Kevin Rooney clears waivers, assigned to the AHL’s Wranglers by the Flames

The Calgary Wranglers are getting a bit more veteran depth on their roster. Forward Kevin Rooney has cleared the NHL’s waiver process and has subsequently been activated from the long-term injury reserve list and assigned to the Wranglers by the Calgary Flames.

The 30-year-old Rooney is a left shot centre who’s in the second year of a two-year deal with a $1.3 million cap hit. (His NHL cap hit drops to $150,000 while he’s in the AHL.) Rooney was signed by the Flames on opening day of free agency in 2022 after spending three full NHL seasons split between New Jersey and the NY Rangers as a depth centre, but didn’t really click with the team’s systems in 2022-23. He was sent to the AHL mid-season after registering just one point over 17 games.

But Rooney really found a niche with the Wranglers, forming a dynamite checking line with Brett Sutter and Clark Bishop, and posted five goals and 17 points in 51 games. He was performing well early in this year’s training camp before suffering a shoulder injury in practice on Oct. 1. He subsequently went through surgery and began the season on the injury reserve list. (He was moved to the LTIR for cap reasons in late October.)

The Wranglers are currently in first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, with a 21-9-3 record. They’ve been missing a few key veterans due to injuries lately, including forwards Sutter and Dryden Hunt. With the additions of Jakob Pelletier and Rooney to their forward group, a strong (if injury-addled) Wranglers team could become even more formidable.

The Wranglers are back in action on Thursday when they host the Ontario Reign.