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What does Maxim Tsyplakov bring to the Flames?
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Jun 25, 2026, 13:30 EDTUpdated: Jun 25, 2026, 10:29 EDT
In the midst of making the hockey world stand at attention on what was a legendary Tuesday for roster transactions in this league, the Calgary Flames subtly added to their wing corps. Simon Nemec was the big name in the trade, but the Flames also acquired two-year NHL pro Maxim Tsyplakov.
Let’s look at his two years in the league and learn more about him.
Offence
Maxim Tsyplakov is an undrafted player that rose to relevance playing in the KHL. His first real breakout season was at 24 years old, where he scored 10 goals and 25 points in 63 games. He then followed that up with a big 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games. Still in his mid-20’s he was able to use that season in the KHL to sign a contract with the New York Islanders.
He had an alright first campaign, producing 10 goals and 35 points in 77 games. He didn’t particularly drive any offence, create any with his passing, nor did he finish at a high rate. It ended up being third line production for a third line role. Not bad for someone in their first NHL season.
However, this past year was not the most favourable to Tsyplakov. He struggled to put up offence, leading to more absences from the lineup. He then got traded to New Jersey, where the same problems in production and consistency remained.
It’s important to note his average ice time fell to below 10 minutes a night as well. He wasn’t producing and both teams – actively trying to make the post-season – opted not to play him.
He hasn’t shown much ability to generate his own offence. There could be something there with some more opportunity, but there’s no guarantee he can even get back to the success he had in his first season. With Calgary also having more NHL wingers than they have roster spots he’s going to have to show up with his best game early to avoid being shelved by a third team.
Defence
Now while the offence hasn’t tracked great, there’s something in his shot rates that stick out – he has very low attempts against as well. Now both the Islanders and Devils are known for being stingy in recent years (more so the Islanders), which can help, but he still had to do his part to get there.
This suggests there’s a serviceable third line winger here, if he can figure out how to get more offensive chances consistently. If nothing else he doesn’t make mistakes that consistently end up in the back of your net and can be a functional player deployed on a 4th line.
It is necessary to mention with all of this the lack of deployment against quality competition. Tsyplakov played a limited role this past season for both squads and wasn’t a primary match-up contender for either.
My thoughts
With one year remaining at $2.25 million this is clearly another example of Craig Conroy bringing in a guy that has struggled somewhere else, and giving him another shot to showcase why he got to the NHL in the first place. Sharangovich, Bahl, Cooley, Hanley, Maatta, Strome, Frost, and Farabee were all cast away from their former teams and given a role and opportunity in Calgary. There’s no reason to think the same opportunity couldn’t help both Nemec and Maxim Tysplakov.
He’s certainly got the base profile of a guy that could be of help – if the Flames can work on how he generates offence he could grow into a more valuable asset as well as a more rounded player.
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