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Calgary Flames Add 20 To COVID Protocol

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Dec 17: The cases continue for Calgary, who have added Mikael Backlund and another member of the support staff to the protocol. The team has now reached 31 cases, including 19 players.

Dec 16: The Flames have announced three more additions to the protocol. Dillon Dube, Oliver Kylington, and another member of the support staff are now ruled out.

Dec 15: The Calgary Flames have announced that 17 more people have been entered into the COVID protocol. Seven players, three coaches, and seven support staff. Rasmus Andersson, Byron Froese, Johnny Gaudreau, Erik Gudbranson, Trevor Lewis, Jacob Markstrom, and Tyler Pitlick have joined the other players, while Ryan Huska, Kirk Muller, and head coach Darryl Sutter are also now in the protocol.

Just seven active players are not in the protocol for the Flames. Games had been originally postponed through tomorrow, but there is no way the Flames can ice a roster for Saturday unless a huge number of these are false positives that are confirmed negative in the coming days. That certainly doesn’t look like the case given how many other positives there have been, meaning the Flames will be dormant for a while longer.

Notably, the Flames were already on a four-game losing streak when they were originally shut down, meaning this could be a critical time for the organization’s Stanley Cup hopes. Depending on how long the league keeps them dark, they may have to return to the ice extremely shorthanded and at the very minimum will be rusty from spending a minimum of ten days in quarantine. The hope is obviously that none of the players, coaches, or staff experience any serious symptoms and can get back on the ice as soon as possible.

Eric Francis of Sportsnet passes on some good news. Assistant general manager Chris Snow, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2019, is not one of the staff members that has tested positive.

Calgary Flames Games Postponed Through December 18

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Dec 15: Given that there are more than two dozen members of the organization now in the protocol, the Flames’ game on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets has also been postponed. The team’s practice facilities are also going to be closed until further notice.

Dec 13: The NHL has shut down a third team this season, postponing all Calgary Flames games through Thursday, December 16. The decision comes after six players and one staff member entered the COVID protocol during a 24-hour period. The league notes “concern with continued spread” and the likelihood of further positive test results led to the postponement. Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson, Adam Ruzicka, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and a member of the team’s training staff are those in the protocol.

Calgary’s training facilities have been closed for the time being. The team was set to take on the Chicago Blackhawks this evening, the Nashville Predators tomorrow night, and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, three games that will have to be rescheduled for later this season.

The Flames follow the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators who have also seen COVID-related postponements, though they weren’t the only ones with serious outbreaks. The San Jose Sharks at one point had seven players in the protocol and were forced to continue their season, while the St. Louis Blues have played shorthanded several times because of COVID absences that they didn’t have cap space to replace.

The cap very well could be part of the decision-making in this case as well. Calgary is currently pushed right up to the salary cap ceiling, with less than $1MM in room for recalls. They could perhaps fill one of those six absences with a call-up, but not six, meaning the Flames would be seriously shorthanded had the league not stepped in. While this certainly may not be of comfort to teams like the Sharks, Islanders, and Senators, who were all forced to play with several minor league replacements for a while, it also could be something the league wants to avoid moving forward.

One of the biggest questions now is that of Olympic participation. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman put the decision squarely on the NHLPA’s shoulders when he spoke last week, but still maintained the option to pull the plug himself if the season experiences a “material disruption” of its schedule. The Flames by themselves likely don’t represent that, but the more games that have to be rescheduled due to COVID outbreaks, the more difficult an Olympic break becomes.

Dmitry Zavgorodniy Assigned To KHL

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After assigning Yan Kuznetsov to the CHL a few days ago, the Calgary Flames have found some extra playing time for another one of their prospects. Dmitry Zavgorodniy has been assigned to HC Sochi in the KHL, which will hopefully give him a bit of a bigger opportunity.

Zavgorodniy, 21, was a seventh-round pick of the Flames in 2018 and signed his entry-level contract a year later. That deal, which slid forward one season, will expire after the 2022-23 campaign. He spent most of last season with the Stockton Heat, scoring four points in 29 games, but has been held scoreless in six appearances for the AHL squad this year.

