Calgary Flames trade deadline acquisitions Ryan Strome and Olli Maatta combined for a slick goal in their first game with the team against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Strome, 32, capped off a pretty passing play involving Maatta and Martin Pospisil by firing the puck past down-and-out Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi less than a minute into the second period at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, Strome entered Saturday’s action with just three goals and nine points through 33 games this season. The 6’1″ right-shot centre is under contract through the end of the 2026-27 campaign at a $5 million cap hit.

Maatta, 31, joined the Flames by way of the blockbuster MacKenzie Weegar trade with the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday. The 6’2″ left-shot defender is signed through 2028 at $3.5 million per season; like Strome, he comes to Calgary looking to bounce back from a tough start to the year, having appeared in just 22 of a possible 62 games with Utah.

The Flames surrendered the game’s first goal to Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis in the first period on Saturday but shot out to a 3-1 lead in the opening half of the second period, with Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost adding goals of their own.

Playing in an elevated role in Calgary to help fill the void left by Nazem Kadri’s departure, Strome also recorded his first assist as a Flame on Frost’s insurance marker. He joins Andrei Kuzmenko and Tyler Toffoli as notable recent Flames mid-season trade acquisitions to score in their first game with the club.

Meanwhile, Maatta ranked among the Flames’ leaders in ice time by the midway mark of the second period after Zach Whitecloud left the game with an apparent injury as a result of an awkward collision with Nikolaj Ehlers. The Pittsburgh Penguins originally drafted the Finnish defenseman with the No. 22 overall pick in 2012, just one spot after the Flames drafted Mark Jankowski.

The Flames entered Saturday’s game in seventh place in the Pacific Division, and 31st in the NHL, with a 24-30-7 record and 55 points in 61 games.

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