The Calgary Flames got a tough update Monday on one of their young forwards, with Sam Honzek set to miss time on a week-to-week basis because of a lower-body injury.
Honzek had already sat out the Flames’ most recent game against Anaheim and wasn’t on the ice for the practices that followed before the team made the news official. For Calgary, it means a halt to the early-season run of a player they view as part of the long-term picture.
Selected by the Flames with the No. 16 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Honzek made his NHL debut two seasons ago and came into this year after getting his first real taste of the league last season. In 18 games, the six-foot-four Slovak forward produced four points, with two goals and two assists. His season ended early after an injury in November.
Honzek earned a spot on the NHL roster out of training camp this year, and this was always shaping up as a major season for his development as he tries to lock down a place as a core piece for Calgary’s future.
The injury lands in the middle of a rough opening stretch for the Flames. At the two-week mark of the season, Calgary is still looking for its first win, one of three teams in that position alongside the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Through five losses, the Flames’ goal differential is minus-19, the worst in the West and worse than all but Philadelphia across the league.
In Other News...
Flames Lose Promising Young Forward At The Worst Time
Samuel Honzeks emergence has been one of the more encouraging developments for Calgary early on, which is why his latest setback lands so awkwardly for a lineup still trying to sort out its depth. The Flames announced the young forward has a lower-body injury and has been ruled week to week, after he had already missed recent games.
With Honzek out, Calgary has turned to Matvei Gridin to fill his place on the third line, a reminder of how quickly opportunity can shift for a club leaning on its younger players. For a Flames team hoping to build some stability, losing a promising forward in the middle of that process is hardly ideal, and now the next question is how long they will have to manage without him. [Read more 🡒]
Flames May Have A Tough Whitecloud Decision Coming
The buzz around Zach Whitecloud is starting to build, and for the Flames it comes with a familiar kind of pressure. NHL insiders David Pagnotta and Anthony Di Marco have both tied Toronto and Philadelphia to the Calgary defenseman, a sign that Whiteclouds profile is resonating well beyond the Saddledome. Pagnotta said the Maple Leafs had even done some exploratory work on him under their previous regime, while Di Marco noted that Flyers sources see Whitecloud as the sort of defenseman they want to bring in.
For Calgary, the question is no longer just whether Whitecloud fits, but whether the market around him gets strong enough to make keeping him difficult. Elliotte Friedman has already suggested the Flames could have a hard time retaining him if other teams keep showing interest, which puts management in a delicate spot as it weighs value, fit, and the risk of letting a useful blue-liner walk into a crowded market. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Injury Trouble Could Change The Trade Market Fast
An early-season injury can change a teams thinking in a hurry, and Ottawa is already feeling that pressure after winger Tim Eklund went down. The Senators now have to sort through how to replace a top-six forward, with the conversation quickly turning toward whether a trade makes sense even though the market does not offer many clean solutions.
For Calgary, this is the kind of development worth watching closely because Ottawas need could ripple beyond its own roster. Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and the rest of the forward group are expected to absorb more responsibility for now, but if the Senators decide internal answers are not enough, the trade board could get busy fast. [Read more 🡒]