In a surprising mid-season free-agent move, the Calgary Flames announced on Saturday morning that they have signed defenseman Mark Pysyk to a one-year, two-way deal at an AAV of $725,000:
This move most likely shouldn’t signal any immediate trades coming, but rather more of a depth signing for a team that is low on defencemen. As he was put on waivers this afternoon, it strongly signals a move to the Calgary Wranglers.
Pysyk’s profile
Currently in the AHL, the Calgary Flames have virtually zero defencemen. After the Nikita Zadorov trade, the Flames have Jordan Oesterle, Ilya Solovyov, and Dennis Gilbert on the NHL roster. Add injuries to Colton Poolman and Jeremie Poirier, the Wranglers are bleeding depth players.
Pysyk is an NHL veteran of 521 NHL games and brings stability to the AHL and NHL roster depending on where he is needed.
A reminder that the Wranglers lead the Pacific Division and are second in the AHL in terms of points. Despite the NHL always being the focus, the Wranglers are threats again to challenge for the Calder Cup and management surely wants to give them some support.
Most recently, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate, but for the last three NHL seasons Pysyk has been a solid defender for the teams he has played for:
For a depth defenceman, the organization looks to have found a bit of a diamond in the rough. Pysyk should fill a big hole on the Wranglers’ blueline and fill in the NHL temporarily should the team make any additional moves.
Smart move by Craig Conroy and the team.
