After suffering a brutal shoulder injury right before the start of the season, Jakob Pelletier is officially back on the ice as he was assigned to the Calgary Wranglers. However, after his performance with the Flames, it is clear that this is just a temporary measure to get his speed back, and he will be back with the Flames in short order.
The Flames are in a rough spot, with about a 0.500 record and a looming trade deadline. The team desperately needs a jump, and Pelletier is a piece that they desperately need to kick them into gear. There are a number of ways that the Calgary Flames could lineup with the left-shot winger in the lineup. Here are the most likely:
Start Pelletier out on the fourth line
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Elias Lindholm | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Connor Zary | Nazem Kadri | Martin Pospisil |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Jakob Pelletier | Dillon Dube/Adam Ruzicka | A.J. Greer |
Realistically, with Pelletier back, Walker Duehr is likely the guy to go back down to the Wranglers. Greer almost certainly stays in the lineup, and Adam Ruzicka likely becomes their 13th forward. While he does need to go on waivers, Duehr will almost certainly go through without being claimed. You likely risk that waiver claim over putting Pospisil or Ruzicka on waivers at this point.
This is probably where the Flames start. Pelletier hasn’t played hockey since September, and will likely need a sheltered role to start his journey back to the NHL. Without limiting how the Flames could use their top players, this likely means he starts with the fourth line, on the wing with Greer and Dube. They likely see heavy offensive-zone deployment against the bottom line of the opposing teams.
Do not expect Pelletier to end the season here unless things go very wrong, but he almost certainly will start with this group.
Pelletier in a shutdown role
Broadly, the Flames are going to use Pelletier in one of three places. Given his history and pedigree of being an exceptional two-way player, there is a very good chance that he fits in with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Elias Lindholm | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Connor Zary | Nazem Kadri | Martin Pospisil |
| Jakob Pelletier | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Dillon Dube/Adam Ruzicka | A.J. Greer |
Pelletier has been known for his elite two-way play since junior hockey in Quebec, through his time in the AHL, and even at the NHL level. Plus this option would put him alongside Backlund, which should provide him more insulation as opposed to placing him with anyone else on the team.
This would mean moving Mangiapane somewhere else in the lineup. He has struggled mightily this season, but he has been at his best when paired with Backlund. This is a major issue that the Flames will need to address, as they cannot feasibly have both with Backlund and move Coleman elsewhere.
Moving Mangiapane down a line gives him a lower quality of competition, which should allow him to feast night in and night out. Playing with Greer and either Dube or Ruzicka should give him two fast linemates to play with. There is a lot of possibility for him to really thrive in this role.
Naz and the Kids v2
The other option for this would be to play Pelletier on the right wing of the second line and move Martin Pospisil down or out of the lineup. Here’s how it would look:
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Elias Lindholm | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Connor Zary | Nazem Kadri | Jakob Pelletier |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Martin Pospisil | Dillon Dube/Adam Ruzicka | A.J. Greer |
Pelletier has played all three forward positions since junior and has been equally proficient in all three roles. Moving him over to the right wing of the line with Kadri and Zary would create a very gritty offensive line with strong two-way play. This would also reunite Zary and Pelletier, who formed an elite top line in the AHL last season. Playing them with Kadri would likely be an upgrade to playing with Pospisil, with due respect to the Slovak winger.
This line has functioned mostly like a third line, with heavy offensive deployment and an opportunity to match up against other teams’ second and third lines. Pelletier—although a rookie—does give a lot of two-way support and allows coach Ryan Huska to match this line against other teams’ better lines while also providing more offensive upside.
This would make Pospisil more dispensible, which is likely not something that the Flames want to do ideally, but it means keeping Dube in the lineup full-time. However, this does leave the first and third lines together, allowing Huberdeau to build chemistry with his linemates and for the team to keep their elite two-way line together.
The Pelletier-Huberdeau combination
The Flames desperately need to get Huberdeau going, and playing him with Pelletier—someone he had so much success last season—seems like a natural fit. This would be the lineup.
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Nazem Kadri | Jakob Pelletier |
| Connor Zary | Elias Lindholm | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Martin Pospisil | Dillon Dube/Adam Ruzicka | A.J. Greer |
This model would reunite the Huberdeau-Kadri-Pelletier line from last season, but would put the other two lines in a big blender. The challenge would be that the Flames would then break-up Zary and Kadri, which has been so good, but would put him instead with Lindholm and Sharangivich, which should provide a good balanced line. With Zary’s grit, Sharangovich’s skill, and Lindholm’s two-way play, this could actually be a very good line.
The same issue would still occur with Pospisil being the odd-man out on the second line. Bumping Pelletier up would likely mean moving Pospisil down to the fourth line. There isn’t anyone else who could feasibly move down the lineup.
If the Flames did not want to break-up Kadri and Zary, the other alternative would be to keep Huberdeau and Lindholm together with Pelletier and then keep Kadri on the second line with Sharangovich and Zary. This gives both of the Flames’ expensive players a younger player to mentor and grow with to help the team benefit. As Kadri grew with Zary, the hope would be that Huberdeau would do the same with Pelletier.
What makes the most sense for Pelletier?
The Flames desperately need to get Huberdeau going, and Pelletier provides the greatest possibility of that. While he likely starts on the fourth line, there is very little chance he will remain there. Pelletier is an exceptional prospect and should be a difference-maker in short order.
