- The frequent shuffling of Radim Zohorna continues as the Flames have returned him to AHL Calgary, notes Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). The moves are being made to save a little bit of cap space and extend his waiver exemption as long as possible. The 26-year-old has played in eight games with the Flames so far this season with him needing waivers once he gets to ten so his exemption is likely to expire soon, assuming he’s eventually recalled once more.
Flames Rumors
Flames Aren't Ruling Out Oliver Kylington Returning This Season
While the Flames have been without defenseman Oliver Kylington all season so far due to a personal matter, GM Brad Treliving told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that they’re not giving up on the idea that he will be back at some point in the second half. Kylington had a breakout year in 2021-22, collecting 31 points in 73 games, earning himself a two-year, $5MM contract in the process and his return would certainly be a big boost to Calgary’s back end. At the moment, there haven’t been any discussions with him about when he might be able to return but with the trade deadline now less than two months away, it stands to reason that those conversations will be taking place at some point in the near future as if Kylington isn’t able to return, Calgary may have to make a move to find a replacement for the stretch run.
Flames Recall Two, Place Brett Ritchie On IR
The Flames announced (Twitter link) a trio of roster moves today in advance of their five-game road trip. They’ve recalled wingers Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr from AHL Calgary and to make room on the active roster, they’ve transferred winger Brett Ritchie on injured reserve.
Pelletier is one of Calgary’s top prospects and will get his first chance at making his NHL debut. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick (26th overall) back in 2019 and has been quite productive at both the junior and AHL level since then. This season, Pelletier sits second on the Wranglers in scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists in 31 games. The only player that he’s behind is Matthew Phillips but the Flames opted to sit the winger for most of the games he was up with the big club for so it’s not surprising that they’re trying Pelletier now instead.
As for Duehr, the 25-year-old has one career NHL appearance under his belt which came in November 2021. This season at the AHL level, he’s tied for third on the Wranglers in goals with ten, just one shy of his output from a year ago in 28 fewer games. This is only his second full professional campaign after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Calgary as a college free agent in 2021.
Meanwhile, Ritchie suffered what appeared to be a wrist injury last weekend against Vancouver and hasn’t played since then. Technically, that means that Calgary could back-date the placement to then, effectively making him eligible to be activated as soon as Sunday’s game in Chicago. The fact they’ve placed him on IR means he’ll be out longer than that but there is no timetable for his return. The 29-year-old has six goals and two assists in 30 games with the Flames so far this season.
Flames Still Looking For Top-9 Addition
The Calgary Flames had one of the wildest offseasons we’ve seen in quite some time, watching two 100-point players go elsewhere and bringing in three All-Star-level talents to try and replace them. It hasn’t gone perfectly, with Jonathan Huberdeau especially looking a little uncomfortable with his new team, but things are starting to move in the right direction.
Radim Zohorna Sent Back To AHL
- Radim Zohorna has been shuffled back and forth off Calgary’s roster in recent days and that trend continued today as FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike relays (Twitter link) that the Flames have sent Zohorna back to AHL Calgary. The 26-year-old has played in five NHL games this season and will likely be recalled in advance of their next game on Tuesday. For each day Zohorna is in the minors, the Flames are banking a little over $4K in cap space while extending his waiver exemption as he’ll remain exempt until he plays in ten NHL games or is on Calgary’s roster for 30 days.
Calgary Flames Re-Assign Dennis Gilbert, Recall Radim Zohorna
Dec 30, 11:13 am: Less than 24 hours later, Calgary has brought Zohorna back up to the roster from the Wranglers. Calgary plays tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks.
Dec 29, 12:54 pm: The Calgary Flames, fresh off a win against the Seattle Kraken and headed home for a game on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, have sent two players to the minor leagues. Dennis Gilbert and Radim Zohorna have been assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL for the time being.
The moves will allow the Flames to bank a little more cap space over the next few days, as they continue to prepare for a trade deadline without much wiggle room.
Gilbert was only activated from injured reserve yesterday and has played just a single game for the Flames over the last month. The 26-year-old has one point in eight NHL appearances this season, averaging just over ten minutes a game.
Zohorna, meanwhile, went scoreless in his five games with the team earlier this month – all five of which the Flames ended up losing. The 26-year-old was nabbed off waivers at the beginning of the season from the Pittsburgh Penguins but hasn’t quite made the impact some expected.
It is very likely that at least one if not both will be back up when the Flames go on the road again next week.
Calgary Flames Activate Dennis Gilbert
Dec 28: It appears the Flames have activated Gilbert off of IR this evening, per CapFriendly. A closer look at the Flames’ roster page shows Gilbert listed on the roster among the other healthy players.
Dec 21: DeSimone could be staying on the Flames roster for a few days, at least. Calgary today converted his emergency call-up into a full-time one, per CapFriendly.
Dec 20: The Calgary Flames have lost Dennis Gilbert for at least a week, as the defenseman was placed on injured reserve today after leaving Sunday’s game early. Nick DeSimone was elevated from the AHL to take his place on the roster.
Gilbert left the game after a fight with Jonah Gadjovich of the San Jose Sharks just nine shifts into his night. It’s tough timing for a player who was only recalled that day and was playing in his eighth game of the season.
His cap hit now will stay on the books for Calgary, a tough break for a team that needs every dollar. The team could have sent him back down and buried his entire $750K contract otherwise.
