CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bring Matt Coronato back.
Now they have it.
An upper-body injury to Martin Pospisil Thursday night, which will likely keep him out of the lineup until after the all-star break, opens the door for Coronato to be recalled to slide into a second-line role alongside Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary.
The Wranglers play Friday night in Coachella Valley, and while there has been no announcement from the Flames of a call-up, Coronato is likely already on his way back to Calgary and will almost certainly be revealed as a call-up Saturday morning.
“Every game he leads the team in scoring chances,” said GM Craig Conroy of Coronato during last weekend’s trip through Vegas. “He continues to be the guy who generates a ton.”
The Flames first-rounder leads the Wranglers with 12 goals and 29 points in 27 games, earning him an all-star nod as a first-year AHLer.
By trading Nikita Zadorov last month, the Flames opened up enough cap space to recall the 21-year-old Harvard star, who opened the season with the big club, scoring once in 11 outings.
However, with the team’s top three lines humming of late, the Flames didn’t want to put him in a depth role in which he’d be a power play specialist who played eight minutes a night.
Now he can play a prominent role – the type of gig this organization now thrives on giving to young Wranglers with an eye on re-shaping the Flames.
It’s worked so far this year, as Conroy now knows he can count on Pospisil and Zary being everyday NHLers moving into the future, which is crucial information as he explores trade possibilities for his unsigned UFAs.
“If you bring Zary up and throw him on the fourth line and give him seven or eight minutes, he’d be back in the AHL,” said Flames hockey president Don Maloney of the team’s commitment to getting younger. “We never would have known.”
“To Ryan (Huska’s) credit, you throw him with Kadri and give him power play time and he has success, and now we have a player.”
We’ll also see if the Flames’ biggest game of the year will open Saturday night with a rookie solo lap.
Despite the Oilers being in town, no stage is too big for this team to remain committed to Conroy’s youthful integration.
This time it would be six-foot-seven, 230-pound Adam Klapka making the rounds, if indeed the team’s unhappiness with the fourth line results in Dillon Dube or Adam Ruzicka being scratched in favour of some young blood.
We’ll see.
When summoned to the big leagues for the first time Thursday, the 23-year-old Czech project deemed it the best day of his life.
Saturday could be even better.
The focus is on long-term growth, while also being able to chase a playoff spot.
If Klapka gets the tap, it will mark the fifth time this season a Flames rookie will make his NHL debut.
Zary and Pospisil scored in their opening auditions, while defencemen Yan Kuznetsov and Ilya Solovyov had much more muted performances.
Either way, as Klapka pointed out, such promotions are important carrots to dangle in front of the hopefuls on the farm.
Just ask Coronato.
GOALIE DEBATE LOOMS
Friday was a day off for the Flames players, but you can bet the coaching staff assembled to have one heck of a debate on who should start in goal Saturday.
With Jacob Marksrom nursing a minor tweak that caused him to leave practice Monday, Dan Vladar has started the last two games ahead of Dustin Wolf.
Vladar has been extremely sharp, but when asked if the backup had earned another start Saturday, Huska was predictably non-committal.
When asked after Thursday’s loss to Toronto if Markstrom might be ready to return, the coach opened the door to that possibility.
“Yep,” said Huska of his starter, who has been skating with goalie coach Jason LaBarbera this week. “There’s a chance.”
If Markstrom is ready to go, it sets up an interesting discussion, as his troubles against the Oilers have been well-documented.
That said, with the way he’s been playing of late, there may be no better time for him to start exorcising some demons by facing his kryptonite head-on, under the glare of a national audience.
If there’s any doubt over Marksrom’s health, the club is apt to start Vladar, as a healthy, rested Markstrom is key to the Flames’ hopes of staying in the playoff race.
Huska insists the club isn’t scared to start Wolf in such a big game, but Vladar’s play this week against Arizona and Toronto warrants another start.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Prior to Thursday’s loss to the Leafs, Mikael Backlund revealed to Sportsnet he reached out in the summer to former captain and longtime friend Mark Giordano for advice on whether he should re-sign in Calgary or test free agency.
“I reached out to him in my situation because he was here a long time, he didn’t want to leave, and then he got to play for two different franchises,” Backlund said. “I respect him a lot and wanted to pick his brain a little bit.”
Giordano’s advice?
Stay in Calgary.
“Sometimes you wonder, ‘What if I go somewhere else and how is it going to be?’ said the 40-year-old Leafs defenceman whose long run in Calgary ended in 2021 when he was plucked by Seattle in the expansion draft.
“But he’s developed such a great thing here, and it’s a great city and great place to play and it’s an organization that continues to want to win all the time.
“Good on him, I think he made the right call to stay and be captain. He deserves to be captain and he’s in a great spot.
“Mine was a different scenario, as it’s not like I got up and left.
“I would have loved to be able to finish my career here.”
