The Calgary Flames will be without Kevin Bahl for the rest of the 2026-27 season after the defenseman suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The team announced the news Sunday, one day after Bahl was hurt before warm-ups ahead of Calgary’s game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday. Joel Hanley ended up taking Bahl’s spot in the lineup for that game.
Calgary moved Bahl to injured reserve on Sunday and brought up defenseman Brayden Pachal from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in a corresponding roster move.
Before the injury, Bahl had played 16 games for the Flames this season, putting up a goal and an assist while averaging 21:56 of ice time. He also sat at an even rating, which stands out on a Flames team with a minus-18 goal differential.
Bahl came to Calgary in 2024 from the New Jersey Devils as part of the Jacob Markstrom trade. The Flames also got the Devils’ 2025 first-round pick in that deal, and that selection was used on Cole Reschny. Bahl is now in his third season with the Flames organization and is under contract through 2031 at a $5.35 million annual cap hit.
Originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round, No. 55 overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft, Bahl never played for that organization. He was later traded to the Devils in 2019 in the deal for Taylor Hall, then went on to play parts of four seasons in New Jersey at the start of his NHL career.
Across 313 games over parts of seven seasons with the Devils and Flames, the 6-foot-6 left-shot defender has recorded 12 goals, 65 points and 221 penalty minutes. He has also played in 11 career playoff games, all with New Jersey in 2023, and had one assist.
In Other News...
New Jersey Powerhouse Loses Its Coach At The Worst Possible Time
Karen Andersons milestone night at Paul VI ended up carrying a much bigger consequence than the celebration suggested. After the victory that gave her 100th career win, a video surfaced showing the coach opening a bottle, believed to be champagne, on school property, and the school along with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association confirmed a one-game suspension tied to rules barring alcohol involvement during or after games on campus.
The timing could hardly be worse, with the suspension set to keep Anderson off the sideline for a critical state playoff semifinal. For a program that had just reached a meaningful coaching milestone, the focus has now shifted from the celebration to how Paul VI handles one of its biggest games of the season without the woman who has guided it there. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans Have A New Reason To Be Furious Over Nico Hischier
Nico Hischier gave Devils fans plenty to celebrate in a 5-4 overtime win over the Islanders, but the aftermath of the game added another layer to the frustration. The NHLs Department of Player Safety fined New York defenseman Logan Stanley $3,865 for slashing Hischier during the contest, a play that drew two minor penalties and quickly became one of the nights most talked-about moments.
For New Jersey, the fine is a reminder of how often Hischier absorbs the kind of attention that goes beyond normal playoff-style physicality, even in a regular-season game. Stanleys punishment was the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, which will do little to satisfy Devils supporters who wanted a stronger response after seeing their captain targeted in a tight divisional matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Hughes Just Gave Devils Fans A New Rivalry To Watch
The Devils overtime win over the Islanders had the usual family-name headline attached to it, with Jack Hughes finishing the comeback and Luke Hughes logging major minutes in a game that got a little more heated than expected. New Jersey was staring at a 4-2 deficit before rallying to force extra time, and the tone of the night shifted when Luke Hughes got into a rare fight with Matthew Schaefer.
For a team that prides itself on speed and skill, the scrap added an edge that fit the moment and seemed to jolt the bench as the Devils pushed their way back into the game. It also gave this matchup a little more bite going forward, with Hughes now tied to a new kind of edge in a rivalry that already has enough emotion to keep drawing attention. [Read more 🡒]