DeSimone, another minor league veteran, will potentially get the chance to suit up against his old organization, should he enter the lineup tonight in a rematch against the Sharks. The undrafted defenseman spent parts of five seasons with the San Jose Barracuda, wearing an “A” as an alternate captain in the last two.
In four games this season with the Flames, he has yet to register a point.
Calgary Flames Recall Radim Zohorna
The Calgary Flames have recalled forward Radim Zohorna, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, forward Matthew Phillips and defenseman Nick DeSimone were assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
Zohorna, 26, was claimed off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins in October, and has spent most of this season with the Wranglers. In 20 games there the hulking Czech winger has posted five goals and 16 points.
While he plays a major role in the NHL, Zohorna has been limited to a very small role in his five NHL contests so far this year. He’s averaging just over eight minutes per night, which ranks last among skaters who have played for the Flames this season. He’ll now head back to the Flames roster hoping to earn more trust from head coach Darryl Sutter and build on his 30-game NHL resume.
Headed down to the AHL is Phillips, who happens to be nearly a full foot shorter than Zohorna. The 24-year-old former WHL star has lit the AHL on fire this year, scoring 30 points in 20 games.
The many calls from fans to give him a genuine shot at the NHL came when he earned his call-up earlier this month, a recall that led to him getting into two NHL games. He struggled in those two contests despite playing in a highly sheltered role. Of the 9:02 minutes he averaged in that two-game stretch, he averaged 2:50 on the power play.
He didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, though, and after seemingly struggling with the suffocating lack of space and physicality of the NHL, he’s headed back to the Wranglers where he’ll resume his starring role.
Also involved in these transactions is DeSimone, a 28-year-old blueliner. The New York native has carved out a nice career for himself as an undrafted player, scoring 15 points in 20 AHL games, a performance that earned him his first NHL call-up after Dennis Gilbert went down with an injury.
DeSimone didn’t play a ton, getting just over 11 minutes per night, but he got a short look on the team’s penalty kill and does look to be in the midst of his best season since 2018-19.
The two moves give the Flames just 22 players on their roster, meaning they have an extra roster slot at their disposal should they decide to recall a player like Kevin Rooney, who is now in the AHL after arriving this offseason on a two-year, $1.3MM AAV contract.
Also of note regarding the open roster spot is the recent revelation (as reported by Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960) that Gilbert has returned to the ice for practice, albeit wearing a full face shield.
Gilbert has been out since December 18th, and its possible that DeSimone’s assignment to the AHL is paving the way for Gilbert’s return to the roster in the near future.
Chris Tanev Activated From Injured Reserve
The Calgary Flames are getting a key part of their defensive structure back, activating Chris Tanev from injured reserve after he missed the minimum of seven days. To make room on the roster, Radim Zohorna has been loaned back to the AHL.
Tanev, 33 (today!), was injured blocking a shot against the Montreal Canadiens last week and missed games against the Vancoouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, and San Jose Sharks. The scary situation saw him fall to the ice motionless when it struck him in the head, before eventually being taken to the hospital. After all of the following tests came back negative, he was cleared return to the team.
The Flames went 1-1-1 in the games he missed and will certainly welcome back their defensive rock to the lineup for the rematch against San Jose this evening.
The veteran hasn’t been quite the player he was last season when he set a career-high with 28 points and received Norris Trophy votes, but Tanev is still a huge part of what head coach Darryl Sutter tries to do. There is no one on the Flames that kills more penalty time than Tanev, who is averaging more than three minutes a night shorthanded.
Calgary’s penalty kill is still ranked ninth in the league but has dropped down without him, as opponents converted on three of the 11 opportunities since he was placed on injured reserve.
The team remains just barely under the salary cap, meaning these short-term injuries can be quite difficult to deal with. Getting Tanev back so quickly was crucial, especially with Dennis Gilbert’s own injury taking him out of the lineup.
Tomas Hertl Suspended Two Games
5:09 pm: Hertl has been handed a two-game suspension for high-sticking by the Department of Player Safety this afternoon. In explaining their rationale for the decision, DoPS gave the following statement in their explanatory video:
It is important to note that this is not a reckless or careless use of the stick. Rather, this is a directed, retaliatory stick swing that strikes an opponent at a dangerous height.
10:51 am: The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do, as San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl will have a hearing today. The potential supplementary discipline stems from a high-sticking incident in last night’s game against the Calgary Flames, when Hertl retaliated against Elias Lindholm. He was penalized on the play, and took responsibility after the game:
I got cross-checked three times to the shoulder. I tried to slash him on the stick, but the stick slid a little high. It’s a terrible penalty…it’s a mistake by me, I can’t do that. You never try to hit a guy high, but it happened.
The Flames already got some revenge, as Lindholm would score on the ensuing powerplay and again 20 seconds after that, before Dillon Dube put the game out of reach a few minutes later. Hertl would eventually score a powerplay goal of his own partway through the third, but the penalty had put the game out of reach for the Sharks.
He now faces a potential suspension, and there have been several already this season that suggest one will be coming. Jeff Skinner, Matthew Tkachuk, Pierre Engvall, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Michael Rasmussen have all received punishment for high-sticking incidents, though they have varied in force and situation. Skinner’s three-game ban was the longest of the bunch, handed out earlier this month.
For those wondering if some other discipline would be coming down from the league, namely for a hit from Sam Lafferty on Filip Chytil, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports there will not.