The Calgary Flames returned to action on Sunday evening after a lengthy break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They won! And now they’re headed on the road for their longest, toughest road trip of the season.

As we prepare for the murderer’s row of tough games the Flames have before them, let’s check in with the mailbag!

I would say “Yes, but…”

Yes, because getting Connor Zary back and adding in Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee gives the Flames, on paper, a really nicely balanced top three forward lines that have a mixture of speed, skill and size. And bumping Martin Pospisil to the fourth line adds a nice bit of size and snarl that should help that group out, too.

The “but” is everything depends on the Flames maintaining their structured style of play. When they can roll their lines and pairings and operate as a cohesive group of five on the ice, they’re a hard team to beat because they don’t allow a lot of high-quality chances. They’re going to be a team that needs to win close games, even with the additions, and adding these guys probably makes them a bit more capable of staying in close games and winning them.

The rumour kicking around NHL circles is that if the Sabres move Dylan Cozens, they don’t necessarily want futures – it would be a trade likely for roster players. If I’m Buffalo, I ask about Nazem Kadri or Rasmus Andersson or MacKenzie Weegar, along with picks and prospects If I’m the Flames, I’m not sure if Cozens moves the needle for their group enough to make such a move make sense. If you’re spending significant assets on Cozens, you really need to be sure he can be a first or second line centre for your group, and the evidence that he can be that is a bit spotty.

We’ll be getting into the weeds a bit on the 2025 NHL Draft in the coming weeks, but here are a few players that seem appealing to me outside of the top group – and I’m focusing primarily on centres because that seems to be the Flames’ most glaring organizational need:

McQueen’s been hampered by injuries this season, but there’s a nice variety of centres that should be around in the back half of the first round.

A little bit, yes, but you can tell they’re still figuring out the team’s systems, tendencies and structure. Hopefully they continue to mesh well and adjust coming out of the break.

The QMJHL’s game roster sheets had Matvei Gridin listed as out due to “injury or illness” for Shawinigan’s last two games, but nothing specific has been announced or reported beyond that as of yet.

I don’t think Rasmus Andersson is getting traded anytime soon. If he does get moved, it’s probably not happening unless his camp and the Flames have engaged in extensive contract talks and reach an impasse. We’re nowhere near that point in the process, though.