In John Beecher, the Flames are getting Cole Schwindt 2.0.

Is the Joel Farabee experiment over? Huska has been force-feeding him minutes – 3rd among Flames forwards averaging 17:34 entering last night's game – trying to jump-start his offense. It dropped to 11:04 vs. Chicago, the first time he's been under 15 minutes this season.

They’ve dealt Hanifin, Zadorov, Tanev, Lindholm and others in the past 20 months…. and now they want to cling on to marketable older vets like Kadri, Coleman, Andersson and Hanley… just as their pipeline is getting re-stocked. A real head scratcher.

Really thrilled to see Bob Wilkie’s story shared in Sideways — The Documentary. He was destined to be an NHL star, got sidetracked, then re-invented himself. Well worth a watch. So proud of you, my friend! Screening is Monday in Calgary. Available for rent.

Said it before and I’ll say it again… NHL completely misses the boat not scheduling two all Cdn-team games staggered on U.S. Thanksgiving. TV ratings would be high in Canada and surely respectable in the U.S. There’s always sports on in the background at family gatherings.

I can’t see the Maple Leafs being the team to outbid for Rasmus Andersson. They don’t have a 1st in 26 or 27 to offer up and are very lean on A-list prospects. And remember, when Treliving really wanted Tanev a couple years ago, he couldn’t do better than a 2nd and Grushnikov!

Outdoor mini-sticks anyone? It’s real ice!

39 years ago today Swift Current broncos #WHL Rick Dhaliwal

I’ll be there in spirit. Cheers to the guys. We’ll always remember.

Was told by a very reliable source that Matthew Schaefer will not be on the Canadian Olympic roster when it is named tomorrow, but he will be an injury replacement.

Except right now the four faces on the Mount Rushmore of D are Orr, Harvey, Lidstrom and Shore. Makar on a path to re-chisel Shore's face...maybe. (Shore won the Hart four times!)

At this point, the Flames should be healthy scratching Rasmus Andersson. A trade is imminent and it's too much a risk to see him injured and have a great return go to zero. Andersson is such a gamer, he won't half-ass his efforts. Last night case in point.

With Zary and Sharangovich hitting full stride lately, my call is for the uninspired and overpaid Huberdeau to healthy scratched when Pospisil and Coleman return in the coming weeks.

For the boys next door, of course.

Not that impressed with the return for Calgary in Andersson trade. Boils down to a 1st and likely a 2nd and a third-pair D in Whitecloud. Wiebe isn’t a prospect of consequence. Not among Vegas’ top 10 prospects in Future Watch.

Vegas getting Rasmus Andersson and not having to give up top prospects Connelly or Ihs-Wozniak is another work of art by GM McCrimmon. And he victimized Conroy for a top-pairing D again.

I would’ve preferred the condition on the 2nd round pick becoming a 1st have everything to do with Andersson re-signing in Vegas and nothing to do with them winning the Cup.

The Islanders got a 1st and two 2nds for 27-year-old RD Travis Hamonic on a good contract back in 2017. A gross overpay by Cgy for sure. But could Flames get a 2nd and a 3rd for 29-year-old similar-style RD Whitecloud on a good contract? It would even out the Andersson trade.

If the Flames buy out Huberdeau this summer, he'd be on the books until 2036 (albeit a small $ the last five years). That will be near the end of the Flames next contention window when Dustin Wolf is 35. I'd wait 2-3 years before the buyout. He helps Cgy get past the floor.

Hard to believe Jonathan Huberdeau has just 15 assists in 49 games this season. He set the NHL record for assists by a left winger just four years ago with 85 assists in 80 games. Huberdeau had 19 assists in January alone that season.