Oh boy, with the tension thicker than burnt toast on a Sunday morn, the Calgary Flames are shuffling their deck just in the nick of time for their showdown with the Edmonton Oilers. In a flurry of moves that sent Twitter into a tailspin, the Flames have dumped forward Martin Pospisil on the injured reserve – yeah, he’s nursing an upper-body boo-boo thanks to a tango with the Toronto Maple Leafs. With four goals and 11 points in thirty-three games, Martin’s been sort of a jack-of-all-trades, but let’s face it, he’ll be riding the bench until the NHL All-Star break finishes up.
Now, let’s chat about Dennis Gilbert, the defenseman whose own upper-body has been in cahoots with the injury bug for the past fortnight — no fun! Last seen chasing pucks against the Nashville Predators on January fourth, Gilbert’s been benched longer than that last kid in dodgeball. But ta-da! He’s off the injured reserve, ready to rock the bottom-pairing once again, trying to add to his modest collection of one goal and seven points over twenty-eight games.
And for the grand finale, can I get a drum roll, please? Oliver Kylington is stepping out of the shadows and back into the rink! The man’s been a ghost since May twenty-sixth, 2022. He took a mini-tour with the Calgary Wranglers, the Flames’ AHL sidekick team, and while he didn’t bless the scoreboard with his name, it’s more about the comeback, right?
Before we all get too starry-eyed, let’s remember that Kylington isn’t about to transform overnight into the Flames’ defensive messiah. Nope, he’s going to need to lace those skates tight and show his worth, especially with all the chit-chat about the unrestricted free agents in defense this offseason. If Kylington finds his groove again, the Flames might just start handing out pink slips to make room for fresh faces at the trade deadline. And that, dear fans, is the down-low on Calgary’s pre-game chess moves. Let’s see if they checkmate the Oilers, or if they end up in a stalemate with their Alberta rivals!