The very first trade that Craig Conroy made as general manager of the Calgary Flames had extremely promising early returns.

On June 27, 2023, the Flames sent forward Tyler Toffoli, one of seven roster players heading into their final year before potential unrestricted free agency, to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round selection. At the time, Conroy was seemingly trying to ahead of a glut of major roster decisions by sending Toffoli somewhere new, while the Flames netted a third-round pick in a pretty deep draft and bought low on Sharangovich, a promising offensive forward with hot-and-cold tendencies. (He had impressed with the Devils at times, but was also a healthy scratch during the 2023 post-season.)

Since joining the Flames, Sharangovich has continued the hot-and-cold streaks that he had in New Jersey, particularly at five-on-five.

In 2023-24, Sharangovich had 48.6% expected goals for and had a 17% shooting percentage, a significant jump from prior seasons. He scored 31 goals and 59 points both career highs. He earned a hefty contract extension, to kick in the 2025-26 season, with a $5.75 million cap hit.

The next two seasons weren’t quite as fruitful for Sharangovich. In 2024-25, he had 50.0% expected goals for but shot 9.2%, scoring 17 goals and 32 points. In 2025-26, he had 45.8% expected goals for and shot 8.6%, nearing a career low. He had 15 goals and 29 points.

At his best, Sharangovich is fast, dynamic and creative. When he moves his feet, and has the confidence to cut in and out of the heart of the ice in the offensive zone, he can create high-danger chances, and lots of them. When he goes to high-percentage areas consistently, he has a high shooting percentage. But the challenges he’s had seem to fall into two overlapping categories: injuries and confidence.

In 2024-25, Sharangovich was hurt in the pre-season and missed the first seven games of the regular season. He did manage to start scoring after a little while, but his offensive output was sporadic and he never seemed to be able to go to the areas of the ice where he used to score consistently the year before. In 2025-26, he started the season slow and while he managed to avoid injury, he actually ended up scratched for four games in October and November. He eventually found his footing mid-season, but he never quite got consistency back to how he looked in 2023-24.

With four seasons left on his current deal, we ask: Can Sharangovich get his swagger back?

We’re not sure, as it seems to be a circular problem. When he went to the high-rent areas of the ice, he tended to score. And because he tended to score, he had a willingness to go to those areas (and pay the price for doing so) because he was rewarded with goals. But that injury during the 2024-25 pre-season was immediately followed by a stretch where he went ice-cold from a shooting standpoint. So because he wasn’t getting the goals, he didn’t go to the areas where he scored the goals as often, and so on.

The short answer seems to be: if Sharangovich can get off to a decent offensive start and get a bit of puck luck, maybe those old habits – the ones that led to oodles of goals – could follow.