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Mikael Backlund Still Unsure About Extension With Calgary Flames

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Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund has expressed uncertainty regarding a contract extension with the team, joining several current and former teammates who have expiring contracts after the 2023-24 season. In a recent interview with Swedish outlet SportExpressen, Backlund said he’s focused on playing out the upcoming season and will consider an extension based on how things unfold.

The 34-year-old Swedish two-way dynamo expressed his openness to signing an extension if the season goes well, but he also acknowledged that the future remains uncertain if things don’t go as planned. A translated quote from the interview reads, “I’m ready to come back and play the season, and if it goes great, I might want to extend after the season. If it doesn’t go well, we’ll see what happens.”

Backlund’s situation adds to the list of pending unrestricted free agents for the Flames in 2024, which includes names such as Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov. The Flames have already dealt away one player who didn’t have an extension past next season in place, trading winger Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils for a 2023 third-round pick and forward Yegor Sharangovich.

If he does opt to test the free agent market next season, Calgary won’t want to lose him for nothing. Once a potential candidate for their captaincy, which has been vacant since the Seattle Kraken claimed Mark Giordano in the 2021 Expansion Draft, Backlund will almost certainly be dealt by the trade deadline in 2024 if the Flames aren’t in the playoff picture.

Departing Calgary would mean leaving the only NHL home Backlund’s ever known. The 2007 first-round pick has played in parts of 15 seasons for the Flames, skating in 908 games and recording 492 points while earning Selke Trophy votes on multiple occasions, especially later in his career.

In the interim, new general manager Craig Conroy has quite a lot of work to do in monitoring the situations of Calgary’s other pending UFAs. Priority number one is likely trading Hanifin, who’s been more explicit about his intentions not to re-sign. His opinion on staying in Alberta is less influenced by their performance next year than Backlund’s or Lindholm’s.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Derek Clancey

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have filled out their front office, hiring former Vancouver Canucks executive Derek Clancey as assistant general manager with a player personnel specialty today, according to a team release.

Vancouver announced Clancey’s departure just minutes before Toronto picked him up. In Toronto, the 54-year-old executive reunites with general manager Brad Treliving, with whom he served as a pro scout in 2021-22 while both were members of the Calgary Flames.

Toronto is now Clancey’s third team in as many seasons, but don’t take that as a poor reflection on his career resume. Joining the NHL ranks in 2007, he was a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins front office for all four of their Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008, 2019, 2015, and 2016, first as a pro scout before transitioning to their director of professional scouting.

Clancey is the third major addition/replacement in Toronto’s front office this season, joining Treliving and special assistant to the GM Shane Doan as the new faces among Maple Leafs’ executives. His focus with Toronto will undoubtedly be on pro talent evaluation, and his input will be highly sought after when discussing potential trades, waiver claims, or free agent signings.

Canucks general manager Jim Rutherford later released a statement, confirming Vancouver would not pursue a replacement for Clancey and will collectively replace his role among the other assistant general managers.

Calgary Flames To Retire Miikka Kiprusoff’s Number

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Long-time Calgary Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff will have his jersey number retired by the team next season, according to a media release this morning. Kiprusoff’s number 34 will be the fourth in franchise history to receive the honor, and the ceremony will take place on March 2, 2024, before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

One of the greatest Finnish netminders of all time, Kiprusoff played nine seasons and nearly 600 games for the Flames across the late 2000s and early 2010s. His goaltending oversaw one of the more sustained periods of success in recent years for the Flames, highlighted by a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and a Vezina Trophy win in 2006.

That 2004 run is the defining achievement in Kiprusoff’s career – and it came before he had solidified himself as the full-time starter he’s remembered as. His 38 games played in the 2003-04 regular season was a career-high, but his .933 save percentage and league-leading 1.69 goals-against average that year was good enough to earn him second place in Vezina voting despite the lack of playing time.

He stepped it up a notch in the postseason, taking the Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 15-11 record, .928 save percentage, 1.85 goals-against average, and a league-leading five shutouts. They would eventually lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning despite holding a 3-2 series lead thanks to Martin St. Louis’ Game 6 overtime heroics and a two-goal performance from Ruslan Fedotenko in Game 7. In the process of getting to the Final, Kiprusoff became the only goalie in NHL history to defeat three division winners in the same postseason.

