, 29-point performance in 15 games in December, while Matthew’s put up 15 goals and six assists in just 12 games. Hellebuyck’s December performance saw him post an impressive 7-0-2 record, which was good enough for a Third Star.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning writer Chris Krenn is reporting that the Lightning were forced to dress just five defensemen tonight due to injuries and salary cap constraints. The Lightning lost Erik Cernak and Haydn Fleury recently to injury and with no cap space to make a recall, the Lightning were forced to play the Winnipeg Jets one defender short of a full six. The Lightning will be eligible to make an emergency recall after tonight, but due to the language in the Roster Emergency Exception rule, they must wait until the second game to be eligible to recall a player under emergency conditions.

Rasmus Andersson Misses Practice With Illness

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  • The flu bug is continuing to spread around the NHL, with Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson missing the team’s Friday practice with illness. The team did not share any updates about Andersson’s availability for their Sunday night matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. Andersson has appeared in 31 games this season, leading Flames defenders in scoring with 18 points.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Flames, Elias Lindholm Likely Remain Headed For Trade

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Pending unrestricted free agent center Elias Lindholm hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing an extension with the Calgary Flames, but a trade before the March 8 deadline remains the most likely scenario, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN wrote in a column Friday morning.

The future of the Flames’ many high-end class of 2024 unrestricted free agents has been a central talking point ever since last season drew to a close. They’ve already made decisions on three of them. Last season’s leading point-getter Tyler Toffoli was traded to the Devils over the summer, 16-year veteran Mikael Backlund was given a two-year, $9MM extension and the captaincy, and shutdown defenseman Nikita Zadorov was dealt to the Canucks last month. A handful of essential players remain without contracts past this season, none more so than Lindholm.

LeBrun says the Flames “haven’t definitely told Lindholm they’re planning to move him,” but that hasn’t stopped interest from growing around the league. He explicitly names three squads as likely landing spots – the Bruins, Avalanche and Hurricanes – with the Bruins confirmed to “have some level of interest” based on his reporting. He did not confirm the Avalanche have acquired specifically about Lindholm but does believe their cap-clearing move of trading winger Tomáš Tatar to the Kraken earlier this month helps open the door for them to add a big name to their top-six forward group.

The Hurricanes are not confirmed to have any level of interest. While a fit makes sense, LeBrun rightly points out Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon’s historical unwillingness to spend assets on rental players could complicate a move. Lindholm, Carolina’s 2013 fifth-overall pick, has already had extension talks fall through with the club once, resulting in his 2018 trade to Calgary.

Both the Bruins and Avalanche have an obvious need for a top-six center. Boston has received admirable performances from Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle, who anchor their top two lines (with rookie Matthew Poitras behind them). Still, neither player has a long enough track record of shouldering top-six minutes at an above-average level long enough for the comfort of a contender. Lindholm more directly fills the gigantic shutdown center void left by the retirement of former captain Patrice Bergeron last summer, as pointed out numerous times since the Lindholm trade rumor mill began to spin a few months ago.

Boston has been plagued by a thin prospect pipeline and rocky future for seasons on end now, although they’ve seemingly come back from near-dead numerous times to remain in the league’s contending class. They can’t keep that up forever, though, and acquiring Lindholm would require parting with one of the few high-value assets they have left in their system. Short-term salary cap management is also prohibitive, as the Bruins have $26MM in cap space to allocate over nine open roster spots next season. Lindholm could quickly swallow up at least 30 percent of that space.

The Avalanche have a more pressing need on their second line. They took a flyer on 31-year-old Ryan Johansen over the summer, acquiring him at half-salary retention from the Predators, making him a $4MM player through 2025. Ideally, Johansen could rebound in a new system to the 50-60 point pace he posted during his prime with the Blue Jackets and Predators in the 2010s, but it hasn’t panned out. He ranks fourth on the team with ten goals through 33 games, but he’s recorded just two assists – giving him 12 points, a 0.36 point per game pace, and ice time that’s dipped below the 15-minute-per-game mark. None of those metrics are representative of an average second-line center, let alone one adequate enough to help the Avalanche capture their second Stanley Cup in three years.

Nathan MacKinnon can do (and has done) most of the heavy lifting, but Lindholm would be an immeasurable boost to their forward group. He’s on pace for 57 points this season, not breaking the bank by any metric, and is having the worst possession season of his career with a 47.6% Corsi share at even strength. Lindholm is turning things around, though, still routinely averaging over 20 minutes per game and posting a goal and five assists in his last five games. He would plug the hole that’s been vacant in Colorado since Nazem Kadri departed the team (ironically for Calgary) in free agency after his career-best season was instrumental in helping Colorado win their first Stanley Cup in over 20 years.

In any event, no trade seems imminent. Any potential Lindholm deal is likely to happen much closer to the trade deadline.

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