The Calgary Flames pulled off a massive deal, sending unrestricted free agent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for winger Andrei Kuzmenko, two prospects, a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. This is a massive haul for a player who was unlikely to sign with the Flames this season or this summer.
However, in losing Lindholm, the Flames have a big hole to fill at centre. Lindholm was a very good centreman for the organization for much of the time he was in Calgary, and there is nobody in the organization who is able to simply slot into his role. On top of the drop-off in centre depth, the team may be forced to move a player to centre from the wing, limiting depth on that front as well.
Adding Kuzmenko was a really smart move, but has its own challenges. The Russian winger has mostly been a middle-six left winger, but thrives when he gets to play heavier minutes. The Flames will want to get him going as quickly as possible, and that means putting him on a line where he has the greatest likelihood of becoming an impact NHLer.
The Flames have also recalled Jakob Pelletier, Kevin Rooney, and Cole Schwindt from the Calgary Wranglers, which adds more centre depth but the added challenge of slotting them all into an already jumbled lineup.
Line combination possibilities for the new-look Flames
Here are some options for how the Flames forward lines could shakeup:
Rooney and Schwindt slot in at centre
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Nazem Kadri | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Connor Zary | Kevin Rooney | Andrei Kuzmenko |
| Martin Pospisil/Walker Duehr | Cole Schwindt | Jakob Pelletier |
These lines are the path of least resistance. The Flames don’t need to try anyone new at centre who hasn’t played centre at the NHL level and get to keep the Backlund line completely intact. Nazem Kadri slides up to the top line, centring Yegor Sharangovich and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Andrei Kuzmenko, who is a right shot, slides into the third line slot alongside Rooney and Connor Zary, which should allow him to get going against other teams’ bottom-six players. Plus it gives Jakob Pelletier a chance to work on the bottom line to find his feet again at the NHL level.
This feels like the safest possible bet to get players moving, but there are a number of questions here. Kadri and Huberdeau have not worked well as a duo, but adding Sharangovich may help that line gel finally. Further, Kuzmenko is playing with Rooney, who is not a good centreman. This may limit his production.
All that said, this feels like a good balanced option for the Flames.
Move Sharangovich to centre
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Connor Zary | Nazem Kadri | Andrei Kuzmenko |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Yegor Sharangovich | Jakob Pelletier |
| Martin Pospisil/Walker Duehr | Kevin Rooney | Cole Schwindt |
The Flames do have Sharangovich available as an NHL centre and slotting him in may be worth a look. This set of lines would put him with Huberdeau on the one wing and Pelletier on the other, allowing the two Quebec-born players to develop chemistry together. The hope being that they would gel similarly to how Kadri and Zary formed their chemistry.
Speaking of Kadri, he retains the top line spot with Zary on his one wing and Kuzmenko on the other. This would give the Russian a chance to play heavy NHL minutes and really show the Flames what they have in him.
Schwindt would then slide into the right wing spot, which makes sense for the right shot forward, and Rooney would centre the bottom line with Duehr and/or Pospisil.
The question mark here is whether you want Sharangovich to play at centre, but given he has experience in the role at the NHL level, this feels like another safe bet to try. He and Huberdeau have been strong together, and this setup may help that line gel. If this line works, the Flames would have two really strong offensive lines plus an elite shutdown line.
Move Zary to centre
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Nazem Kadri | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Andrew Mangiapane | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Jakob Pelletier | Connor Zary | Andrei Kuzmenko |
| Walker Duehr | Kevin Rooney | Martin Pospisil/Cole Schwindt |
The Flames have spent the last two seasons preparing Zary to be a centreman in the AHL, and it feels only right that he take the open spot in the middle. This setup would allow the Flames to keep the top two lines from the first set of combinations, but give Kuzmenko a fun young line to grow with.
Rooney would then centre the bottom line with two of Pospisil, Schwindt, and Duehr.
The third line poses a lot of questions, however. Pelletier hasn’t played NHL games this season, Kuzmenko hasn’t played in the Flames’ system, and Zary hasn’t played centre at the NHL level. That is a ton of risk. However, in a bottom-six role, it may be worth a look. The Flames are looking to bottom out, and both Zary and Pelletier have looked very good. Keeping Kuzmenko away from the struggling Huberdeau may be what is best for his production to pop off, and the young line could be a blast to watch.
Breakup the Backlund line
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Yegor Sharangovich | Nazem Kadri | Andrei Kuzmenko |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Connor Zary | Andrew Mangiapane |
| Jakob Pelletier | Mikael Backlund | Blake Coleman |
| Walker Duehr | Kevin Rooney | Martin Pospisil/Cole Schwindt |
This may be heresy, but the roster moves may necessitate the Flames to split up the Backlund line. This combination would move Mangiapane to his off-wing but put Jakob Pelletier in a shutdown role with Backlund and Coleman. Pelletier is a very good two-way player, and pairing him with Backlund would insulate him as he finds his feet.
Huberdeau would then have two shooters on his line in Zary and Mangiapane, allowing him a greater chance of finding his playmaking game.
Kadri would be with Kuzmenko and Sharangovich, allowing for a very fun, fast, gritty top line. You can also swap Sharangovich and Kuzmenko to their correct sides, which may optimize their performance.
Finally, Rooney continues to centre the bottom line, which remains intact.
This group allows the Flames the chance to ease Pelletier back in, while getting Huberdeau going with Mangiapane. Kuzmenko gets top minutes with a strong centre and winger, which may help him catch fire early. Zary also gets to play centre, while alongside a very strong two-way player in Mangiapane.
This looks like a major shakeup but could be the solution to the team’s lineup woes.
Which line combos make the most sense for the Flames?
As much as I may think it’s a good idea to split up the Backlund line, the Flames have been hesitant to do it in the past and they almost certainly don’t do it now. Given the choice of anyone on the Wranglers to call up including Matt Coronato, the team opted for two centres in Schwindt and Rooney. That likely means they want both to play down the middle, at least to start.
I don’t see them playing Huberdeau of Sharangovich with Rooney on the third line, so that probably means Zary slides down alongside the American centreman. Kuzmenko likely plays there too, at least to start, as the Flames try to integrate him into the lineup. There is a good chance that he slides into Lindholm’s spot on the top power play unit as well to compensate for his ice time.
The first option is likely the one that they start with, but don’t be surprised if we see either Zary or Sharangovich in the middle soon, with Pospisil when healthy challenging for one of those spots in the middle shortly as well.
