In advance of Tuesday’s meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets (and Monday’s practice), the Calgary Flames have made four roster moves. They’ve recalled forwards Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers. To make room on the active roster, they’ve placed forward Justin Kirkland on the injury reserve list and assigned forward Adam Klapka to the Wranglers.

There’s a lot to dig into here.

Kirkland played just two shifts in the Flames’ 5-2 loss to Columbus on Friday, skating for just 1:05 before leaving with a lower body injury. His IR placement indicates that he’ll be unavailable for at least a week dating back to his injury, and he won’t be eligible for activation until Dec. 7. Kirkland’s off to a great start this season, with two goals and six assists for eight points in 21 games, playing almost exclusively on the fourth line.

Klapka played on the fourth line in the Flames’ 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. He was perfectly fine, but he’s also been a scratch at the NHL level for 13 games this season – playing just six times in the NHL and nine times in the AHL. He’s young and waiver exempt and needs to get some game action in, so it’s not the worst thing in the world for him to head down to the Wranglers for a little bit to get things going.

Pelletier was the Flames’ first-round pick in 2019, and he was on a really nice developmental trajectory before he hit injury trouble last fall. He captained two different QMJHL teams, played in the World Juniors (capturing silver), and established himself as a really good AHL player. He famously suffered a shoulder injury in Sept. 2023 off a hit from Seattle prospect Marian Studenic that required surgery, then was nearly seriously re-injured via a big hit from NY Rangers captain Jacob Trouba shortly after his return to the NHL. He has 19 points in 20 AHL games this season, playing primarily with Rory Kerins and Dryden Hunt on the Wranglers’ first line.

Duehr (27) was a free agent signing of the Flames in 2021. Signed out of college, he performed well and worked his way onto the NHL roster with his speed and tenacity, becoming the first-ever NHL player from the great state of South Dakota. He hasn’t managed to cement himself onto the NHL roster, though, bouncing back and forth over the past few seasons. He has 19 points over his first 20 AHL games this season, playing primarily with William Strömgren and Sam Morton on the Wranglers’ second line.

Because Pelletier and Duehr both cleared waivers prior to the start of the season, neither requires waivers again until they play in 10 NHL games or are on the NHL roster for 30 days cumulatively.

With these roster moves, the Flames continue to have a 23-man active roster: two goaltenders, eight defencemen and 13 forwards.