After the 2004-05 lockout, Kiprusoff would become nothing short of a workhorse. He played at least 70 games in the eight following seasons, consistently sitting near the league’s top in most statistical categories throughout that run. He played just 24 games in his final season, the 2012-13 lockout-shortened campaign, before calling it a career.

“I am honored and humbled by this recognition of my career in Calgary,” said Kiprusoff. “To have my name and number hanging next to those great Flames players, and especially my friend and legendary goalie Mike Vernon is truly a highlight of my career.”

In hindsight, the seemingly menial trade that brought him to Calgary at the time is now one of the most consequential in franchise history for both teams. After several seasons as a backup to Evgeni Nabokov with the San Jose Sharks, the Flames acquired him for a 2005 second-round pick early into the 2003-04 campaign. The Sharks would select defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic with Calgary’s pick, arguably the greatest shutdown defender in Sharks history (even if he is in a steep decline now) and their all-time leader in games played by a defenseman with 1,239.

Kiprusoff remains the Flames’ franchise leader in games played (576), wins (305), saves (14,631), shutouts (41), and save percentage among goalies with at least 50 games in a Flames jersey with a .913 mark. Among Finnish netminders, only Pekka Rinne has won more NHL games.

He joins Lanny McDonald’s number 9, Jarome Iginla’s number 12, and Vernon’s number 30 atop the rafters of the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Calgary Wranglers Hire Trent Cull

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A little under a month ago, now former head coach of the Calgary Wranglers, Mitch Love, took an offer from the Washington Capitals to become an assistant coach, primarily working with the team’s defense. Under two years of Love, both the Stockton Heat and Wranglers experienced success, finishing as the second-best regular season team in his first year, and the best regular season team in his second year.

The Wranglers have now filled the void left by Love, announcing the hiring of Trent Cull as head coach of the team. Previously, Cull had served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks under Bruce Boudreau and was fired during the season as the team transitioned to the regime of Rick Tocchet.

Cull brings extensive experience both at the OHL and the AHL level. After retiring as a player after the 2003-04 season with the Syracuse Crunch, Cull joined the Guelph Storm as an assistant coach for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Although both of those years were meant to be rebuilding ones for the Storm, they made the playoffs twice, being eliminated by the London Knights in both instances.

After his time with the Storm, Cull signed on with his previous team, joining Syracuse as an assistant coach for the next four seasons. At that time, the team was affiliated with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and unfortunately did not experience much success with Cull on the bench. In three of Cull’s four seasons with the team, they only qualified for the playoffs once, losing in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs to the Toronto Marlies in 2008.

Finally, Cull got his first shot as head coach, becoming the 27th head coach in franchise history. Coaching 204 regular season games with the Wolves, he ended with a record of 94-88-11-11, making the postseason in all three seasons. The postseason was not as kind to Cull and the Wolves, as the team failed to progress past the conference semi-finals in each season. After three seasons with the Wolves, Cull once again re-joined the Crunch, serving the team as an assistant coach until the 2017-17 AHL season.

With his last stop before joining the Wranglers, Cull was hired as head coach of the Utica Comets, replacing Travis Green behind the bench for the 2017-18 AHL season. Cull coached four seasons in Utica, and one season with the Abbotsford Canucks posting a total record of 161-116-22-10, once again failing to reach deep into the playoffs.

Cull will have big shoes to fill coming to the Wranglers at the start of the 2023-24 AHL season. Once again, the team had experienced tremendous regular-season success under Love but did not live up to expectations during the playoffs. Since the 2015-16 season, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames has only been able to reach the AHL’s Conference Finals once, coming during the 2021-22 season.

 

Snapshots: Flames, Canucks, Lake Tahoe

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Missing out on the entirety of the 2022-23 NHL season due to a personal issue, defenseman Oliver Kylington is set to get going for the Calgary Flames this upcoming year. In a report from Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, Kylington is “excited” to return to the Flames this year. With one year, $2.5MM remaining on Kylington’s contract, Pike notes that the team has not yet engaged with him on contract extension conversations.

One player that the team has engaged in contract talks with is forward Dillon Dube (Tweet Link). Dube has been incrementally improving his game for years, capping off the 2022-23 year with his best performance, an 18-goal and 27-assist effort in 82 games played.

Luckily for the Flames, Dube will be a restricted free agent at the end of his three-year, $9.6MM contract signed back before the 2021-22 season, giving them a decent amount of control over the situation. In context, forward Tyler Toffoli is already off to the New Jersey Devils, and Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund are unsure about their future, Dube may have a significant role opening up for himself on Calgary’s roster.

Other snapshots:

  •  Today, the Vancouver Canucks released their ECHL affiliate for the 2023-24 NHL season, and it will be the Kalamazoo Wings. This will not be their first partnership, as Kalamazoo featured as the Canucks’ ECHL affiliate from 1984-1987, 2011-2015, and again from 2017-2021. Throughout their history as a team, the Wings have never won the Kelly Cup in the ECHL, but have employed NHL talent such as Ron Hextall, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Manny Fernandez.
  • Continuing on with news from the ECHL, the league has approved a new team, one that will reside in Lake Tahoe, CA. The team is unnamed up to this point, but it will be the 29th team granted admittance into the NHL’s second-tier minor league system. Interestingly enough, the team will be owned by former professional quarterback, and 2007 Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow.

Conroy: Hoping To Have AHL Head Coach In Place This Coming Week

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  • Speaking with reporters today including Ryan Pike of Flames Nation (Twitter link), Calgary GM Craig Conroy stated that he’s hoping to have a new AHL head coach in place within the next week or so. Mitch Love was the reigning two-time Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award winner for Coach of the Year but after being passed up for the top job in Calgary, he accepted an assistant coaching role with Washington earlier this summer.

Evening Notes: Vladar, Avalanche, Desnoyers

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David Pagnotta of the NHL Network is reporting that the Calgary Flames will likely continue to hold onto goaltender Daniel Vladar until they get an offer that forces them to make a move. Pagnotta adds that the Flames have fielded offers from several teams but have yet to get an offer that they deem as suitable.

Vladar didn’t have a particularly strong season this past year by traditional statistics or analytics. He posted a 14-6-5 record with a .894 save percentage and a 2.87 goals against average. Taking a deep dive, he also posted -8.4 goals saved above expected in just 27 games putting him well below the average. However, Calgary is dangling Vladar at a time when the goaltending market is very thin and there are several teams who would love to add a young goaltender with size to their depth charts.

The 25-year-old is signed to a very affordable two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.2MM making him a solid bet as a backup with some upside for a team looking to take some pressure off their starting goaltender.

In other evening notes:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have announced that the head coach of their AHL affiliate the Colorado Eagles will be Aaron Schneekloth. The Calgary, Alberta native has been on the Eagles staff for a decade now and led the club to two ECHL titles in 2017 and 2018 prior to the team transitioning to the AHL. Schneekloth was retained by the Eagles after moving up a league and became an assistant coach to then-head coach Greg Cronin. With Cronin now the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks it was a natural transition for Schneekloth to take the reins of the Eagles, a club he’s coached with and played on for nearly two decades.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers was injured yesterday at development camp after crashing into the boards hard during a battle drill with a teammate. Desnoyers was unable to put weight on his right leg but appears to have avoided serious injury. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round selection of the Flyers in 2020 and is coming off his first professional season in the AHL where he posted 23 goals and 21 assists in 65 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He dressed in four additional games with the Flyers but was held pointless. Desnoyers wasn’t drafted for his offense, but the Flyers have to be pleased with his development on the offensive side of the puck.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Ben Jones, Mathias Emilio Pettersen

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The Calgary Flames have retained the services of a pair of depth forwards, Ben Jones and Mathias Emilio Pettersen, by re-signing them to one-year, two-way contracts. Both contracts come with a cap hit of $775K. Jones and Pettersen were restricted free agents.

PuckPedia later reported Jones’ AHL salary as $120K, while Pettersen will earn $80K in the minors.

