Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving provided some injury updates to the media on Wednesday morning following morning skate. The most substantial update is the news that forward James Neal is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
From GM Treliving:
James Neal week-to-week with a lower body injury. Will be re-evaluated next week.
Michael Stone getting closer. Practiced with the team today, will continue to do so. #Flames
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) February 20, 2019
Neal was injured in the Flames’ game on Feb. 14 against the Florida Panthers following a collision with Panthers forward Jayce Hawryluk. He left immediately, favouring his lower body, and didn’t return. A week-to-week diagnosis makes a stint on the injury reserve list probable once the Flames need a roster spot freed up. Week-to-week would make it difficult to justify placing him on long-term injury reserve for cap relief, though.
Michael Stone’s been out since mid-November dealing with a blood clot. Anybody who’s dealt with one, or knows somebody who has, can tell you that the process of getting cleared from a clot is lengthy and involves being gradually weened off blood-thinning medication and then undergoing oodles of tests. Stone wore a non-contact jersey with the main group on Wednesday morning, a sign that he may be out of the woods.
The Flames host the New York Islanders on Wednesday night at the Saddledome.
