- Calgary has activated forward Kevin Rooney off injured reserve, relays Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). The 31-year-old suffered a concussion in the opening period of their season opener earlier this month. Rooney is in his third season carrying a $1.3MM price tag but has five points in 51 games in a Flames uniform. Their roster is now at the maximum of 23 so roster moves will be needed to activate Yegor Sharangovich and Samuel Honzek off injured reserve, both of whom skated today.
Flames Rumors
Honzek Transferred To Injured Reserve
- The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis. Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
Flames Looking To Add Center Depth
The Flames’ 4-0-0 start to the 2024-25 season is unexpected, to say the least. After finishing 24th in the NHL last year, many expect them (and still do) to drop further down the standings now that they’ve firmly cemented themselves in teardown mode, trading away a pair of key pieces in Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markström this past summer.
But that hot start has created a renewed sense of optimism in Calgary for a few reasons. One is Jonathan Huberdeau, who’s in the second year of an eight-year, $84MM extension that looked like an albatross after he failed to hit 20 goals or 60 points in each of his first two seasons with the Flames. He’s on fire out of the gate, recording three goals and three assists for six points in four appearances and is averaging 18:40 per game, his heaviest usage since arriving in Calgary.
The other is the play of 23-year-old Dustin Wolf. He’s arguably the sport’s top goaltending prospect, and he was always going to be the biggest storyline in Calgary this season. While he’s split starts evenly with Daniel Vladař thus far, he’s been the far superior option with a .944 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and 3.5 GSAA.
Their performances and flawless record so far have Flames general manager Craig Conroy considering restocking the cupboard instead of continuing to sell off pieces in a retool. A middle-six center is high on the list of desires, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said Thursday.
There’s not usually much trade activity to start a season, but I’m told Flames GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a center to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle six, preferably someone that fits their age scheme… and a right-shooting center, at that.
The Flames have multiple injuries up front at the moment, but only one plays center: depth piece Kevin Rooney. Captain Mikael Backlund and sophomore Martin Pospisil have anchored Calgary’s second and third lines to start the year behind Nazem Kadri on line one. Veteran AHLer Justin Kirkland has done well filling in for Rooney in fourth-line duties since he landed on IR last week.
While Backlund is still an excellent, defensively responsible pivot and more than capable of centering a second line, his offensive numbers dipped sharply to just 39 points in 82 games last year. For a 35-year-old, there isn’t much hope for a rebound. Pospisil is a natural center with a goal and four assists thus far, but he struggles to win draws with just a 44.1% career win rate through 67 NHL appearances. He was primarily utilized on the wing last season and would likely shift back there should Conroy accomplish his goal.
But while Calgary may be signaling the end of their brief retool on the backs of a resurgent Huberdeau and strong showings from youngsters like Pospisil, Wolf, and Connor Zary, they haven’t done nearly enough to put themselves firmly in buyer territory. That means Conroy pursuing the usual crop of pending UFA pivots who are likely to be trade deadline rentals doesn’t make much sense – nor would a pending UFA fit the “age scheme” Seravalli referred to.
That means he’s likely willing to pay a bit more for a younger center with term (or at least a few years of team control), assumingly one with more offensive upside than either Backlund or Pospisil project to offer at this stage. Could that come from a divisional rival like the Ducks, who still have Trevor Zegras to offer after he was embroiled in trade rumors for most of the summer? He’s a left-shot, but at 23 years old, he fits Calgary’s likely timeline for a return to playoff contention. After dealing with injuries for much of last season, he has two points through three games this year and is under contract through next season at a $5.75MM cap hit.
Over in the East, there’s a more expensive and, at this stage, riskier option likely available, but he checks all of Conroy’s reported boxes as a right shot. Like Zegras, checking in at 23 is Sabres pivot Dylan Cozens, who’s struggled to do much of anything in 2024-25. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has just one assist and a -3 rating in six appearances under head coach Lindy Ruff.
