The Calgary Flames have made themselves roster and salary cap compliant after adding Calle Jarnkrok from the Seattle Kraken. The club announced they’ve sent forward Adam Ruzicka to the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat.

Ruzicka was the logical player to send down. He’s waiver exempt, super young, and is better suited for playing regularly in Stockton than he would be as a spare part in Calgary. So he’s headed down to Stockton to bolster a very good AHL team that’s in the hunt for a Calder Cup this season.

In 23 games with the Flames, centring the third line primarily, Ruzicka had five goals and nine points. He’s a pending restricted free agent this off-season. He’s well-positioned for a full-time job next season, particularly given that the Flames will really need cost-effective players to fill out their roster after potentially giving big paydays to some key free agents (restricted and otherwise).

He’ll be back.