Flames put Nicklas Grossmann on waivers

Finally. 

The weird, inexplainable, unfathomable, physically painful Nicklas Grossmann era in Calgary appears to be over, with the #big defenceman going on waivers today, destined for what we can only assume is the AHL.

Grossmann played three games in Flames silks, managing not to be a glaring hole in one of them. His first and third games – in Edmonton and Los Angeles respectively – were absolute horror shows, with miscues and errors in abundance. I realize this evaluation of his time in Calgary his harsh, but the guy just didn’t look like a National Hockey League defenceman, and opponents simply feasted on this fact. I’m sure he’s a very nice guy and good in the room but the Flames have plenty of actual good hockey players who are also good in the room. This is professional hockey. 

Grossmann playing three actual games for the Flames still puzzles me, however. Glen Gulutzan had him during his heyday in Dallas, so the games he received as a Flame were either a show of loyalty on the coach’s part, or maybe were built into his contract. 

To elaborate on that point, when Grossmann signed with the Flames, General Manager Brad Treliving detailed the thought process behind the signing and the salary cap/LTIR implications that go along with it. He also said in an interview on Sportsnet 960 the day of the signing that he didn’t expect Grossmann to stick around in Calgary all year. So, if Grossmann playing wasn’t the coach’s decision, maybe it was built into Grossmann’s contract as incentive for taking that very specific amount of money that the Flames needed to satisfy the LTIR requirements. 

If this is indeed Nicklas Grossmann’s last game in a Flame, he would finish as a minus four in thee games played, with three shots and two penalty minutes. 

Onwards and upwards.