A bit of minor Calgary Flames news on a Sunday. After being placed on waivers after signing on Saturday morning, defenceman Mark Pysyk has cleared waivers and been assigned to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.

The 31-year-old Pysyk was a first-round pick back in 2010 and has played over 500 NHL games. He spent the 2022-23 season under contract with the Detroit Red Wings, but missed the entire season with an Achilles injury. He appeared in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp, but was injured early in the pre-season and didn’t suit up for their AHL club until Nov. 10. He played eight games with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before signing with the Flames.

Adding Pysyk gives the Flames six blueliners in the AHL under NHL deals. Jeremie Poirier remains out with an injury, but the Wranglers now have Pysyk, Colton Poolman, Nick DeSimone, Yan Kuznetsov and Brady Lyle on their roster. Pysyk adds some veteran presence to the group and makes the team a bit less reliant on some of their AHL-level signees like Jonathan Aspirot and Sam Jardine. For a group that has been really competitive for the past few seasons – and that likely sees on-ice success as a big part of player development – the blueline was a bit of a weak spot compared to the rest of the roster. Adding Pysyk addresses that.

The Wranglers are back in action on Sunday night when they face the Henderson Silver Knights.