Flames’ Martin Pospisil to make season debut Wednesday vs. Penguins
Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil is expected to return to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday after missing the first 49 games of the season with a concussion.
Pospisil, 26, appeared in two games with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last weekend on an LTI conditioning stint before being recalled by the Flames on Tuesday. The 6’2″ forward skated on a line with Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka at practice that same day.
Fresh off a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday, the Flames are slated to host the Penguins at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Martin Pospisil plays his first NHL game in more than nine months tonight vs. Pittsburgh. 7:30 pm start, pregame on @Sportsnet960 at 6:30 pm. Optional morning skate, so we’ll get lines and pairings at warmup. Dustin Wolf in net. Pens expected to go with Stuart Skinner. #Flames
A fourth-round pick (No. 105 overall) of the Flames at the 2018 NHL Draft, Pospisil has developed into an effective, agitating bottom-six forward — but along the way, the Slovak forward has sustained a series of significant head injuries, the most recent occurring in an exhibition game against the Vancouver Canucks in October.
Pospisil skated in 63 games with the Flames in 2023-24, collecting eight goals and 24 points along with 109 penalty minutes. He appeared in 81 games the following year, racking up 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) and 84 PIMs.
After playing his junior hockey with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, Pospisil turned pro with the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2019. He appeared in parts of five AHL seasons with the Heat and Calgary Wranglers before joining the Flames for the first time early in the 2023-24 campaign.
The Flames signed Pospisil to a three-year contract extension last July. He currently counts for just $1 million against the salary cap for 2025-26, but that will increase to $2.5 million for each of the next three seasons.
Pospisil has represented his native Slovakia multiple times in his career, including at the 2019 World Junior Championship and the 2024 World Championship, and, health permitting, he’ll don his national colors once again next month when he plays for Team Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.