The Calgary Flames were back at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday morning, and the eye test from practice offered a few hints about how they may line up when they host the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday evening.
After returning from Las Vegas on Friday, the Flames went to work with 23 players on the ice, including three goaltenders. Emergency backup Dustin Nickel was there too, while injured forwards Sam Honzek and Jonathan Huberdeau were not expected to skate, even though both still have stalls in the locker room.
Up front, there were a couple of notable tweaks. Aydar Suniev skated with Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich, while Joel Farabee joined Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato.
Matvei Gridin centered Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome, and the fourth line had Maxim Tsyplakov with Jonathan Castagna and Brennan Othmann rotating, plus Adam Klapka. Based on that setup, Castagna may still be in the lineup Sunday, though Othmann’s role remains less clear.
On the blue line, the pairings also had a new look. Kevin Bahl skated with Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton lined up with Zach Whitecloud, and Yan Kuznetsov was paired with Zayne Parekh. Joel Hanley was the extra defender.
Dustin Wolf took the home net, while Devin Cooley worked in the away crease.
There were also some fresh details on the equipment side. The Flames skated in their black pants, gloves and helmets for the first time, all part of what they’ll need when they wear their 2004 throwback jerseys. Calgary is scheduled to break those out four times this season, beginning next Saturday at home against Detroit.
Wolf had his own new look, too. He was the only one of the three goalies on the ice wearing black pants, and he was also breaking in a new set of gear.
His mask and full pad set are a tribute to Flames legend Miikka Kiprusoff, with a custom mask and custom pads designed to be virtually identical to Kiprusoff’s 2004 playoff gear. Travis Michael Todd Miska got the green light for the tribute mask.
In Other News...
Oilers Still Have One Huge Goalie Question Flames Fans Will Notice
The Oilers decision to stockpile goaltenders has been one of the more intriguing parts of their long-term reset, with Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi brought in to strengthen a position that has haunted them for years. Levi has handled the opportunity well since Andersen went down, giving Edmonton at least one encouraging sign as it tries to sort out the crease for the 2026-27 season.
Tristan Jarry, meanwhile, remains the variable that could shape how confident the Oilers feel about the plan. He has had one uneven outing and one solid one in Edmonton so far, and his track record suggests the real test comes later, when the season wears on and the workload starts to build. For Flames fans watching from the other side of Alberta, it is the kind of goaltending question that could loom large well before the standings do. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Could Be Eyeing A Blue Line Upgrade Before Deadline Chaos
With the Flames off to a rough start and heading toward seller mode before the trade deadline, the focus around the roster is already shifting to which veterans might bring back value. Zach Whitecloud fits that conversation neatly. He was acquired last season, he is still in a useful age range for contenders, and he has drawn enough league interest to be mentioned in the kind of early trade chatter that tends to pick up once the market starts moving.
Anaheim is among the clubs being linked to Whitecloud as teams look for help on the blue line, with Toronto, Edmonton and Tampa Bay also showing up in the discussion. Nothing has been confirmed, and that is part of the point this time of year. The Flames have made it clear by their results where they stand in the standings, and Whitecloud's name is one of the more plausible ones to monitor as the deadline noise starts to build. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Trade With Carolina Is Paying Off In More Ways Than One
Jake Middletons penalty kill goal gave the Flames a rare bit of production from the back end, the first by a Calgary defenceman since Noah Hanifin did it in 2018. It was a timely reminder of how much the blue line can still matter in the details, and it also pulled some old trade history back into focus as Calgary continues to live with the ripple effects of the Hanifin and Elias Lindholm deals made ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
Those moves sent two major veterans out the door, but they also stocked the organization with futures that are still being sorted out. The Flames have already added prospects and draft capital through those trades, and the return keeps taking on different forms as the asset chain plays out, a process that could end up shaping pieces of the next roster in ways that were not obvious at the time. [Read more 🡒]