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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Calgary Flames

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As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. 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.

Who are the Flames Thankful For?

Mikael Backlund

After being the de facto captain for the last few years, Backlund was officially awarded the letter prior to this season, and he’s taken it on in stride. Calgary is by no means off to the start that they would have hoped for but Backlund has remained poised and in control of his team. That includes when he had to handle the curt trade request that Nikita Zadorov issued following the conclusion of an 0-1 shootout loss. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis spoke to the captain about that incident, sharing that Backlund spoke one-on-one with Zadorov before the defenseman spoke to the whole team, in an effort to make sure that no unnecessary tensions were created. New general manager Craig Conroy was impressed by the situation, telling Francis, “He’s taking charge and that’s what the captain has to do. You’d like to not have to do that, but there are things that come up that need to be addressed, and he hasn’t been shy to do that.” That kind of leadership is exactly what a struggling contender like the Flames needs – and it’s a pleasant boost after the team went two seasons without a captain.

What are the Flames Thankful For?

Their youngsters

In a year of challenges, the Flames can at least be impressed with the performances their prospects have brought to the top stage. Connor Zary looks tremendous in his first NHL season, currently carrying eight points through his first nine NHL games. He’s managed this performance after starting the year with 10 points in six AHL games, clearly proving that he deserved a spot with the top club. Zary is averaging the fourth-most minutes of any Flames forward and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Much of the same can be said about Martin Pospisil, who scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game and has since gone on to net six points in nine games on the year. Pospisil is the second-youngest player on the starting lineup, at 24, and earned an NHL recall after scoring six points in six AHL games.

Former first-round pick Matthew Coronato has also held onto a strong season, despite losing his NHL role after 10 games. He’s managed 11 points in 10 AHL games, good for third in scoring on the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.

What Would the Flames be Even More Thankful For?

Top-End Scoring

There are a lot of little things that could improve the Flames early season. But with Jacob Markstrom taking a serviceable step forward – albeit an improvement from a .892 save percentage to a .904 – it seems only right to say the Flames are more in need of an X-factor skater than anything. Jonathan Huberdeau has continued to struggle with Calgary, after scoring 115 points in his last year with the Florida Panthers, and with no Matthew Tkachuk or Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames are left wondering who their big difference-maker can be. The team is currently led in scoring by Elias Lindholm, who has 13 points in 19 games. He’s paced by Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, who both have 12 points in as many outings. That’s certainly serviceable scoring but it’s not enough to takeover games, and has the Flames sat with the sixth-fewest goals in the league.

But it’s not all bad. Despite the low scoring, the Flames still roster three players that have scored 80-or-more points in a season before, and they have averaged 3.4 goals-per-game over their last five games, after averaging 2.6 through their first 14 games. That’s a healthy boost and has earned the Flames three wins, one loss, and one shootout loss in the five game stretch. Noah Hanifin has spearheaded the effort, scoring four points in his last five games. If they can maintain this offense, Calgary could find a way to make up for their lack of a true top-end scorer.

What Should Be On the Flames Holiday List?

A Lavish Trade Partner

The Flames are reportedly shopping around a slew of players, including top defender Hanifin, shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev, and even top-scorer Lindholm at points. They’ve also received a trade request from Zadorov. Each of these players could warrant a hefty trade return, in a vaccuum. But the cheapest cap hit of the trio is Zadorov’s $3.75MM and Tanev’s $4.5MM, which is still a hefty amount for many teams to take on.

Still, there is no shortage of teams that could benefit from a deal with Calgary. Vancouver’s right-defense is still a weakness, and upgrading it could be a big boost to their thriving offense. The Toronto Maple Leafs recently placed John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve and are reportedly interested in Zadorov. And with Calgary boasting Dustin Wolf as their third-string goalie, making backup Daniel Vladar theoretically expendable, they may even garner trade interest from a team like the Edmonton Oilers, who are in need of any kind of help after their 6-12-1 start to the year.

It seems to be a buyer’s market and the Flames have no shortage of pieces that they could move. If they can’t get a spark on the ice, a flashy trade return could help a team with thriving stars hedge their future bets.

