The Calgary Flames have been playing some of their best hockey in years. They’re scoring a lot of goals, getting good goaltending and are getting some phenomenal development from their young stars. As of late, those young players have been driving the bus for the team.
The team has been pretty banged up, however. Jonathan Huberdeau has to play a game for the team; Sam Honzek and Brennan Othmann are still dealing with injuries. Those are three players who were all on the opening-night roster when the season began in October. Since then, Aydar Suniev, Jonathan Castagna, and William Stromgren have all come up from the Wranglers. They have all been contributors in different ways.
With Huberdeau nearing a return–and Othamnn and Honzek also not that far away from returning–that begs the question: what will this roster look like at full health? Not everyone can stay, and a bunch of players will not require waivers to be reassigned to the Wranglers. Something will need to give.
Who is heading back to the AHL?
I think there are some obvious picks for who would go down to the Wranglers once the roster becomes fully healthy. I think those players will be the aforementioned Stromgren, Honzek and Max Tysplakov.
Stromgren has played well. I think he has earned himself a longer look at some point with the Flames. But after playing only just over eight minutes on Sunday night, the writing is on the wall for him. And going down to the AHL and playing top minutes will be more beneficial to him than sitting on the bench for 50 minutes every game.
Honzek is a different story. He has shown some flashes of being able to hack it at the NHL level. However, he just cannot stay healthy or be relied on as a major piece of a hockey team. At least, not yet. So many guys are playing well right now, and I do think that Honzek would benefit from playing huge minutes with the Wranglers. We have to remember that before the injury, Honzek was struggling. With someone like Suniev succeeding as much as he has been, it would be a bad message to send the team if Honzek were to take that spot from him. For me, Honzek just has not shown enough at the NHL level yet to warrant a spot being handed to him instead of him earning it.
Tysplakov is the easiest to justify. He has not been a good Flame, and he probably isn’t an NHL player at this point. He won’t be picked up off waivers, and you can cut ties with him at the NHL level. This doesn’t hurt the Flames at all.
What does the Flames lineup look like when fully healthy?
The question now is: what is the Flames lineup when everyone is back? Well, let’s see where everyone would fit:
| Matvei Gridin | Morgan Frost | Matt Coronato |
| Joel Farabee | Mikael Backlund | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Martin Pospisil | Aydar Suniev |
| Ryan Strome / Brennan Othmann | Jonathan Castagna | Adam Klapka |
The lineup does stay mostly the same. I am not sure what Ryan Huska would plan to do with the lines, but I would like to see something like above.
Put the top line back together
As well as the trio have been playing away from each other, I do just think it is time for Matvei Gridin, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato to be reunited. The three of them have been playing their best hockey of the year so far, especially when it comes to Gridin and Coronato. They have been firing on all cylinders. Putting them back together should make the offence more dangerous than it has been.
We have talked about these three at length before. I just think it would be in the team’s best interest to have their three best offensive weapons back together. I would like to see them again to see what they can do.
The Farabee bump?
If you had told me that Joel Farabee would start this season playing at a point-per-game clip, I would be astounded. Yet, here we are. Farabee has had the best start to a season in his career to date. On top of that, he doesn’t look like he is slowing down. Add in the consistent Mikael Backlund and Yegor Sharangovich, who has been weirdly good on the defensive side of the puck this year, and you have a tough line to play against.
There isn’t a world of skill here, but Backlund and Farabee will hunt guys down. Sharangovich still has that shot that we don’t see him use as much these days. It is a line that could work, and it would take the defensive load off guys like Coronato and Gridin.
The return of Huberdeau
The return of the highest-paid man in Flames history isn’t as anticipated as it would have been a few years ago. Sometimes, I totally forget that he was even still part of the team, considering he hasn’t played a game since February. It will be nice to have his veteran presence back on the ice. The question will be whether he can even return to being an NHL player after his surgery. Easing him back into the lineup on a heavily sheltered offensive line should help.
Martin Pospisil has had a bit of a resurgence this year after a season last year that was derailed by an injury in the preseason. Suniev has been rock solid since his call-up and looks poised to never see the AHL again.
The line would be given primarily offensive zone starts against lesser competition. It would be a good test to see if Huberdeau can still hack it after his surgery. A pure sniper in Suniev on his wing and a pest who would make room for him in Pospisil should help his cause. It will be interesting to see if Huberdeau can return to any kind of form, or if he will play out the last five years of his contract on LTIR.
The 4th line doesn’t change
The 4th line that was together before Othamann’s injury is reunited, as they had played quite well before the injury struck him. Castagna has come up and played an incredible defensive role for the team. Adam Klapka has been quite effective on the 4th line this year. A crash-and-bang line with some speed and youth is definitely not a bad thing. It would be nice to see them back together.
That leaves Ryan Strome as the odd man out. He has been fine on the ice, and the team clearly loves him in the room. However, the team is clogged. With Castagna playing as well as he has, Pospisil taking a spot down the middle, and the wings as jammed as ever, that leaves Strome without a place. He could come in and fill a spot no problem, but at this point in his career and with his contract up at the end of the season, there really is no point in using him on an everyday basis.
