Since the management turnover in Calgary in 2023, the Flames have injected tons of youth into their lineup. Giving full time showings to Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil, and now Dustin Wolf, with reps to many others as well. Heading into this season, the Flames winger depth was going to become an issue of value. Matt Coronato deserved another chance but there was no spot for him. This became a bigger problem after Sam Honzek impressed in preseason. Currently, Coronato is rotating in and out on the fourth line and Honzek is filling for Yegor Sharangovich on the first line. But when the team is fully healthy, where will these two play for the rest of the year?
NHL options
The NHL has limited options for these two. The line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Martin Pospisil, and Anthony Mantha have been dominant to start the year and don’t have a breakup in their future any time soon. Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko are looking like a dynamic duo with Yegor Sharangovich set to return from injury in the coming weeks. The untouchable pair in Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman are still together and Connor Zary is currently slotted in with them. When the trade deadline comes, solutions may arise, but we don’t want to look too far ahead just yet.
Once again, with these lines set, options become limited. One popular idea before the season started was to put Pospisil as the fourth-line centre and move Zary to up into the top-six as a centre. This was because Pospisil has a style that is more suited for a physical fourth line alongside Adam Klapka and Ryan Lomberg. It would also open up two spots better suited for offensive players.
Move Zary to centre?
Now, obviously with how the season has started, Pospisil is not moving off his line. Hypothetically, you could take this idea and just swap the players and have Zary on the fourth. Zary is probably the most skilled young guy the Flames have on their roster, you don’t want to kill his ice time. But even though Zary is currently listed on the third and Pospisil is listed on the second, Zary is third in forward ice time behind only Kadri and Backlund while Pospisil is eighth among forwards. With the Flames it’s not about how they’re listed but how they’re used.
A fourth line with Zary at centre now opens up a spot alongside Backlund and Coleman plus a winger slot on a more skilled fourth line. Honzek or Coronato would then slot in beside Backlund and Coleman. You would also theoretically have a line of Honzek/Coronato, Zary, and Klapka/Lomberg. This would give both players a chance to play with good players that they would benefit from. With how the Flames use players, Zary would also still get his top-six minutes and hopefully keep his efficient play.
Now I understand, you don’t really want to try to fix what’s not broken currently. The Flames are playing great and there’s no real apparent problem yet. You probably don’t want to take Zary away from Backlund and Coleman if there’s no real reason to.
Does the fourth line make sense for Coronato?
This is a look into the future on how to use Coronato and Honzek but currently, everything is clicking. One thing, Honzek looks pretty solid. He hasn’t made too many mistakes and is doing his best to hold with the big guns. But he’s not wowing like he did in preseason. There’s a pretty good chance he will get sent down after nine games. This would leave just Coronato and a harder solution. Personally, I wouldn’t be in favour of moving Zary down to the fourth line in this situation. You create that hole on the Backlund line with no one really to fill it except Coronato but then what’s the point of moving Zary down.
It becomes the dilemma of whether you want to play Coronato with guys who aren’t as offensively talented as him at 5v5 on the fourth line. Coronato has played at all the forward positions. Put him at either position and you put him with guys that are also unproven at the NHL level or don’t have great production in their career. Putting him at centre would give him the best bunch with Lomberg and Klapka but that’s also his least experienced position.
If we see a Jakob Pelletier recall at some point this year, maybe there’s some more sense to it. Coronato also may just need the NHL experience. Last year, it just seemed like the difference between AHL and NHL was his struggle and more time adjusting could be the move. With the possible situation, it may just be best to send down Coronato with Honzek.
Spend time in the AHL
Good for Honzek’s development
Unless Honzek explodes in production in these next six games, it seems very likely we will see him with the Calgary Wranglers after Game 9. And that’s not a dig on Honzek. It’s impressive how he’s turned his career around after injuries and doubts. But it’s just how the NHL rolls. Time with the Wranglers would do lots for Honzek. He would get some of the most minutes on the team and have great chances to produce.
Honzek is projected to be a winger that can play centre but maybe lighting up the AHL at his young age could give him the confidence to project to centre. He could definitely get time playing the position in the AHL for the first time at the pro level. Honestly, the AHL just seems best for his development as he could get a better opportunity to comfortably mould himself into the player he wants to be.
He could struggle in the AHL, but that’s okay. Think about how Zary had problems his first pro year and now suddenly he’s one of the Flames’ brightest young players.
Experience or production for Coronato?
Coronato on the other hand is a different story. He showed last year that he may be too good for the AHL. And at 22 years old in a month, you don’t exactly want him still in the minors. He does need the pro experience but with him last season it honestly just looked like a transitioning problem to the NHL. He looked awesome in the AHL but frustrating in the NHL. As I mentioned, maybe just giving NHL time is the move but you want him to play. He’s got skill and he’s a scorer. You want him to produce.
Lighting up the AHL another time could do wonders for Coronato’s confidence, where he would just show that he really is too good for the minors.
Limited options in the near future
When it comes to Sam Honzek and Matt Coronato, the Flames’ options are not much when fully healthy currently. The top-nine will be set with Yegor Sharangovich returning from injury and you don’t exactly want to throw two rookies on the fourth. You could do some adjusting with Connor Zary but if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. After nine games, a send-down for Honzek seems likely which leaves questions for Coronato. Do you give him NHL time to adjust or do you let him show he’s too deadly for the AHL with the Wranglers?
Only time will tell what the Flames end up deciding on.
