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The Flames face some tough forward decisions if they ever get fully healthy

Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

By Ryan Pike

Oct 26, 2026, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 26, 2026, 00:26 EDT

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Pals, after a rough star where they didn’t win a single time in their first five outings… the Calgary Flames are now 4-6-0 in their first 10 outings, the product of four wins in their past five games.

As the Flames’ bounce-back segment has unfolded, we’ve been hit with two simultaneous lines of questioning from Flames fans: “Are we allowed to enjoy this?” And “Oh wait, what happens when all the injured players get back?”

To answer the first question: Yeah. The Flames were never going to lose all 84 games this season. And they’re probably not going to win the remaining 74 games on the schedule. Their results will fall somewhere in-between those two extremes.

In terms of what happens as the team gets healthy: well, that starts to get a bit complicated.

The Flames’ general lineup philosophy

On Saturday night, after the Flames’ win, head coach Ryan Huska discussed how the team has managed to keep opposition stars off the scoresheet in Mikael Backlund’s absence with a balanced deployment:

“I think that’s the way we’re going to have to be, really. I mean, we’re going to play four lines, and it’s easier to say that now when you see the way George [Jonathan Castagna] is impacted. I should start calling him Jonathan, but it has impacted the team. Like, he’s done a lot of good things, and his minutes and his line’s minutes are way up there, and I think it allows us to be more of a four-line team. When everybody’s contributing, we feel a sense of value that they’re helping the team win, and as a coach, that’s what you want to have in the dressing room.”

How have the Flames lined up recently?

Here are the Flames’ lines from the past three games:

Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Joel Farabee – Ben Jones – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

(Maxim Tsyplakov has been the extra forward.)

When you have a Mikael Backlund available to use, you pretty aggressively use him to target match-ups against the other team’s best players. When you don’t have him available, you use a much different tactic. And, yeah, they have managed to use the fourth line way, way more in Backlund’s absence because Castagna’s made the fourth line much more versatile. (Let’s also give credit to Adam Klapka, too.)

Backlund skated with the team on Saturday and is close to a return. Sam Honzek didn’t skate and isn’t close yet. Jonathan Huberdeau did skate on Saturday as well, but also isn’t close yet.

What do they do when Mikael Backlund returns?

When Mikael Backlund is healthy, the Flames probably will do something simple, with a “last in, first out” philosophy. Ben Jones likely gets swapped out of the lineup and heads back to the AHL. (He cleared waivers back in September and if he’s on the NHL roster but not playing, it runs his waiver clock and whittles down some of the club’s roster flexibility going forward.)

Lines probably look like this when Backlund’s back:

Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome
Brennan Othmann – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

(Maxim Tsyplakov is the extra forward.)

What do they do when Sam Honzek returns?

We’re guessing that probably Brennan Othmann gets bumped from the lineup when Sam Honzek is back. Aydar Suniev would be the other candidate, but he’s been part of the power play – and they’ve been generating chances and scoring goals – and since Othmann doesn’t factor into either side of special teams, swapping him out and using Honzek to add to the penalty killing mix makes a lot of sense.

And let’s be honest: if you’re using four lines fairly evenly, having Honzek, Castagna and Klapka as your fourth line does seem like a fun idea, given their size, smarts and pace.

Lines probably look roughly like this:

Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Aydar Suniev
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome
Sam Honzek – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

(Maxim Tsyplakov and Brennan Othmann are the extra forwards.)

Keeping Othmann on the active roster does make a good deal of sense given he requires waivers.

What do they do when Jonathan Huberdeau returns?

This is the toughest scenario, but also one they probably won’t have to deal without for awhile yet as Jonathan Huberdeau slowly works his way back from hip resurfacing surgery. Is it as simple as “send Suniev down”? Suniev doesn’t require waivers, and in theory you can swap him out for Huberdeau on both five-on-five and the power play. Since it doesn’t make much sense for Suniev to be hanging around and not playing, sending him to the AHL makes the most sense.

Lines probably look like this:

Yegor Sharangovich – Morgan Frost – Jonathan Huberdeau
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospisil – Ryan Strome
Sam Honzek – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

(Maxim Tsyplakov and Brennan Othmann are the extra forwards.)

What do you think the Flames should do as they get healthy? Would you shuffle up any of the lines? Let us know in the comments!

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