Shazam!

Once-kids in the organization have now returned as seasoned veterans. GM Stephen pulled the trigger on a deal to bring back Ben Chiarot and Austin Wagner.

Chiarot was initially acquired through waivers and played for the Flames from 2017 to 2021.

Wagner signed as a Free Agent with the Flames in 2018 and played until 2020.

Both have now returned to the Flames in a deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Going the other way are Andrei Kuzmenko and Zach Hayes. Moving Kuzmenko also frees up about 2.7 million dollars for this season and nearly 10 million dollars for next season. We would like to thank Kuzmenko for his contribution and wish him the best. Kuzmenko was acquired last season after losing Patrik Laine for the whole year.

Even though we lost a bit of scoring by moving Kuzmenko, the move allows us to give local boy Jake Neighbours more playing time. We also identified a need to bolster our defensive depth with the addition of Ben Chiarot. Between the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks, Chiarot had 12 points and was a plus-3 in 36 games.

With 7 top-four defensemen on the team, the players understand that someone will have to sit from time to time. We hope this will allow us to have a healthy defense heading into the second half of the season. However with Nikita Zadorov’s recent 2 game suspension for squishing the worm, sorry Elias Lindholm in the last game, Chiarot will now draw into the lineup for tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

The addition of Austin Wagner also bolsters the Wranglers and gives us some flexibility to slot players a little differently. Wagner was the San Diego Gulls leading scorer with 34 points in 30 games.

With the addition of Chiarot, Tyler Kleven will be reassigned to the Wranglers where he will get to play more games than he was on the big club.

Barring another trade, Matt Rempe has been recalled to fill in as the 13^th forward.

GM Stephen would like to thank GM Doug for his assistance with his artistry and for helping with the photos.

Thank You