In what is a bit of a surprise move, the Calgary Flames announced that they have sent Jakob Pelletier down to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. This news comes after the Flames scratched him for the past two games, including against his childhood favourite team, the Montreal Canadiens.
Pelletier’s development is the first priority
There have been a lot of signs pointing to a move like this from within the Flames’ organization. Perhaps the most glaring reason for this has been Pelletier’s lack of production this season. He has just one goal in his last five games played, and that came on March 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has also seen his ice time drop gradually, to a low of 4:55 in his last game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
On the season, Pelletier has just three points in 13 games but has seen his ice time average out at less than ten minutes a game. This is a drop from last season when in 24 games, he was hovering just under 15 minutes a night under Darryl Sutter. Not great.
Perhaps the final straw in Pelletier’s current NHL stint was the comments made by Head Coach Ryan Huska, who noted that Pelletier needs to play with less fear. He hasn’t looked himself of late, particularly after his shoulder injury, and given he’s been playing in a fourth line role, his unwillingness to really crash and bang is a problem for the team.
Getting Pelletier back on track
At the end of the day, this is a really good opportunity for Pelletier to get his confidence up, play more minutes on a depleted team, and get himself back into NHL form. This is likely not a forever move, and once Pelletier starts really lighting up the AHL, expect him back in the big leagues.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
