Flames release Lauri Korpikoski from his tryout

The Calgary Flames roster is getting a little bit closer to its opening night form.

The club announced today that they’ve released Lauri Korpikoski from his professional tryout.

The move drops the Flames to 27 players: two goalies, nine defensemen and 16 forwards (including Ladislav Smid, Daniel Pribyl and the contract-less Johnny Gaudreau).

Korpikoski joined the Flames this preseason after being the worst possession player on the Edmonton Oilers last year. Consider the gravity of that statement, and then ask yourselves if there was likely to be a fit here on a team that’s really emphasizing puck possession this season.

I didn’t think so.

Korpikoski has good speed but not a lot else, and he seemed out-matched throughout the exhibition calendar. Fellow PTO players Chris Higgins and Nicklas Grossmann were similarly unimpressive in the preseason but remain… for now.

In other news, the dream of Jakub Nakladal returning to Calgary – a dream we referenced throughout the summer and held near and dear to our hearts – is dead.