A mixed-news morning from the Calgary Flames. The good news, the team has recalled AHL All-Star Matt Coronato from the Calgary Wranglers. The bad news, Connor Zary is day-to-day with an upper body injury.
A bad break for Connor Zary
Zary missed chunks of the Flames‘ last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, out of the lineup in the first period, back for stretches of the second, and away again for part of the third. He had just 14 shifts in the game, and played just 9:38.
The former Kamloops Blazer had just finished his 50th NHL game and has 12 goals and 29 points on the year. He sits sixth on the team in scoring, tied with Andrew Mangiapane, and he sits with a whopping +17, good for second on the team.
Given this has been reported as day-to-day, hopefully this is just a minor issue that is nagging at the Flames’ young star, and he can get back in the lineup soon.
It’s well past time that Coronato got another NHL look
Matt Coronato has been holding down the fort in the AHL. With most of the top Flames prospects currently in the NHL, has has had minimal run support, and has had to be a key play driver for the team.
And drive play he has! In 40 games with the Wranglers, Coronato has amassed 15 goals and 42 points. He leads the team in points despite playing twelve fewer games than the next highest scorer and is among the league leaders in points and points-per-game among rookies.
His AHL dominance earned him an All-Star nod, as he was named to the Pacific Division squad alongside start goalie Dustin Wolf and head coach Trent Cull.
Coronato has had to work on both his skating as well as his play in the corners, and he has taken strides in both of those areas since being sent down the last time. He looks like a more complete hockey player, and also looks like he has picked up some muscle in his time with the Wranglers. This should bode well for his time with the big club.
The big question is where Coronato will slot in. With Zary out of the lineup, Coronato could either slot in on that line, playing either on the left or the right of Nazem Kadri. Alternatively, the Flames may push Jakob Pelletier into that spot and move Coronato down to the fourth line with some likely Kevin Rooney and Walker Duehr. The most interesting move would be if the Flames moved Dryden Hunt down, Pelletier to the Kadri line and gave the open wing slot with Yegor Sharangovich and Jonathan Huberdeau to Coronato, which could be an elite top line.
The Flames play the Seattle Kraken tonight, which should be a good test for the team that is currently on a five-game winning streak.
