Frost will be the surprising odd man out of the Flyers' lineup Tuesday vs. Vancouver a season after leading Phialdelphia in even strength points. The 24-year-old centre has failed to pick up a point in any of the Flyers' first two games and only has two SOG and a -1 plus/minus while averaging 13:57 TOI. He willl make way to Bobby Brink (healthy scratch) returning to Philadelphia's lineup Tuesday.
Klapka had a shot to make Calgary's opening night roster but has unfortunately been re-assigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) to start the 2023-24 season. The 23-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022-23. He returns to the Wranglers where he had 13 goals, 12 assists, 80 PIMs, and a +1 plus/minus in 60 games during his inaugural AHL season in 2022-23.
Whitecloud was hurt after receiving a hit from Colorado's Kurtis MacDermid in Vegas' preseason game vs. the Avalanche and is considered week-to-week after undergoing successful surgery on an area on the upper body. The 26-year-old was expected to be a big part of Vegas' defensive unit this season after collecting five goals, seven assists, 41 PIMs, and a +10 plus/minus through 59 games in 2022-23.
Backlund had 19 goals, 37 assists, 36 PIMs, 260 SOG, and a +24 plus/minus in 82 games in 2022-23 with Calgary and has signed a two-year contract extension worth $9.0 million ($4.5 million AAV). Along with the new contract, Backlund has been announced as the Flames' 21st Captain in team history. The 34-year-old centre is entering his 16th NHL season as a Flame and has 185 goals, 492 points and a +66 plus/minus in 908 career NHL games played.
Frost had 19 goals, 27 assists, 155 SOG, 24 PIMs, and a -12 plus/minus through 81 games in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $4.2 million extension ($2,100,00 AAV). The 24-year-old took a big leap forward last season after never averaging more than 14 ATOI as he bumped his totals to 16:20 TOI and played 26 more games than his previous high. After being drafted in the 1st round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft (27th overall) Frost has amassed 26 goals, 69 points, 271 SOG, and 42 PIMS across 158 games and five four seasons.
Bahl had two goals, six assists, 27 SOG, 35 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 42 games in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.1 million contract extension ($1,050,000 AAV). The towering 23-year-old defenseman was Arizona's 2018 second-round pick (55th overall) and will be entering his fourth season in New Jersey in 2023-24. Through his previous three, he has three goals, 11 assists, 48 SOG and 45 PIMs through 66 career games played.
Honzek was the Flames 2023 1st round selection (16th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $950,000. The 18-year-old forward had 23 goals, 33 assists, 16 PIMs and a +17 plus/minus through 43 games with Vancouver (WHL) in 2022-23.
After five years in the Golden Knights' organization, Jones signed with the Flames last July and finished third in Calgary Wranglers scoring with 54 points (17G / 37A) in 71 AHL games. With Matthew Phillips now with the Capitals, Jones will be a key member of the Wranglers lineup in 2024.
Pospisil was a fourth-round pick of the Flames in 2018 and he has played exclusively for their AHL team. In 2023, he finished the season with 10 points (4G / 6A) in just 20 games.
The 2023 season was a whirlwind for Hunt. He started the season with the Rangers, was claimed off of waivers by the Avalanche, traded to the Maple Leafs and then traded to the Flames. He finished the season with three goals in 37 NHL games and 24 points (9G / 15A) in 32 AHL games between the four franchises. He'll once again be a fringe NHLer for the Flames in 2024.
Cooley went 15-8-2 with a 2.93 GAA and .909 SV% in 26 games with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) in 2022-23. For the 2023-24 season, expect Cooley and Dustin Tokarski to handle most of the AHL duties for the Sabres.
Englund had four assists, 31 SOG, 35 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 47 games played with Colorado and Chicago in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract worth $2.0 million ($1.0M AAV). The 27-year-old defender will be joining his fourth NHL team and has yet to pick up a goal across 80 career NHL games despite having seven assists, 59 PIMs and 46 SOG across that span.
Hanley had two assists, 14 SOG, 15 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 26 games with Dallas in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract extension worth $1.575 million ($787.5K AAV). The 32-year-old defensemen has spent the last five seasons in Dallas and has two goals, 24 points, 33 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 151 career games played.
Pachal had two assists, 18 SOG, eight PIMs and a +2 plus/minus through 10 games in 2022-23 with Vegas and has signed a two-year, $1.55 Million contract extension ($775,000 AAV). The 23-year-old defenseman was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Golden Knights originally, and has played in 12 NHL games since.
Sharangovich was acquired on Tuesday as a part of the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to the Devils. The 25-year-old forward saw his role diminish last season, and his offensive output drop as a result. In Calgary, he should serve as a middle-6 winger with 25-25 upside.
Sharangovich is a pending RFA that had just 30 points (13G / 17A) in 75 games in 2023. Sharangovich saw his minutes drop by over two minutes per game. The 25-year-old will likely play in a bottom-6 role, potentially on a line with Mikael Backlund in 2024.
Hanley played in three games in the Stars' opening series against Minnesota but will be a healthy scratch Tuesday for Game 1 vs. Seattle as he is replaced by Colin Miller. The 31-year-old has yet to pick up a point in the playoffs but is a +2 plus/minus through his three-game showing.
