It feels like it has been eons since the last time the Calgary Flames last played a game. After the team’s bye week and the NHL All-Star break, the Flames are back on the ice tonight, facing off against David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins.
The Flames are going to look very different on the ice tonight. Gone is Elias Lindholm, set to wear a blue uniform for the first time in his career as the Vancouver Canucks face his first club, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Instead, the Flames will see Andrei Kuzmenko play his first NHL game in red. Add in new line combinations, Brayden Pachal on defence, Jakob Pelletier and Kevin Rooney in their first games of the season, and Martin Pospisil back from injury, there is a lot to look forward to tonight. Let’s break it all down:
The Kuzmenko Show hits the ice in Calgary
The key player to watch tonight will be Kuzmenko, who was just one of five pieces coming back in the Lindholm trade. A very offensive player who loves to shoot the puck, Kuzmenko is in the midst of a down year that has seen him demoted to playing mostly a fourth line role under Rick Tocchet in Vancouver. Coming off of last season, where he had 39 goals and 78 points, there is clearly more for him to give.
The Flames will start him on an offence-first line, alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich, with the latter playing centre for the first time this season. This is going to be a fun line to watch. Huberdeau and Sharangovich have been clicking really well to start the season, and if they can get going with Kuzmenko offensively, this trade is going to start looking very good for the Flames.
Welcome back Pelletier, Rooney, and Pospisil
After two nasty injuries, the Flames will finally get Kevin Rooney and Jakob Pelletier on the ice this season. The Rooney addition gives the team depth at centre, adding a veteran presence to the middle after the team lost Adam Ruzicka on waivers a couple of weeks back.
The more exciting piece is having Pelletier back in the lineup. With three points in four AHL games in his short stint with the Wranglers, expectations are high for what he can do at the NHL level when given a real look. While the Flames are expected to start him on the bottom line, expect him to earn a larger role in the coming weeks, with the hope that if the Huberdeau line doesn’t gel, he earns a spot alongside his fellow Quebec-born forward.
Finally, the Flames also get Martin Pospisil back in the lineup. After suffering in an injury on January 18 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Slovak forward has been surprisingly impactful, forming a solid line alongside Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary. Having him back in the lineup is huge for the Flames, and he should slot back into his old spot.
Welcome Brayden Pachal
The Flames also bolstered their defensive depth, adding Pachal off of waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights. The former Prince Albert Raider has just one goal in 17 appearances but plays mostly as a defence-first blueliner. Expect him to play alongside Oliver Kylington tonight.
The addition of Pachal is a smart one for the Flames. Not only does it add an NHL body to a defence corps that just lost Nick DeSimone, but it also serves as a handy addition who can slot in should the Flames trade Chris Tanev.
New look Flames
The Flames are going to look very different tonight than they did before. Pospisil, Pachal, Pelletier, Rooney, and Kuzmenko are all in while Lindholm, Adam Klapka, Matt Coronato, Dennis Gilbert, and Cole Schwindt are all out. Expect Coronato to be back in the NHL soon, particularly given the AHL All-Star Classic is now finished.
There will no doubt be more movement between now and the NHL Trade Deadline, as the Flames make decisions to keep or trade Hanifin, Tanev and others. The organization should also get Jeremie Poirier back soon, and expect him to play NHL games before the end of the season. He is a very exciting prospect and is the defenceman who has the highest ceiling in the organization right now.
There is so much to get excited about in tonight’s game, but also going forward. Regardless of how you feel about the direction of the organization right now, there is no denying that this is a very interesting time to be a Flames fan.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