Calgary Flames Reportedly Shopping Defensemen

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As the Calgary Flames transitioned behind the bench from Darryl Sutter to Ryan Huska over the summer, many of the players scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next offseason wanted to take the ’wait-and-see’ approach in regards to signing a contract extension in Alberta. Needless to say, the Flames have not gotten off to a solid start, starting off 3-7-1, quickly alienating any chances that certain players will want to re-up on a new deal.

Aside from the potential departure of Elias Lindholm, Calgary is also set to lose five defensemen to the open market next July, leading the team to some difficult choices moving forward. This past summer, many reports indicated that defenseman Noah Hanifin was unwilling to sign an extension with the Flames, leading to plenty of trade rumors surrounding him and the organization.

In an earlier report today, Rick Dhaliwal relayed a note from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, saying that the Flames are actively engaging the market on Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov. Furthermore, it was reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers are showing the most interest in these defensemen.

It is reasonable to assume, especially if Calgary continues its current trajectory on the season, that more and more teams will come calling as the season nears the trade deadline. Of the three teams listed as having interest, the Oilers seem the least plausible, given that the Flames and Oilers have only made three trades with each other, the last one being the James Neal – Milan Lucic swap in 2019.

Especially if all three players are seen as rentals, the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers could all come calling at this year’s trade deadline. If any or all three are open to signing extensions with the respective acquiring clubs, teams such as the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes could certainly become interested, as well.

Given his ability to play a high amount of minutes each night, Hanifin will likely net Calgary the biggest return, although Tanev and Zadorov will also bring significant interest given their skill sets. If they are open to retooling or even a short-term rebuild, trading these three would be a logical way to start that process.

Nevertheless, there is a chance the Flames could turn their season around, leading them to hang onto their pending unrestricted free agents for a playoff run. However, if they are unable to straighten the ship, aside from a few trades over the years, there isn’t a precedent set for a trade of this magnitude being made so early in the season. If Calgary hangs on to all three as we get closer to the deadline, other playoff-bound teams’ desperation will increase their return overall.

Flames Have Paused Contract Talks With Pending UFAs

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The vibes were good in Calgary. A tumultuous 2022-23 season had seemingly been cleansed from the organization with the appointments of Craig Conroy in the GM’s chair and Ryan Huska behind the bench. Players were buying in, too – with Mikael Backlund signing a three-year extension in accordance with the captaincy and extension talks kicking off with top-pairing defenseman Noah Hanifin, who said last summer he wasn’t willing to consider remaining with the Flames.

Then the season started, and Sportnet’s Eric Francis is now reporting the Flames have paused all extension talks with their 2024 class of UFAs, which includes Hanifin and first-line center Elias Lindholm. A 2-6-1 start has the Flames seventh in the Pacific Division and 15th in the Western Conference, only ahead of the lowly San Jose Sharks. They’ve allowed more goals in the same amount of games than the defensively-challenged Blackhawks – and even that’s with netminder Jacob Markström rebounding, albeit slightly, from last season’s poor form. Daniel Vladar has been limited to just two starts thanks to a sieve-like .842 SV% and 4.51 GAA, however.

What’s worse is that two familiar refrains from last season have come back to haunt them. The team is controlling possession well, holding 53.9% of Corsi events at five-on-five and over half of all scoring and high-danger chances, but it hasn’t mattered. Star players are again underperforming, with many downright snakebitten.

In the second season of a seven-year, $49MM deal, Nazem Kadri has just two points through nine games and a -11 rating. 2021-22 NHL assists leader Jonathan Huberdeau, in the second season of an eight-year, $84MM deal, is barely averaging over 17 minutes per game and has two goals and three assists through nine games. Perhaps the only one of their recent big-time acquisitions is performing up to par – defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who may have just three points but is controlling possession better than almost anyone on the team with a 57.5% Corsi share at even strength.

