Smid Done For Season (And Other Notes)

It’s been a news-filled day down at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town, and Flames general manager Brad Treliving held a short availability to chat about Douglas Murray and other things.

What were the take-aways?

-The biggest news was that defender Ladislav Smid is out for the remainder of the season with a neck injury. Treliving related that the injury is connected to a previous neck injury (and surgery) that Smid had a few years back that appears to have been re-aggravated. Smid left Calgary’s December 12 game against Pittsburgh after a check to the upper body by Simon Despres, returned for three games in mid-January and hasn’t played since. Treliving indicated that the hope is he’ll be ready for next season.

-In other injury news: Paul Byron is progressing and should be rejoining the main club for practice imminently (Treliving estimated “in about a week,” but also cautioned against timelines). He’ll be a big addition to the club’s depth. Joni Ortio is in a walking boot and should be coming to town to work on his rehab with the Flames medical team.

-Treliving emphasized that Douglas Murray is here on a try-out and actually mentioned several things the team’s looking for – is his foot-speed up to snuff? – that most observers seem to have. He’ll travel with the team and skate with them over the next few days and they’ll make a decision.

Notable: with Ladislav Smid done, Calgary’s NHL blueline shakes out like this:

At the very least, Murray provides some balance for practice drills.

Murray is not eligible to play in the NHL’s playoffs, as he’d hypothetically be joining the Flames after the trade deadline. However, he’d also not be eligible to sign an AHL contract because, as explained to me via e-mail by a league representative, AHL by-laws don’t allow players who played pro hockey in Europe to sign with AHL clubs after February 1.