Brett Kulak, Curtis Lazar, Anthony Peluso clear waivers; no other Flames waived

With the NHL season just two days away, rosters for all 31 teams have to be set by 3 p.m. MT Tuesday. That means Monday is the last day for teams to cut players via the waiver wire, giving other teams a last chance at picking someone up for their own starting roster.

The Flames, however, seem to have gotten all of their waiving out of the way Sunday, when they elected to waive defenceman Brett Kulak, and forwards Curtis Lazar and Anthony Peluso – and evidently nobody else. All three players cleared waivers, leaving the Flames free to demote them to the Stockton Heat, though that isn’t an automatic guarantee that they do.

All three would be depth players, at best, for the Flames. Kulak has shown some promise as a steady bottom pairing guy, but with both Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki rising up through the system, his time may be limited, and may explain why Brad Treliving was willing to play hardball with him to the extent the Flames actually took Kulak to arbitration.

Lazar, acquired for a second round pick in 2017, has failed to live up to whatever expectations the Flames may have had for him. Over the course of 69 games for Calgary, he has scored three goals and 15 points while averaging 9:58 minutes a game. He hasn’t been deserving of much more, and now, forward prospects are making their case to displace him, evidently successfully.

Peluso, signed as a free agent this offseason, is a depth tough guy signing, but Garnet Hathaway may have the coveted “not gonna score a lot but will fight a lot” role covered for the Flames. Peluso spent most of his 2017-18 season playing for the Hershey Bears in the AHL, getting two regular season and no playoff games with the Capitals; him starting his year in Stockton wouldn’t be anything new for him.

Until we have word that all three players have been demoted, however, let’s recall that it’s possible the Flames choose to keep all three up in the NHL – though, considering their perceived roles, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them all demoted. They can always be brought back up later if the team feels it necessary (i.e. a prospect doesn’t work out, injuries, what have you will).

The only players still on the Flames who do not require waivers to be demoted are:

This seems to hint Gillies will be sent down, as well as one of the skaters, in order to get the Flames to a 23-man roster. It’ll just be their choice of if they decide to carry seven or eight defencemen, and 13 or 14 forwards.

You’d have to hope, though, that they’d have all of their kids playing.

Here’s today’s complete waiver list, if there’s anybody on there you feel the Flames should take a last-second grab at (including the ever-popular topic of Toronto goalies):