Lindholm is also one of the few doing his part, tying for the team lead in scoring with six points and averaging over 21 minutes a game, although he hasn’t been worth the rumored $9MM AAV price tag that’s been bandied about in the past few weeks. Things aren’t going well for the Flames’ other notable pending UFAs, both defensemen – Chris Tanev has been held off the scoresheet through nine contests and has a -6 rating, while Nikita Zadorov is projected to sit as a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Stars.

If the Flames don’t find themselves close to the playoff picture by the March 8, 2024, trade deadline, they could become one of the biggest players near deadline day in recent memory. All four of Lindholm, Hanifin, Tanev, and Zadorov have the pedigree to fetch anywhere between decent and extravagant returns, even if one or all is still having a down season by the time February rolls around and trade discussions begin in earnest. With another strong slate of prospects expected to be available in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flames would do well to help retool their franchise on the fly with a few high-end prospects injected into their system.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

West Notes: Flames, Carlsson, Blackwell

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The Calgary Flames have their leadership group to supplement new captain Mikael Backlund for the 2023-24 season, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, center Elias Lindholm, and defenseman Chris Tanev will rotate in and out of the two alternate captain spots per game throughout the campaign.

All these names are notable for a variety of reasons – starting with Andersson, 26, who expressed interest in becoming the team’s captain earlier this offseason before Backlund received it, signing an extension in the process. The 2015 second-round pick has solidified himself as a top-flight defender in this league, logging significant time on both the power play and penalty kill over the past two seasons while posting 99 points in 161 games since the beginning of 2021-22. He’s also the only player who didn’t wear a letter on his jersey last season. He essentially replaced Backlund, while Huberdeau, Lindholm and Tanev all wore ’A’s on their sweaters at different points throughout 2022-23.

More from the Western Conference this weekend:

  • Anaheim Ducks promising center prospect Leo Carlsson will not be out long-term after sustaining a lower-body injury in practice yesterday, says Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. There is no exact timeline for the 18-year-old’s return, however, meaning he could miss the team’s season-opening game on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights next Saturday. The second-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is coming off a strong camp, one GM Pat Verbeek said earlier this week has secured him a spot on the Ducks roster for the entire 2023-24 season.
  • Chicago Blackhawks depth forward Colin Blackwell practiced for the first time in over six months today as he continues his recovery from sports hernia surgery in March, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Blackhawks expected Blackwell back for the beginning of camp, but the player said he hadn’t fully recovered when he first took the ice last month. With the pending return to health, the 30-year-old becomes a waiver candidate in the coming days after posting just two goals and ten points in 53 contests with Chicago last season.

Debating Extensions For The Calgary Flames’ Pending UFAs

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The Calgary Flames have been one of the most talked-about teams this offseason, but not necessarily for the moves they’ve made now. Calgary has multiple core players set to hit unrestricted free agency in 2024, and they’ll be faced with multiple decisions on whether to extend or trade certain players before next season’s trade deadline. New GM Craig Conroy already made one decision, shipping out right winger Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils after he set career highs in goals, assists and points last season. Forwards Mikael Backlund and Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev headline the remainder of Flames players set to hit the open market next summer, with valuable depth defenders Oliver Kylington and Nikita Zadorov also slated for unrestricted free agency.

Conroy has made it clear Calgary won’t lose out on these players for no return after the organization let star left winger Johnny Gaudreau walk in free agency to the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer. If they do end up trading the lion’s share of their pending UFAs, they should be able to reform the roster and stay in playoff contention, as there looks to be a strong pool of other UFAs to choose from next summer. However, many of the players listed above have played quite well for the Flames and are even core pieces of their leadership group, and Conroy will surely attempt to extend most of them.