The most recent of those appearances was weeks ago, as he fell out of the regular rotation even for the bottom six. He’ll now head overseas, but remain under contract with the Flames. A very strong junior player, Zavgorodniy had 29 goals and 67 points in 40 games for the Rimouski Oceanic in 2019-20.

Dmitry Zavgorodniy Expected To Return To KHL

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  • Flames prospect Dmitri Zavgorodniy is expected to leave AHL Stockton to return home to play in the KHL for the remainder of the season, reports Championat’s Pavel Panyshev. The 21-year-old forward has been limited to just six games this season with the Heat and going overseas would give him a chance at more playing time.  He last played in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg but his rights in that league now belong with HC Sochi after they swung a deal for his rights earlier today.

Calgary Flames Assign Juuso Valimaki To AHL

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The Calgary Flames have assigned defenseman Juuso Valimaki to the AHL’s Stockton Heat, per a team tweet.

Valimaki doesn’t require waivers, so there’s no chance of the Flames losing one of their best defense prospects. However, Valimaki’s cap hit is $1.55MM, and not all of that can be buried in the minors. It appears as though roughly $500,000 of Valimaki’s cap hit will still count towards the cap while he’s buried in the minors.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Valimaki, who hasn’t meshed well with coach Darryl Sutter and has played in just eight games, registering two assists.

He still has the pedigree and potential of a 16th overall pick, however. The 23-year-old was one of the team’s more impressive players last season, playing the full season with the team and scoring 11 points in 49 games.

The assignment to Stockton is an effort to get Valimaki into some more game action, as it’s not doing him much good to just sit on the bench.

The Flames still have Michael Stone, who’s played in just one game this season, to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman.

Yan Kuznetsov Loaned To CHL

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It’s not that often that you see a player go from the NCAA to the AHL to the CHL, but that’s exactly what’s about to happen for Yan Kuznetsov. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to the Saint John Seadogs of the QMJHL after 12 games with the Stockton Heat this season.

Kuznetsov, 19, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft after his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, and he returned in 2020-21 for his sophomore season. After the college campaign ended, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flames and suited up six times down the stretch for Stockton. The 6’4″ defenseman has failed to register a single point in 18 games for the Heat overall and will now get to test himself at the junior level, something that will only help develop his overall game.

Notably, he’ll be available for Russia at the World Juniors again, which would be his second time at the tournament, and also will likely play in the Memorial Cup given it is set to be hosted in Saint John this season. A trade could potentially change that obviously, but Kuznetsov will spend the rest of the year in the CHL competing against players his age.

Selected 22nd overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft, this was always a possibility for the big defenseman. Saint John picked him after he already made his AHL debut, meaning they had an inkling he could end up back in junior at some point. He’s joining a team that is currently 12-8-3 on the year and in eighth place in the QMJHL standings, but still has big expectations. He’s also going to be joining fellow Calgary draft picks Jeremie Poirier and Ryan Francis, the latter of whom also made his AHL debut with the Heat last season before he returned to Saint John.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Calgary Flames

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Calgary Flames.

What are the Flames most thankful for?

A healthy start.

Injuries are a part of sports, and they’re going to happen for every team in the NHL at some point. But so far, the Flames have escaped relatively unscathed. Fifteen different players have suited up in at least 19 of the team’s 20 games, including basically every important member of the group.

In fact, since they started the year, Calgary has completed just two recalls from the minor leagues. Jacob Markstrom and Daniel Vladar have been the two dressed goaltenders in all 20 matches, meaning not only have they had a consistent effort, but also a consistent group in the locker room.

Who are the Flames most thankful for?

Darryl Sutter.

It’s hard to believe that a coach can make such a huge difference, but the Stanley Cup-winning bench boss appears to have secured a complete buy-in from his squad and a commitment to playing his low-event checking style. The Flames have allowed just 38 goals through 20 games and have the best goal differential in the league.