Cozens signed a seven-year, $49.7MM extension midway through a breakout 2022-23 campaign that saw him record 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 81 games, finishing fifth on Buffalo in scoring. But last season, the first one covered by that extension, he regressed to 18 goals and 47 points in 79 games. If the start of his season is any indication, he may see his total output drop by another magnitude in 2024-25.
There’s legitimate upside, but a $7.1MM cap hit through the end of the decade is an incredibly risky bet for a team that’s arguably making a snap judgment about their future over a week-and-a-half hot stretch. Realistically, things still need to play out until Conroy makes notable swaps.
Samuel Honzek Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
Flames rookie Samuel Honzek will miss significant time after being listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced. He likely sustained it on his last shift of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Blackhawks, during which he took a heavy hit from Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy with less than three minutes left on the clock.
The Flames haven’t yet placed Honzek on injured reserve, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they do so in the coming days. They’re down to 12 healthy forwards without him and don’t have a roster spot open for a recall.
Honzek, 19, already has a lengthy recent injury history. An abdominal injury he sustained during the preseason with Calgary in 2023 delayed his season debut with WHL Vancouver until December, while another one suffered while playing at the 2023 World Juniors cut short his draft year. That didn’t stop Calgary from selecting the 6’4″ Slovak forward with the No. 16 pick, though.
Given that injury history, it’s fair to assume the Flames will be extremely cautious with his return. He’s in his first full season of pro hockey after spending the last two seasons in major junior play and was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong exhibition performance. The left-winger has yet to make much of an impact for the undefeated Flames, though, going without a point and averaging 12:47 through his first four NHL contests.
Honzek was logging time at even strength on Calgary’s top line alongside Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, so they’ll have to find a replacement in the interim. Their whole stable of current right-wingers – Kuzmenko, Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, and Matthew Coronato – all have experience playing the left side and could flip over. 6’8″ right-winger Adam Klapka, who played in Calgary’s first two games but was scratched for the last two, will likely re-enter the lineup against the Kraken on Saturday if the Flames don’t make a corresponding transaction.
Golden Knights Claim Raphael Lavoie, Cole Schwindt
10/11: The Vegas Golden Knights have reclaimed Lavoie from Edmonton, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, continuing the young forward’s bouncing between Edmonton and Vegas. He has now been waived and claimed by both teams and will be eligible to be assigned to Vegas’ minor leagues should no other team place a claim.
10/7: The Oilers and Flames have each lost a forward to the Golden Knights on waivers. Raphael Lavoie is heading from Edmonton to Vegas, while the Knights also claimed Cole Schwindt from Calgary, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Both enter a competition with recent veteran pickup Tanner Pearson to begin the season as Vegas’ 11th and 12th forwards. That’s assuming center William Karlsson is sidelined for the season opener against the Avs on Wednesday with the undisclosed injury that’s kept him out of action for over a week. They’re also significant reinforcements after Vegas lost Zach Aston-Reese on waivers to the Blue Jackets today.
Lavoie is an intriguing pickup. The 24-year-old has just seven games under his belt without a major league point, all coming last season. But Edmonton’s second-round pick in 2019 has turned into a standout offensive forward at the AHL level and has a 6’4″, 216-lb frame. He put up 28 goals and 22 assists for 50 points in 68 games last season with AHL Bakersfield, all career highs.
Schwindt has the same exact career NHL offensive stat line – no points in seven combined games for the Flames and Panthers, but he has a -5 rating compared to Lavoie’s -2. All in all, they’re players at very similar stages of their careers. Schwindt is a tad younger – he’s still 23, but was also a member of the 2019 draft class. Sent from Florida to Calgary in the Matthew Tkachuk blockbuster, he doesn’t have as much offensive success as Lavoie at the AHL level. He posted 36 points in 66 games for the Calgary Wranglers last year, which was a career-high.
Only one will draw in against Colorado if Karlsson isn’t ready to play. With their lack of NHL experience, it’s anybody’s guess. Both have experience suiting up at right wing and center.