One of their desired extension candidates is Lindholm and for good reason. He’s developed into a bonafide top-six two-way center during his time in Alberta and is normally a solid bet to churn out nearly a point-per-game pace. Reporting this summer has indicated he’s been back-and-forth on whether he’s willing to extend in Calgary, but the pendulum swung back toward an extension a few days ago with The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reporting Lindholm was “well into discussions” with the Flames on an eight-year extension. Getting him under contract until age 37 likely won’t pan out well for Calgary near the end of the deal, but such is the price of retaining pending UFAs. He’s played 369 games for the Flames since they acquired and extended him on a six-year deal in 2018, scoring 139 goals, 186 assists and 325 points while averaging over 19 minutes per game. He finished second in Selke Trophy voting in 2022 and has accumulated a +99 rating in Calgary, although most of that comes from his standout defensive seasons in 2018-19 and 2021-22. His 56% Corsi For at even strength last season suggests his rather pedestrian +6 rating was tanked by the team’s subpar goaltending.

And that’s where it gets tricky – while there are a lot of solid free-agent pickups available next summer, most of them are on the wing. The only center who could hit the open market conceivably as either an upgrade or lateral move for Lindholm is Winnipeg Jets pivot Mark Scheifele, who could very well be taken off the UFA market via a sign-and-trade deal next season (much like Lindholm if talks fall through with Calgary).

Backlund is also a tough piece to part with. The standout shutdown center has appeared in 15 seasons for Calgary, accumulating 908 games as a Flame. However, he seems an unlikelier bet to sign an extension with Lindholm at this point in time, admitting to Swedish outlet SportExpressen earlier this summer that his willingness to remain in Calgary will depend on the team’s performance in 2023-24. He may not have Lindholm’s offensive upside and minute-munching capabilities, but he is one of the most consistent defensive presences in the league and is showing no signs of slowing down as he enters his mid-30s. Some would argue it’s borderline surprising he hasn’t received the captaincy yet, potentially another reason why he hasn’t committed to extending in Calgary. He’s not likely to command much of an increase on his current AAV of $5.35MM given his age, either, and he should remain a priority for Calgary to keep in the fold for the next few seasons if they truly do intend on remaining competitive.

One player who they’ll likely attempt to shop is Hanifin, who was reportedly unwilling to sign an extension with the team earlier in the summer and has already been mentioned in specific trade rumors with teams such as the Florida Panthers. That was all before free agency opened, however, and a trade still hasn’t happened. It might be Calgary will look to have Hanifin boost his stock with a strong start to the season before moving him, or they’re hoping a reversal in the team’s fortunes would persuade him to stay. He’s certainly the most replaceable of their big-ticket pending UFAs – assuming they pursue extensions hard with Tanev, Zadorov and Kylington, they’d be able to replace Hanifin by committee (along with Rasmus Andersson) if Conroy doesn’t net a direct replacement for him via trade.

Conroy will need to be careful in how he manages the salary cap with the moves he makes, however, especially if he is intent on extending Lindholm. That extension would require a rather substantial raise on his current $4.85MM cap hit, something the team doesn’t have room for right now as it would take nearly all of the cap space afforded to them by 2024’s expected $4MM jump in the Upper Limit from $83.5MM to $87.5MM. If he moves out backup netminder Daniel Vladar and his $2.2MM cap hit to pave the way for top prospect Dustin Wolf to assume an NHL role, that should give him some breathing room. It won’t be much if Wolf has a strong season, though, as he’s a restricted free agent in 2024 and will surely require a new seven-figure deal if he puts up good numbers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Oliver Kylington Expected To Re-Join Flames Next Season

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TSN is reporting that Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney stated Monday that defenseman Oliver Kylington will re-join the team next season. Maloney made the announcement this afternoon at a Flames press conference and stated that he was excited to see the Swede coming back to Alberta. The former second round pick didn’t play in Calgary this season and wasn’t with the team as he was dealing with a personal matter.

Kylington was very effective for the Flames in 2021-22 as he set career highs with nine goals and 31 points in 73 games playing alongside defensive defenseman Chris Tanev on the second pairing. His breakout season led the Flames to re-sign the Stockholm native to a two year $5MM contract extension in August 2022.

With Kylington returning it could make for an interesting shuffling of the deck chairs on the Flames back end. Calgary is just $1.25MM under the 2023-24 salary cap without accounting for Kylington’s cap hit. His return will most certainly put the Flames over the salary cap and require them to move out a player or two.