Not everything is because of Sutter, as there have been some very strong performances–perhaps even unexpected–from the defensive unit, but the veteran coach has the entire group moving in the right direction.

What would the Flames be even more thankful for?

Sean Monahan’s re-emergence.

The one concern some have when discussing the Flames, a team that has dominated the league so far, is the disappearance of Monahan’s offense. Through the first seven seasons of Monahan’s career, he had 194 goals, good for more than 29 per 82 games. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, he has 12 (just seven since Sutter took over).

His minutes have dropped to the lowest of his career and he has generated just 25 shots on goal through 20 games this season. For a player carrying a cap hit of $6.375MM, that’s simply not acceptable even if the overall Flames group is still churning through opponents. The idea of Monahan returning to some semblance of the 30-goal scorer he once was, without disrupting the defensive structure the Flames currently have would make them all the more imposing.

What should be on the Flames’ Holiday Wish List?

A Matthew Tkachuk extension.

Johnny Gaudreau has been outstanding this season, leading the team in scoring with 23 points in 20 games. He’s also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so his future should be front and center when discussing any contract negotiations in Calgary. But it’s Tkachuk, who has been a lynchpin of Sutter’s structure and once again seems like the obvious choice as the team’s future captain that will really decide how much they could spend on Gaudreau.

Already the team’s highest-paid player, Tkachuk is about to hit restricted free agency for the last time, a year away from the open market. He won’t even turn 24 until next month, but is already in the midst of his sixth season in the league, meaning any extension would buy out almost exclusively UFA seasons. It will be a massive contract if Tkachuk does agree to something long-term with the Flames, a number that would limit them elsewhere or cause other cost-cutting measures (perhaps like a bottom-six center that makes more than $6MM next season).

There’s nothing that would be more important for the Flames this winter, so they can also go into the trade deadline with some sort of cap certainty moving forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Brendan Gallagher, Mikael Backlund Issued Fines

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Both Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher and Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund have avoided suspension, incurring fines for their respective incidents instead.

Gallagher has been given a $2,500 fine for his punch on New York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow at the end of another frustrating loss for the Canadiens. He was given a two-minute minor for roughing and a ten-minute misconduct. Notably, the fine is not actually the maximum allowable in this circumstance.

Backlund meanwhile faces a $5,000 fine for his cross-check on Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny. The check sent Konecny dangerously into the boards, and resulted in a two-minute minor penalty. In this case, it is the maximum allowable under the CBA.

Both players will have these fines considered when determining any future supplementary discipline.

Injury Notes: Canadiens, Pitlick, Sullivan

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Ahead of Sunday’s road tilt for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins, head coach Dominique Ducharme provided injury updates regarding a few Canadiens players. After leaving Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Jake Allen has been assigned a day-to-day status while he undergoes evaluation for a more detailed evaluation. Allen left the contest after a net-front play which resulted in him colliding with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. Ducharme also notes that Mike Hoffman is absent from the lineup with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day, as Adam Brooks draws into the lineup in his place. It’s Hoffman’s second instance of injury this season, missing the team’s first three games of the season with a lower-body injury.

  • Calgary Flames forward Tyler Pitlick is absent from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s classified as day-to-day, per the team. Forward Walker Duehr was inserted into the lineup, making his NHL debut. Pitlick has just two assists in 12 games this season, playing a bottom-six role, but remains a strong defensive presence if nothing else.
  • After being activated from the league’s COVID-19 protocols today, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t think he’ll be available for Thursday night’s game in Montreal due to border restrictions. Sullivan will be behind the bench for Sunday’s game against Washington and Tuesday’s game against Buffalo barring any unforeseen circumstances. The Penguins have dropped three out of five as they finally look to be close to healthy for the first time this season.

Matthew Tkachuk Fined For High Sticking Incident

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  • Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk has been fined $5K for his high sticking infraction on Stars defenseman John Klingberg on Thursday night, the league announced. The incident occurred in the third period of the game with a minor penalty being assessed on the play.  The fine is the maximum allowable in the CBA.

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