For those of you hoping for some positive news on injured Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil, we have some. The club announced on Tuesday morning that Pospisil has been assigned to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers on a long-term injury conditioning loan.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player that has been out with a long-term injury – e.g., someone who’s missed at least 24 days and 10 games – can be sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan. The loan is limited to six days or three games, whichever is longer, but it can be extended by two more games by request to the NHL commissioner’s office. Pospisil won’t count against the Flames active roster while he’s on the conditioning loan, but he will still count against the salary cap.

Here are what the Wranglers’ next five games look like:

Thinking out loud, it may make the most sense to give Pospisil the four home games with the Wranglers to see how he’s doing while avoiding the need to travel – it doesn’t make a ton of sense, logistically, to send him down to San Jose and then shuttle him back to Calgary after that fifth game.

Pospisil, 26, is a left shot forward that can play centre or the wing. He was a fourth-round pick by the Flames in 2018, and has really carved out a niche for himself as a rough-and-tumble agitating forward that also has enough skill to contribute offensively and play on top lines.

He had 25 points over 81 games last season and helped Slovakia qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics’ men’s hockey tournament. He was also named to their Olympic team. He signed a three year extension with a $2.5 million AAV over the summer – this year is the final year of his prior deal with a $1.25 million cap hit – but suffered an injury late in training camp that’s kept him on the shelf since then. The hope is that Pospisil can return to full health, and potentially suit up for the Flames before the Olympic break and head to Italy to represent his country.

We’ll see how things go, but considering the horrible injury luck Pospisil has endured as a pro, it’s safe to say that a lot of people around the game are rooting for him.

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