CALGARY — The only thing quicker than the pace at which the Calgary Flames opened camp was the speed of the tweets fired detailing Day 1’s line combinations.
And the only thing that stood out more than Jonathan Huberdeau, who revealed he’s selling his Smurf blue Lamborghini, was the hair on display on the team’s second row.
As a fairly clean-cut Nazem Kadri glanced at his wings, the bearded veteran might have wondered if he was part of an ’80s metal band, given Cody Eakin’s Ginger River to his left and Sonny Milan’s glittering Bird’s Nest to his right Side.
“I don’t know,” Milano smiled when told he had the best cap in stock.
“Eakin has some pretty cool hair, too.”
Aside from Tyler Toffoli occupying the right wing alongside Elias Lindholm and Huberdeau, the PTO wingers flanking Kadri made up the most notable trio of the day.
The always versatile Eakin is no doubt acting as a stand-in for Andrew Mangiapane, who is skating solo while recovering from a bit of a pinch earlier in the summer.
It puts Milano in the driver’s seat to close the apparent gap in the top 9, which management believes is clearly a player missing.
“I spoke to (head coach Darryl Sutter) the day before I arrived (Sunday) and they seemed happy to see me coming and told me there was a spot available and I just had to get it,” said the 26-year-old. old, who made the famous “The Dishigan” with Trevor Zegras last year and was on his way to scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games as the Anaheim Duck.
“I had a pretty good season last year. I was definitely hoping for a contract but it is what it is and I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunity. If I just do my best and play my game, I think I’ll be good.”
After a stellar start last year, Milano has managed just three goals in their last 27 games, leading to a surprise farewell to the Ducks.
As difficult as it was for him to accept a PTO offer, he chose Calgary because of the opportunity to play alongside top players.
“I’m with Kadri, who’s had a hell of a year, and Eakins, who’s also a veteran, so it’s a good place,” he said.
“I think I have a lot to prove. I thought I was worthy of a contract after last season. So all I have to do is prove I can do it.”
GM Brad Treliving insisted he wants to assess players in camp first and wouldn’t deny he’s still open to the possibility of adding another winger if, say, Milano isn’t the answer.
“To be honest, that top 9 is still a work in progress for us,” admitted Treliving, speaking largely of the right-back position on the second row.
“I want to get a handle on what we have here, but you’re always snooping around. I don’t think anyone’s done tinkering.”
“This camp is really important to find out where everyone fits in.”
As he joked: “We’ll probably get all our lines together on a napkin – it usually takes 10 minutes. You don’t know where the chemistry will come from.”
Jakob Pelletier may be people’s pick for breakthrough, but when asked if he expected anything special from the AHL star, Sutter said, “No.”
“I think we have guys that can play both sides, so we’re lucky with Blake (Coleman), Mangs, Dubs (Dillon Dube), Cody. It’s not ‘who’, it’s more like ‘how’.”
Sutter won a Stanley Cup with Toffoli and has long praised his naturalness as a goalscorer, making him a favorite when he capitalizes on his right shot down the top line with a setup ace like Huberdeau.
When asked about the difference in skills between himself and the man he’s replacing, Matthew Tkachuk, Sutter was gruff.
“One won the Stanley Cup and was a big part of the long playoffs,” he said.
Mikael Backlund, Dube and Coleman formed a third line full of intimacy.
On the back, the plan seems clear: MacKenzie Weegar will play on his offside with Chris Tanev as the club’s shutdown pair.
“Weegar can play big minutes,” Sutter said of the new defender, who is close to signing an extension with the team.
“Tanny can handle it, his shoulder can handle it… whoever you bring to him.”
Last year, Tanev helped build Oliver Kylington into a top-four defender.
Kylington is currently away from camp as he deals with a personal issue, leaving Nikita Zadorov and Nicolas Meloche as the third pairing.
Greeted by the kind of media mob he’s never seen in Florida, Huberdeau said he’s already making other adjustments to his new surroundings, including selling his Tesla and Lamborghini.
“It would have been a little cold,” he said of the convertible, one of “three or four” vehicles owned by the man who signed an $85 million extension with the Flames this summer.
“I sell everything. Start again.”
“I already have a pickup. That’s from the list. Then I’m not sure. If you provide a convertible with winter tires, that might work.”
Adjustments on the fly – the story of the camp for these flames.
LINES:
Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli
Eakin-Kadri-Milan
Coleman Backlund dube
Lucic Rooney Ritchie
Pospisil-Ruzicka-Lewis
Weegar-Tanev
Hanifin-Andersson
Zadorov-Meloche
Valimaki—stone
*Mangiapane is injured and Kylington is out for personal reasons.
#Lamborghinis #line #combos #dominate #conversation #Flames #opening #day
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