The Calgary Flames have already made one tough roster call, and Maxim Tsyplakov looks like the next name in line.
Connor Zary was placed on waivers on Monday, and that move only sharpened the spotlight on Tsyplakov, whose start in Calgary has gone sideways fast. The Flames have scored just three goals in three games while allowing 16, and the forward group as a whole has been flat. Tsyplakov, part of the big offseason deal that also brought Simon Nemec to Calgary, has not given the club much reason to keep waiting.
He arrived in the trade package that sent two conditional first-round picks, a second-round pick in the 2026 Draft, and prospect Etienne Morin to the New Jersey Devils. But the early returns have been rough, and the issues that followed him out of last season have shown up again.
Tsyplakov’s path to the NHL started in Moscow, Russia, where he came up through the Spartak Moscow system. He made his senior debut in the 2017-18 KHL season and spent the next several years moving back and forth between the KHL and the VHL, Russia’s American Hockey League (AHL) equivalent.
His breakout finally came in 2023-24, when he posted 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games in the KHL. That was his first season with more than 10 goals, and it nearly doubled his point total from the year before, when he had 25. That surge drew plenty of NHL attention, and he signed an entry-level deal with the New York Islanders on May 17, 2024.
His first NHL season went well. Tsyplakov scored 10 goals and finished with 35 points in 77 games, and in June of 2025 the Islanders rewarded him with a two-year, $4.5 million contract.
But the momentum didn’t last. Last season, he managed only one goal and two points in 27 games before the Islanders moved him to the Devils for Ondrej Palat, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2027 sixth-round pick. The change of scenery didn’t spark much either; he added just one goal and one assist over his final 22 games.
Now he’s in Calgary, and the fit has looked shaky from the start. Through three games, Tsyplakov has no points, sits at minus-3, has only one shot on goal, and has attempted just five shots.
His lack of speed has stood out, and his spot in the lineup is already in question. The player Calgary expected - a net-front presence with finishing touch, the kind he showed in his final KHL season - hasn’t shown up yet.
There are other options pushing for those minutes. Brennan Othamann brings energy and an edge that can irritate opponents, while Aydar Suniev offers pure scoring touch and has made strong year-to-year progress, including a good start in the AHL this season.
After such a rough opening to the season, plenty of people figured Tsyplakov would be the one on waivers instead of Zary. That hasn’t happened yet, but it also doesn’t mean he’s safe. If this stretch keeps going the way it has, there’s no obvious reason to keep him on the roster.
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