Jones, a center hailing from Waterloo, Ontario, wrapped up his first season with the Flames organization as a key contributor for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. In 71 games, Jones tallied 17 goals and 37 assists for a total of 54 points, placing him third in team scoring behind Matthew Phillips and 2020 first-round pick Connor Zary.

The 24-year-old has NHL size at 6 feet and 190 pounds, and he does have some upward mobility in the Flames’ organization as a potential call-up candidate. He was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the seventh round as part of their inaugural 2017 draft class before joining the Flames organization as a free agent in 2022.

Joining Jones in re-signing with Calgary is Pettersen, a center from Manglerud, Norway. Pettersen just completed his third season with the Flames organization, a teammate of Jones with the Wranglers. In 61 games, the 23-year-old also posted nice offensive totals, accumulating 44 points and ranking fifth in team scoring.

Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 170 pounds, Pettersen does have somewhat longer odds of cracking the NHL lineup but is one of the speedier and more creative players offensively in the Flames’ farm system. Drafted by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Pettersen has made international appearances for Norway, most recently at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded a goal in six games.

Both are likely destined for AHL assignments again out of the gate in 2023-24.

Michael Stone Retires, Joins Flames In Front Office Role

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After a distinguished 12-year career in the NHL, Calgary Flames defenseman Michael Stone has officially announced his retirement. However, his departure from the ice does not mark the end of his involvement in the NHL – he immediately joined the Flames as the newest member of their player development team.

The older brother of Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, Michael finishes his career with 552 regular-season games under his belt. The 33-year-old had this to say about his career and future:

I feel very happy to be able to leave the game the way I have and directly into this role with the Flames organization. I believe it would have been a lot more difficult had this opportunity not been available. I’m excited to learn and gain some new experiences in a different capacity in the NHL. I’m looking forward to working with the young defencemen and help them achieve their ultimate goal of playing with the Calgary Flames.

The Flames’ director of player development, Ray Edwards, also expressed his satisfaction with Stone joining the team:

The combination of Michael just finishing his NHL playing career and that his specialty is defensemen specific was exactly the role that we have been trying to fill. After drafting Etienne (Morin) and Axel (Hurtig), that’s a good area for Mike to jump into immediately and assisting with our Wranglers defensemen prospects. It’s a perfect fit.

Stone had played the last six-and-a-half years of his NHL carer in Calgary, only the second NHL organization he played with. His final NHL game came on April 12, a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in which he registered four shots on goal. He recorded 11 points in 48 games in 2022-23, his highest offensive total since joining the Flames.

Injuries largely plagued Stone’s tenure in Alberta, but he was at one point a true top-four threat during his time with the Arizona Coyotes. Drafted 69th overall in 2008, Stone had a breakout season for Arizona in 2015-16, recording a career-high 36 points in 75 games while playing over 22 minutes a night.

Prior to his professional career, the Winnipeg-born Stone enjoyed a successful junior career with the Calgary Hitmen, culminating in a WHL championship in 2010. He then made the leap to the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, to start his professional career.

In total, he wraps up his NHL career with 41 goals and 104 assists for 145 points.

Calgary Flames Sign Brady Lyle

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The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Brady Lyle to a one-year, two-way contract carrying a $775k AAV and a $140k AHL salary.

Lyle is a 24-year-old right-shot defenseman who offers above-average size and is coming off of a breakout season with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.

A high-scoring undrafted defenseman in the OHL, Lyle began his pro career with the Providence Bruins but eventually made his way to Springfield. He was a member of the Springfield team that made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals last season, acquired by St. Louis for future considerations in a midseason trade.

Lyle held down a top-four role for the Thunderbirds and ranked second among team defensemen in scoring with 31 points in 51 games.

The Flames have a crowded defense at the current moment but are a bit thin on the right side of their defense in the AHL with only veteran Nick DeSimone as the only right-shot blueliner currently penciled into the Wranglers’ lineup.

Now they’ve added another top-four AHL blueliner with some offensive upside to their mix, and seeing as he only just turned 24 perhaps the Flames believe Lyle can make a push for an NHL call-up.

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