Folks, we’re now into August. Calgary Flames hockey returns in September, albeit in the form of the Young Stars prospect tournament and then pre-season hockey.
But right now, we’re trudging through the last month before hockey gets going again to bring life meaning. Let’s dive into the mailbag!
The Flames are definitely still working on things – the two year deal for Dustin Wolf is an example of that – but this is the time of year where most of the teams have done their important off-season business and are trying to shore up their restricted free agent signings. Most teams usually don’t make big roster tweaks until the fall, when they have a sense of how everything’s shaping up for their lineups and can start to anticipate which players may hit waivers (and which won’t) and start making moves in anticipation of that shuffle.
Based on the additions the Flames have made and the number of defencemen they currently have under NHL contracts – 12 signed, plus two restricted free agents to re-up – we wouldn’t anticipate the Flames circling back to Oliver Kylington. That said, things change sometimes and we won’t rule anything out definitively. Remember when the Flames bought out Michael Stone, then circled back to him after Juuso Valimaki blew out his knee and needed major surgery? Weird stuff happens in life sometimes.
If you want to look at the positives of the players:
Andrei Kuzmenko revitalized the Flames’ power play at the end of the season and is a creative, dynamic player. Is he a great two-way player? Heck no. And he’s a player that needs to be sheltered. But if you have a team that’s deep enough where you can shelter him, he can really move the needle offensively.
Robert Munnich wrote about the case for trading Rasmus Andersson last week, and a good chunk of it was very complimentary. He’s good! He has size, smarts, and offensive savvy. The only big knock is whether you think he can be the team’s core veteran blueline piece when the club emerges from the rebuild wilderness. I’m not entirely sold, but Andersson is a really good, useful player that can slot into a lot of game situations.
The Flames don’t have any sure-fire centres in their system right now, but I think they’re entirely willing to see if Yegor Sharangovich, Connor Zary or Martin Pospisil find their footing at that position. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried out all three players up the middle during pre-season (and the early regular season) and see who emerges as a strong option. Zary had some success up the middle late in the season, which could bode well for his future at that position.
I have been utterly spoiled by the Saddledome press box, as it has such a fantastic vantage point for seeing plays developing – above the ice, rather that set far back from it. But because the press box is physically suspended from the ‘Dome’s ceiling, it’s a bit narrower than a lot of its counterparts around the league. (That’s admittedly a very minor quibble: it’s a fantastic place to watch hockey.)
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/X at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan [at] TheNationNetwork.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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