Middleton. Why!?!?!
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Monday Mailbag: Moving into November with reader questions!
Welcome to November, everybody!
After a really rough first five games, the Calgary Flames played at a 6-3-0 clip the rest of the way to make their October a fairly respectable 6-8-0. Their young players seem to be finding their footing. The goaltending is a work in progress. And they have another 14 games on their schedule in November.
It’s gonna be a busy month.
Onto the mailbag!
When should we expect Tysplakov on waivers and Middleton on IR both have been embarrassing
On paper, the appeal of acquiring Jake Middleton was that he’s a big, physical, defensive defenceman who can hit and fight and defend reasonably well. Coming off a season where 19-year-old Zayne Parekh got physically pushed around, part of the rationale was “Hey, if we want Parekh to do cool stuff, he needs to have space to do that, and Middleton can help with that.”
Well, that hasn’t worked all that well, and Middleton’s experiencing what we could call “growing pains” adapting to the Flames systems and rhythms. If we’re being brutally honest, if Carson Carels is NHL ready next season, Middleton probably becomes a sixth or seventh defender in terms of his on-ice role. But he’ll probably remain an important off-ice leader and mentor for the younger guys.
In terms of Maxim Tsyplakov, he’s had good games and bad games. Right now, he seems like safe bet to be, at worst, a healthy scratch. He’s on an expiring deal. Sending him to the AHL would take time away from developing players with the Wranglers. He’ll get games, but he’s also someone whose spot can go to Cole Reschny or Ethan Wyttenbach or Cole Reschny in the spring or fall. I wouldn’t worry too much about him overall.
Is Zayne Parekh Snake bitten?
At five-on-five, Zayne Parekh’s on-ice shooting percentage is 5.9% and hs on-ice save percentage is 87.9%, for a PDO of 0.937. (As in: 5.9% of Flames shots and 12.1% of opponent shots go in when Parekh is on the ice.) The only regulars more snakebit right now, at five-on-five, are Martin Pospisil, Ryan Strome, Zach Whitecloud and Yegor Sharangovich.
On the power play, Parekh’s on-ice shooting percentage is 27.8% and his on-ice save percentage is 90.9% for a PDO of 1.187. The only regular with a higher power play PDO is Adam Klapka.
If Parekh keeps doing his thing at five-on-five, the pucks will start going in.
Would it be fair to label the Flames season so far as a roster coaster ride with high peaks and valleys? If not, what would it be?
I think that’s a fair assessment. I don’t think the Flames were as bad as their results looked over their first five games. They’re probably not as good as their results have been over their last nine games. Their true nature is somewhere in the middle. And because of the nature of hockey, we’re likely going to see some wild swings in their results over the remaining 70 games of this season.
Ryan, if you were gm would you keep the two vets we keep hearing about as trade chips? Whitecloud and Frost both want to be here and seem like top notch dudes. Given the rising cap I’d feel good about an 8.5 times 5 contract for number 16. Keep up the great work!
Here are the two things I am wondering: If you keep Morgan Frost and Zach Whitecloud, who can’t you keep or develop? And how much would they want to stick around?
I like Morgan Frost. I’m not sure if he’s a first line centre, but he feels like he could be a really good second-liner. Does keeping him take development opportunities from other young centres? And would he be okay with second-line money?
I like Zach Whitecloud. If you keep him as a potential third-pairing right shot option long-term, does that block anybody else? On paper, I love Carson Carels getting mentored by Whitecloud. I love Whitecloud’s attitude and versatility. But would he be okay with a secondary role long-term supporting the young guys? And how much would that cost?
Assuming this unrealistic run of top PP in the league, Coronato and Farabee keep at PPG basis, Cooley and wolf keep solid games and we somehow have a decent chance of playoffs by march, what do you think conroy is gonna do since this is a young team not a vet team
Craig Conroy keeps stating that he’s gonna stick with the plan. Unless there are age group assets available that fit with the plan, I strongly doubt that Conroy is going to spend assets to add. And if they’re in a position where punting on a veteran to keep building for the future, I think they do that.
Have you had any eyes on Huby? The last interviews I saw (granted a couple weeks ago) it feels like he's going to be some time yet.
Jonathan Huberdeau has started skating, off and on, with the team in a non-contact jersey. There’s no timeline for a return yet, but he’s starting to ramp up his activity levels on the ice. We’ll let you know more when we’re told by the team, but there’s reasons for optimism as he works his way back.
Bahl playing very well this year. Team controlled till '30-31...He's probably close to peak trade value. Is Bahl in Calgary when the Flames next make the playoffs or do Flames' flip him at one of the next couple trade deadlines for futures?
The Flames have zero interest in moving a young, cost-controlled player like Kevin Bahl unless somebody makes them an absolutely crazy offer. Bahl is a hand-in-glove fit for what the Flames are trying to build, and they see him, Zayne Parekh, Carson Carels and Simon Nemec as their future defensive core group.
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Breaking News
- Monday Mailbag: Moving into November with reader questions!
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Calgary FlamesTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$91,217,832
$69,841,666
Projected Cap Space
$12,782,168
$43,658,334
Current Cap Space
$15,402,115
$43,658,334
Active Players
23/23
16/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
2
1