Calgary might already be interested in moving out some players given the year the team just had missing the playoffs. The Flames made huge moves last summer and was expected to compete for the Stanley Cup, but instead ending up parting ways with general manager Brad Treliving and firing head coach Darryl Sutter. The Flames have no shortage of tradeable assets and could move a couple of their pending unrestricted free agents this summer should they decide to rebuild or retool their roster.

Injury Notes: Capitals, Blues, Tanev, Teravainen

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While the Washington Capitals are near the conclusion of a rare season that finds them outside the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture, the circumstances surrounding their franchise’s greatest player add more meaning to the remaining games on their schedule than those contests might have for other teams. Alex Ovechkin remains locked into his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record, and until the day he passes The Great One, each Capitals game holds importance.

As a result, any injuries Capitals players suffer at this stage of the season are more meaningful than they might be for another franchise closing out a lost season. So, today’s reporting via the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs that Capitals veterans T.J. Oshie and Trevor van Riemsdyk will not travel with the team and are each nursing upper-body injuries is notable. While the 36-year-old Oshie may not be the caliber of player he once was, he’s still a reliable contributor to the Capitals’ forward corps and his absence could make life for Ovechkin more difficult. Same for the loss of van Riemsdyk, who as a former undrafted player has carved himself a nice career as a penalty kill specialist at the age of 31.

Some other injury notes from across the NHL:

  • NHL.com’s Lou Korac relays updates from St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube on two of the team’s most important players. Per Berube, top center Robert Thomas is a game-time decision tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, while the Blues’ leading scorer on a point-per-game basis, Pavel Buchnevich, remains out. Both Thomas and Buchnevich have not played since the Blues’ March 28th overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks, and in their absence St. Louis has lost two of three games, with their sole victory coming over the last-place Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter told the media today, including TSN Sports’ Salim Nadim Valji, that veteran defensive defenseman Chris Tanev is a game-time decision tonight against the Blackhawks. Tanev hasn’t played since March 20th, when the Flames suffered a miserable 8-2 loss in Los Angeles. With the Flames on a four-game winning streak and mounting a serious challenge to the Winnipeg Jets, getting Tanev back into the lineup would give his team a major boost. Tanev is the Flames’ leading penalty-killer by a wide margin and the experience, defensive prowess, and 20 rock-solid minutes a night he brings to the table could be just what the Calgary needs to push themselves past the Jets for the final Wild Card spot.
  • Carolina Hurricanes star forward Teuvo Teravainen remains out of the lineup for tonight’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators, marking the fourth straight game he has missed. The 28-year-old Finn has undoubtedly had a down season by his standards (just 12 goals and 36 points in 63 games played) but with both Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov out for the season, he’ll need to get back to full health and shoulder a greater offensive workload in order for the Hurricanes to stand the best chance of making a deep playoff run.

Injury Notes: Chychrun, Zadina, Tanev, Stone

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Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Jakob Chychrun of the Ottawa Senators is doubtful to play Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Ottawa head coach DJ Smith was quoted by TSN’s Claire Hanna as saying that Chychrun, “tugged something there a little bit, we’ll see how he reacts to treatment here.”

Chychrun left Ottawa’s 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday after taking a hit in the third period. He was in obvious discomfort as he skated to the Senators bench before heading down the runway to the locker room. Smith said after the game that he didn’t believe it was an injury, but rather that it was cramping.