After the claims, the Golden Knights have $652K in projected cap space, per PuckPedia. They need to clear a roster spot, perhaps by placing Karlsson on injured reserve.
Flames Recall Justin Kirkland, Place Kevin Rooney On IR
The Flames announced today they’d recalled center/left wing Justin Kirkland from AHL Calgary. He could make his season debut tomorrow against the Flyers. In a corresponding move, fellow center Kevin Rooney was placed on injured reserve, opening up the necessary spot on the 23-man roster to recall Kirkland, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960.
Kirkland, 28, has never played an NHL game for the Flames but is quite familiar with the organization. The Predators selected him in the third round of the 2014 draft, but he was non-tendered in 2019 and landed with the Flames as a free agent. He spent the next three seasons playing for their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat, scoring 33 goals and 50 assists for 83 points in 135 games. Only after leaving the Calgary organization would Kirkland make his NHL debut, skating in nine games for the Coyotes and Ducks over the past two seasons. He posted a combined -3 rating and six shots on goal but is still looking for his first NHL point.
The lanky 6’3″ forward is a playmaker, first and foremost. He spent last year in Arizona, primarily with their AHL affiliate in Tucson. He posted eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points in 43 games for the Roadrunners, working out to the second-highest per-game production of his AHL career. His best offensive season came back in Stockton in 2021-22 when he placed fourth on the team with 25 goals and 48 points in 66 games.
A UFA last summer, Kirkland returned to Calgary on a two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL and $200K in the minors. He can spend up to 30 days on the NHL roster or play 10 games before he needs waivers to return to the Wranglers.
Rooney, 31, was in the lineup for Wednesday’s season opener against the Canucks but left the game in the first period after taking a heavy hit from Vancouver center J.T. Miller. He was listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury yesterday. The IR placement means he’ll miss seven days retroactive to the date of the injury, so he’s automatically been ruled out of their next three games. The soonest he’s eligible to return is Oct. 18 against the Kraken.
Rooney made 33 appearances last season after shoulder surgery delayed his debut until after the New Year. The fourth-line checker averaged 11:13 per game, posting three goals and an assist while laying 65 hits. They were all clean, as he only received one minor penalty all season. He’s logged time for the Wranglers in the past two seasons and could be a candidate to land on waivers if there isn’t a clear spot for him in the lineup upon his return.
Kevin Rooney Considered Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
- Calgary Flames forward Kevin Rooney skated in only 1:03 of last night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after receiving a heavy check from J.T. Miller. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports Rooney is “doing well” but is still considered day-to-day. Calgary’s next game isn’t until Saturday night when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers and Rooney should be a game-time decision for that contest.
[SOURCE LINK]
Flames Place Yegor Sharangovich On Injured Reserve, Out Week-To-Week
The Flames have placed forward Yegor Sharangovich on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media portal (stick taps to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation). He left Friday’s preseason loss to the Jets in the third period with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t practiced since.
Assuming the IR placement is retroactive to Oct. 4, he’ll miss Wednesday’s season opener in Vancouver but is eligible to return for Calgary’s home opener against the Flyers on Saturday. The team later designated him week-to-week with a lower-body injury, though, so he’ll likely miss more than just one contest.
It’s a big loss for Calgary early on. Sharangovich is coming off a career-high 31 goals and 59 points last year, his first in Alberta after he was acquired from the Devils the previous summer in exchange for Tyler Toffoli. He led the Flames in goals and finished second in overall scoring behind Nazem Kadri’s 75 points. The Belarusian can play any forward position but was expected to start the season at right wing next to Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, per their most recent line rushes.
The 26-year-old Sharangovich has played four NHL seasons between the Flames and Devils, who selected him in the fifth round in 2018. Originally slated to be a restricted free agent next summer, he was rewarded with a five-year, $28.75MM extension in July to keep him off the 2025 RFA market.
When Sharangovich does make his season debut, he’ll walk right into a top-six role. He averaged 17:19 per game last season, fifth-most among Flames forwards.
Waiver Wire: 10/6/24
Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.
Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek
Calgary Flames
G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt
Carolina Hurricanes
F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue
Los Angeles Kings
G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White
New York Islanders
D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama
St. Louis Blues
D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai
Utah Hockey Club
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Training Camp Cuts: 10/4/24
A handful of teams still have some significant cuts to make to their roster before getting down to the final few moves. With the NHL’s regular season getting an early start today with the Global Series in Prague, we should see those happening either Friday or over the weekend. As always, here’s all of Friday’s cuts:
Last updated 2:03 p.m.
Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)
F Sam Colangelo (to AHL San Diego)
F Nathan Gaucher (to AHL San Diego)
F Nikita Nesterenko (to AHL San Diego)
F Beckett Sennecke (to OHL Oshawa)
F Jansen Harkins (to AHL San Diego, pending waivers)
D Gustav Lindstrom (released from PTO)
D Mark Pysyk (released from PTO)
Calgary Flames (per team announcement)
F Walker Duehr (to AHL Calgary)
F Dryden Hunt (to AHL Calgary)
D Jarred Tinordi (to AHL Calgary)
Florida Panthers (per team announcement)
F Rasmus Asplund (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
D Tobias Björnfot (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
G Cooper Black (to AHL Charlotte)
F Zac Dalpe (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Josh Davies (to AHL Charlotte)
D Mikulas Hovorka (to AHL Charlotte)
D Jaycob Megna (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Kai Schwindt (to AHL Charlotte)
Nashville Predators (per team announcement)
D Nick Blankenburg (to AHL Milwaukee)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
G Jeremy Brodeur (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
D Mikaël Diotte (to AHL Utica)
F Justin Dowling (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Filip Engarås (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Joseph Gambardella (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Max Graham (to WHL Kelowna)
F Brian Halonen (to AHL Utica)
F Mike Hardman (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Samuel Laberge (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Nathan Légaré (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
D Will MacKinnon (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Jack Malone (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Matyáš Melosvký (to QMJHL Baie-Comeau)
D Daniil Misyul (to AHL Utica)
F Xavier Parent (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
G Isaac Poulter (to AHL Utica)
F Ryan Schmelzer (to AHL Utica)
F Cam Squires (to QMJHL Cape Breton)
F Chase Stillman (to AHL Utica)
D Jackson van de Leest (released from PTO to AHL Utica)
F Maxwell Willman (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)
G Mads Søgaard (to AHL Belleville)
Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)
F Rodrigo Abols (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Emil Andrae (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Denver Barkey (to OHL London)
D Oliver Bonk (to OHL London)
F Oskar Eklind (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Adam Ginning (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Helge Grans (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Aleksei Kolosov (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Olle Lycksell (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)
F Cooper Marody (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Hunter McDonald (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Calvin Petersen (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Anthony Richard (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)
F Samu Tuomaala (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)
F Corey Andonovski (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Tristan Broz (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Ville Koivunen (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Owen Pickering (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
G Yaroslav Askarov (to AHL San Jose)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
D Cale Fleury (to AHL Coachella Valley)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)
G Artur Akhtyamov (to AHL Toronto)
F Joseph Blandisi (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Nikita Grebenkin (to AHL Toronto)
F Roni Hirvonen (to AHL Toronto)
D Mikko Kokkonen (to AHL Toronto)
D Nicolas Mattinen (to AHL Toronto)
D Topi Niemelä (to AHL Toronto)
F Alexander Nylander (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Cédric Paré (to AHL Toronto)
D Matteo Pietroniro (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Jacob Quillan (to AHL Toronto)
F Logan Shaw (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Alex Steeves (to AHL Toronto, pending waivers)
F Ryan Tverberg (to AHL Toronto)
D Cade Webber (to AHL Toronto)
Winnipeg Jets (per team announcement)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to AHL Manitoba)
D Simon Lundmark (to AHL Manitoba)
F Mason Shaw (to AHL Manitoba)
F Dominic Toninato (to AHL Manitoba)