The Calgary Flames are giving fans a first home-ice look at three of their biggest offseason additions on Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, and the lineup has a distinctly veteran feel to it.
Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton, and Maxim Tsyplakov are all expected to dress in the preseason matchup at the Scotiabank Saddledome, a game that also marks the final preseason contest in the four-decade history of the building. QR Calgary’s Pat Steinberg shared the projected lineup Tuesday morning, and it lines up almost exactly with what the Flames have been labeling “Team Red” during 2026 training camp.
Nemec is the headliner of the group. The 22-year-old defenceman is set to skate on Calgary’s top pair with former New Jersey Devils teammate Kevin Bahl, giving the Flames an early look at a blue line combination that already has some built-in familiarity. The club brought Nemec and Tsyplakov in from New Jersey on June 23, sending future first-round picks, a 2027 second-round pick, and defence prospect Etienne Morin to the Devils in return.
Nemec arrives in Calgary wearing No. 71 after being drafted second overall in 2022. In 2025-26 with New Jersey, he put up 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games.
Tsyplakov, who will wear No. 72, is slotted onto the fourth line with Martin Pospisil and Adam Klapka. He’s the least familiar name in the group, but also the most intriguing unknown.
The 28-year-old Russian winger checks in at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds, and the source material points to strong two-way underlying results from his 2024-25 season with the Islanders, when he scored 10 goals and 35 points as a rookie on Long Island. Last season, though, his production dropped off sharply, as he finished with four points in 49 games split between the Devils and Islanders.
Middleton, meanwhile, brings a different profile. The Wainwright, Alta. product was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in early July in a deal that also sent Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta to the State of Hockey, while three draft picks came back to Calgary.
Middleton will wear No. 55 and is expected to line up beside Zayne Parekh. He scored two goals and 16 points in 75 games with Minnesota in 2025-26 and also appeared in 11 playoff games.
Steinberg also noted that both Nemec and Tsyplakov are expected to work on the Flames’ second power-play unit. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Mountain.
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