Flames assign Dennis Gilbert to the AHL’s Wranglers

The Calgary Flames are gradually getting healthier, and that means they can return some players to the American Hockey League. After Chris Tanev returned to action on Saturday night, the Flames announced on Sunday that they’ve re-assigned blueliner Dennis Gilbert back to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.

Gilbert played in two games for the Flames during his recall. He registered zero points, was minus-1, and got into a fight in New Jersey in his Flames debut. The scouting report on Gilbert at the AHL level was that he was solid if unspectacular, and that’s essentially what he was in the NHL, too. He gave the Flames perfectly acceptable minutes, though head coach Darryl Sutter noted on Saturday morning in his chat with the media that Gilbert’s pairing with Nick DeSimone was on for too many goals against.

Gilbert’s assignment to the AHL drops the Flames to 22 active players, essentially making room for the Flames to eventually activate Michael Stone from the injury reserve. They’re currently carrying 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders. The assignment also gets the Flames below the daily cap limit, which allows them to accumulate cap savings for future usage.

The Flames are back in action on Monday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings.