Flames Rumors & News

Sportsnet "Did John Tavares and his $77-million sweepstakes open his UFA followers’ eyes for what might be possible if you peek beyond the curtain? The summer of 2019 will deliver no shortage of star power, as a two-time Vezina winner, a finalist for three major 2018-19 trophies,..." June 24

Matchsticks & Gasoline "Well, the Flames didn't trade T.J. Brodie at 26, but drafted a player similar to someone already on their roster.... Johnny Gaudreau. Calgary took the 5'9" Jakob Pelletier with the 26th pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. " June 21

Sportsnet "The NHL Draft is coming up fast and the trade rumours and speculation are heating up. Here are some of the bigger questions to consider before the fireworks begin: WHICH PLAYER WILL BE CHOSEN FIRST OVERALL? Jack Hughes has long been the projected No. 1 in this..." June 21

The Score "NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed a series of rule changes for the 2019-20 season. The alterations were approved by the league's Board of Governors, general managers, and competition committee. The most prominent changes pertain to video reviews, which underwent..." June 21

USA Today "While it’s indisputable that NHL teams are more likely to find a superstar in the first few picks of the draft than they are later on, USA TODAY Sports research shows that quality picks can be found deep into the first round. In many cases, we found multiple desirable..." June 20

Calgary Sun "The Calgary Flames have known this for a long time. Wednesday’s news on the stage at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas confirmed it. But receiving the ultimate recognition as the best defenceman in the National Hockey League — the 2019 Norris Trophy — took years of..." June 20

Flames Nation "Calgary Flames forward Sean Monahan is up for a major NHL award for the first time in his career, but his focus in Las Vegas is anywhere but on himself. Monahan is a finalist for the Lady Byng alongside Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and St. Louis’s Ryan O’Reilly, but he’s..." June 19

Sportsnet "I have a theory. And, after the Rangers/Winnipeg trade involving Jacob Trouba, I’ve decided to lay it out. That deal was a surprise because the Jets were asking for more, and, on paper, Trouba is worth a greater return. So, why didn’t it happen? I think..." June 18

The Score "The salary cap for the 2019-20 NHL season could come in below the $83-million upper limit that was initially estimated. The NHL and NHLPA are meeting Tuesday, and many teams reportedly told TSN's Bob McKenzie that they're concerned about the current forecast for the..." June 18

USA Today "The NHL draft will be held Friday night and Saturday in Vancouver. Here's a look at some of the worst draft decisions NHL teams have made through the years: In 1993, the Ottawa Senators drafted Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star Alexandre Daigle with the No. 1..." June 17

Sportsnet "One of the NHL’s most active draft day general managers believes the large number of big-name RFAs could stymie draft floor activity next week. Brad Treliving, who has made several of his most significant moves on draft weekend, said it will be harder for him and many of his..." June 16

The Score "The Calgary Flames tested the market for James Neal, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote in Saturday's edition of "31 Thoughts." Neal managed only seven goals and 19 points in 63 games with the Flames this past season. " June 15

Pro Hockey Rumors "The Calgary Flames have inked an international prospect, signing Eetu Tuulola to a three-year entry-level contract. Tuulola has played the last two seasons in Finland’s top professional league after spending a year with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL. " June 13

The Score "The player You'd be hard-pressed to find a hockey fan who doesn't like Matthew Tkachuk's game. The Calgary Flames forward is a true throwback and a chip off the old block. Both he and his brother Brady bring the same nastiness, competitiveness, and 200-foot game..." June 13

The Score "A Calgary Flames farmhand is reportedly headed overseas with the goal of taking part in the next winter Olympics. Spencer Foo is joining the KHL's Kunlun Red Star, giving him a chance to play for China in the 2022 Games, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte..." June 11

The Fourth Period "The Calgary Flames and young star Matthew Tkachuk are taking their time when it comes to hammering out a new contract. The two sides have had general discussions, to date, and negotiations aren’t expected to pick up until later this month, a source close to the situation told..." June 10

ESPN "Putting Gary Bettman in charge of hockey labor peace is like putting a cat in charge of rodent safety. There are just some things that are inherently, instinctually part of an individual's comportment, and there's nothing they can do to suppress the urges. For Bettman,..." May 30

Sportsnet "Is Sam Bennett ripe for an offer sheet? Is he coveted enough outside Calgary for a team to try sticking it to the cap-strapped Flames with an offer he can’t refuse? On the outset it may sound like the oddest of names to attach to a practice even rarer than payphone..." May 25

Sportsnet "The 2018-19 season was the year of the tandem netminder. The trend of having a 1A/1B situation in net opposed to a 65-game starter has been building for some time now and the merits of this strategy have been a defining aspect of the season. Two of the Vezina Trophy finalists started..." May 25

Sportsnet "The Calgary Flames will almost certainly have to trade one of their veterans to sign Matthew Tkachuk. An informal survey of some of the league’s top agents regarding Tkachuk’s worth as a restricted free agent confirms the 21-year-old power forward will come..." May 24

Pro Hockey Rumors "When drafting a player out of North America or more European countries, a team acquires their exclusive negotiating rights for a set amount of time. Each year on June 1, a long list of players see those rights expire and they become unrestricted free agents. While this doesn’t always..." May 24

Sportsnet "As a rule, even rich people hate spending money on nothing. It’s just one of those things that irks the human soul on a fundamental level. Given that, there’s understandable hesitation when it comes to the potential of buying out players on cumbersome contracts. Sometimes..." May 23

Sportsnet "As Tuukka Rask’s post-season brilliance reminds us all, good goaltending is paramount to NHL success. Of the top 15 in 2018-19 team save percentage, all but three clubs (Arizona, Anaheim, Montreal) qualified for the playoffs. So, with the needle about to drop on the..." May 18

USA Today "It’s no longer a question of whether the NHL should look at how the game is officiated. The question is: How could they not? This year’s Stanley Cup playoffs has provided overwhelming evidence that significant changes are required. What happened Wednesday, when..." May 16

Stockton Heat "The Calgary Flames announced today that they have signed defenseman Alexander Yelesin to a two-year entry-level contract. Yelesin, a native of Yaroslavl, Russia, completed his second season as a member of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL in 2018-19. " May 10

TSN "The Bread Man is going to make cake. Artemi Panarin delivered the goods despite a circus swirling around him in Columbus, leading the Blue Jackets to the best season in franchise history. Now, after fulfilling his contract, he’ll head to free agency as the No. 1..." May 10

TSN "The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday the team has signed defenceman Carl-Johan Lerby to a two-year entry-level contract. Lerby played with the Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish Elite League last season, finishing with five goals and 16 assists in 47 games. " May 07

Matchsticks & Gasoline "So your team, the one seed in the conference, didn’t get swept, but they did go out in five games to a team that almost everybody (this writer included) thought they were demonstrably better than. But here we are, Flames fans, sinking into the start of the second round..." April 30

TSN "Elias Lindholm will be making the trip to Slovakia to play for Team Sweden at the World Hockey Championship next month. According to Jonatan Lindquist of Sweden's Viasat, Lindholm accepted a spot on the team Thursday, six days after the Calgary Flames were eliminated from the..." April 26

TSN "Calgary Flames winger James Neal posted just seven goals and 19 points in 63 regular season games and was a healthy scratch for the team's series-clinching Game 5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. But with four years left on his deal with the team, the 31-year-old still wants to be..." April 23

Sportsnet "Perhaps the most telling moment of the Calgary Flames’ exit interviews came from a player who is unlikely to be here next season. Asked if he thought the highly talented Flames core was capable of winning a Stanley Cup, Michael Frolik’s lengthy pause was..." April 22

Yardbarker "The Calgary Flames were handed their golf passes in the playoffs after just five games against the Colorado Avalanche, but it wasn’t for the reasons many speculated on heading into the postseason. For much of the year the team had been dealing with goaltending issues, and when they handed..." April 22

Matchsticks & Gasoline "After an unexpectedly early end to the 2018-19 campaign, it’s time to shift towards planning for the Calgary Flames offseason. One of the first things on the mind of Flames fans should be some of the Flames pending restricted free agents who are due for raises this summer...." April 22

NHL.com "Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the three finalists for the 2018-19 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in..." April 21

CBS Sports "Pospisil signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flames on Saturday. The 19-year-old forward finished his second season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL, where he recorded 16 goals and 47 assists over 44 games. Pospisil also featured for Slovakia at the World..." April 20

The Score "The Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Calgary Flames from the postseason in five games Friday night with a one-sided 5-1 victory. Along with the Tampa Bay Lightning's sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, it marked the first time both No. 1 seeds lost in the first round in the..." April 20

NHL.com "The foothills of the Rocky Mountains are a majestic sight on the distant horizon west of Calgary. The snow-capped peaks are also symbolic today, given the impossible climb the Calgary Flames faced in their bid not to be buried by the Colorado Avalanche. The Western Conference champion..." April 20

NHL.com "The Calgary Flames are aware they need three straight wins to advance beyond the Western Conference First Round against the Colorado Avalanche. Their focus, though, is on getting one, in Game 5 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS,..." April 19

Yahoo! Sports "365 days ago, James Neal was leading the cavalry for the Vegas Golden Knights on route to their historic Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their inaugural season. Today, he’s a postseason healthy scratch for the Calgary Flames in an elimination game. This comes as no surprise..." April 19

Yahoo! Sports "Next up in the NHL’s 2018-19 awards announcements is the Lady Byng Trophy, which is awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” The nominees, who are voted..." April 19

Sportsnet "In breaking down the first round series between the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche before it began, the biggest area of concern for the Avalanche that I saw was the Flames’ ability to create turnovers in dangerous areas, many of which lead to odd-man rushes. In fact, in..." April 17

TSN "Defenceman Juuso Valimaki appears set to make his post-season debut for the Calgary Flames Wednesday in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche. Valimaki was paired with Rasmus Anderssen during the Flames skate ahead of the game Wednesday. If Valimaki is in the lineup for the Flames,..." April 17

USA Today "Yet another NHL player has been seriously hurt because Gary Bettman insists on fighting a losing game. Carolina Hurricanes rookie Andrei Svechnikov is in the concussion protocol and likely to miss Game 4 of the playoffs Thursday night, an outcome just about anybody could..." April 17

Pro Hockey Talk "To the naked eye, the Colorado Avalanche power play hasn’t been too special through three games against the Calgary Flames. After all, they’re only clicking at 12.5 percent. But keeping that power play off the ice might be the difference between the Flames advancing to the second..." April 17

Sportsnet "Nathan MacKinnon has officially taken over this series. The first hint of the Avalanche star’s heroics came at the end of Game 2 when his overtime snipe in Calgary equaled the series. It was his first goal in 12 shots. On Monday it snowballed. By..." April 16

NHL.com "The Calgary Flames are determined to be at the top of their game against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round at Pepsi Center on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, ALT). The Flames watched video during a team meeting at their hotel Tuesday, one..." April 16

Sportsnet "Two nights after stealing the spotlight, Mike Smith came within a hair of outright stealing a game. Alas, justice was ultimately served in the form of a 3-2 overtime win for the Colorado Avalanche ending with a Nathan MacKinnon rocket that beat Smith clean glove side. The..." April 14

The Score "Hemmed in their own zone for minutes at a time, unable to complete simple passes over and over and over again, and generally looking ordinary most of the night, the Calgary Flames didn't deserve a win on Saturday. Yet they only narrowly lost, dropping a 3-2 decision in overtime to..." April 14

Sportsnet "The perception in Calgary has long been that if the Flames’ top trio isn’t chipping in offensively, they’re not contributing at all. Game 1 proved otherwise for the Flames when Elias Lindholm excelled as a penalty killer, Sean Monahan was a perfect 9-0 in the faceoff..." April 13

Sportsnet "Could the Calgary Flames be Canada’s team this spring? Nope. A consensus favourite would be impossible given the passionate allegiances in every corner of the country. Canada’s best hope? Different debate entirely, as three teams..." April 11