WWYDT: Does Mark Jankowski stay up?

Welcome to a special edition of What Would You Do Wednesday, this time on a Thursday!

With the Flames’ quick back-to-back road trip over, they’ve returned home, and will host the Stars on Friday. That could be a very interesting game, because if things are going according to schedule, it will be the last one played with Jaromir Jagr on the injured reserve: and, potentially, Mark Jankowski’s final NHL game of this stint.

A lot can still happen.

The only thing that’s certain is that when Jagr is activated, a player will have to be sent down to make room for him. Jankowski is the easiest option, as he’s the only member of the Flames who doesn’t require waivers. Freddie Hamilton and Tanner Glass may be candidates as well, as they’re frequent healthy scratches with the lowest forward salaries on the team.

I think that first you have to look at this from the Flames’ perspective. They see value in Hamilton and Glass; otherwise, neither would be here to begin with. They also see value in Jankowski; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been recalled. Jankowski, as only a second year professional, also has more potential than the other two.

And remember that it’s not necessarily Hamilton or Glass Jankowski has to beat out: it’s an established roster player. Matt Stajan? Curtis Lazar? We’re talking players who will be relatively easy to stash away in the press box. That’s who Jankowski needs to be better than, because really, there’s no point to keeping him up if all he’s going to do is sit. He has to be good enough to knock someone else out of the lineup, in addition to whoever Jagr will take out.

(Before the inevitable Troy Brouwer comment comes about: his cap hit will still be $4.5 million for the next two seasons after this one. Jankowski isn’t going to beat that.)

That’s already a fairly tough ask of Jankowski, who may have just the one game left to prove he deserves to stay up in the NHL for the time being. His stat line over the past two games has seen him average 11:57 in ice time, take a penalty, and win 35% of the faceoffs he took: not particularly compelling, even if his line was flying during the road trip, especially in Nashville. He does, however, have a 59.52% CF, with a 75% zone start ratio.

What will be curious is if Jankowski will thrive at home. So far he’s been pretty sheltered on the road, but he’s yet to actually play a home game in the NHL. The Saddledome could prove to be a better environment for him to have a breakout game.

So, to recap: in order to make a case to stay in the lineup, Jankowski will have to knock a current regular out, and that’s after Jagr does the same thing to somebody else.

Has Jankowski done enough to take a regular’s spot? If so, whose does he take?

Or should he be sent back to the AHL when the time comes?

Arctic Spas is a proud partner of the Nation Network. Looking for a way to stay warm during hockey season? Check out a local dealer near you.