Since coming over to Ottawa in the March 1st trade, Chychrun has two goals and three assists in 12 games while averaging 21 minutes of ice time a game. Ottawa can ill afford to lose their prized trade deadline acquisition as they are running out of runway with just ten games left in the season. Ottawa sits five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and will be in tough tomorrow as they do battle with the Devils in New Jersey.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced today that Filip Zadina is day-to-day with a lower body injury and will not be available for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Zadina also missed over three months earlier this season with a lower body injury after blocking a shot in early November against the New York Islanders. It’s been a tough season for the former Halifax Moosehead, he has struggled to stay on the ice, and when he has played, he has been largely ineffective with just seven points in 30 games. The 23-year-old had a career year last season with 24 points in 74 games but has yet to live up to the expectations the Red Wings had for him when they took him sixth overall in 2018.
  • Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg is reporting that Chris Tanev didn’t practice with the Calgary Flames this morning after missing their previous two games with a lower body injury. The 33-year-old Toronto native has 13 points in 61 games this season and has averaged over 20 minutes a night in ice time. Calgary is a long shot to make the post season with just nine games remaining on the schedule. They sit six points back of Winnipeg for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference and would need to leapfrog Nashville who have 12 games remaining. Calgary can ill afford to lose Tanev’s defensive prowess as they battle down to the wire.
  • In a bit of good news for Calgary, injured defenseman Michael Stone has started skating on his own. Stone has missed the Flames last 17 games with a lower body injury that he suffered in late February. Stone has five goals and five assists in 46 games this season while averaging just over 13 minutes a night in ice time. He is hardly an option to replace Tanev should his injury be long term, but Stone could offer some additional depth for the Flames as they head into the final pivotal weeks of the season.

Calgary Flames Activate Chris Tanev

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The Calgary Flames have activated defenseman Chris Tanev, according to a team tweet. Tanev has been out with an injury since January 23rd, when he left early in a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Flames now are left with eight defensemen on their active roster with this activation, thanks to the recent recall of Dennis Gilbert from the AHL. It’s possible Gilbert’s recall was made with the intention of him being a contingency plan in case Tanev wasn’t ready to go for tonight’s game against the New York Rangers, so he could be on the way back to the AHL should the team want to carry only seven defensemen and add another forward to the mix.

That being said, though, the Flames are on an East Coast road trip, meaning they also might prefer to keep Gilbert with the team for the rest of the trip rather than just send him home with zero games played. Worth noting is that the Flames do have veteran forward Kevin Rooney in the AHL, seemingly out of place there since the team so recently gave him a two-year, $1.3MM AAV guarantee.

The Flames get a major boost with Tanev’s return just as they enter a crucial stretch of their season. They’re looking to keep pace with other Western Conference contenders in the race for a playoff spot, and Tanev will undoubtedly help them in that pursuit. Long regarded as one of the league’s better stay-at-home defensemen, Tanev has been a crucially important defensive anchor for head coach Darryl Sutter.

Tanev is the centerpiece of the Flames’ penalty kill, skating nearly three minutes a night with the opponent on the man advantage. He’s blocked 85 shots this season as well, and beyond more traditional defensive counting stats, which have their limit in usefulness, public analytics models remain exceedingly high on Tanev’s work in the defensive zone.

While his return won’t solve the Flames’ lingering issues in net and with underperforming top forwards such as Jonathan Huberdeau, he will help the team close out games where they maintain a late lead.

For a club seeking to build momentum and return to the playoffs, getting a player like Tanev back to full health can mean the difference between picking up or leaving behind those few standings points that separate the playoff teams from the near-misses.

Snapshots: Islanders, Tanev, Guzda

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The New York Islanders have now lost six in a row, scoring just 11 goals in the process. A group that was once expected to be serious buyers at the trade deadline have nearly fallen out of the playoff race entirely, making it a much different situation as February approaches.

When discussing the team’s deadline plans (as best as he can figure, with Lou Lamoriello at the helm), Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast that there was real interest in Jakob Chychrun at one point. Apparently, the Islanders balked at the asking price, something that Friedman understands, given their current position.

  • With Chris Tanev already ruled out through the All-Star break, the Calgary Flames have moved him to injured reserve. Brett Ritchie has been activated to fill his spot, and is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the team takes on the Seattle Kraken. Ritchie last played on New Year’s Eve, leaving the game after just six shifts.
  • The Florida Panthers will go with Alex Lyon in net again tonight, and are set to have Mack Guzda as the backup after recalling him this morning. To make room, Grigori Denisenko was returned to the minor leagues. Lyon has allowed 17 goals in four games so far, including seven on 49 shots Tuesday night.
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