The Calgary Flames have had some great success lately, going 8-3-2 over their past 13 games, and after another win over the formidable Dallas Stars, it appears as though things are going in the right direction for Calgary.
While many may have been disappointed with the return for Nikita Zadorov, the Thursday afternoon trade has shown that Craig Conroy may be ready to sell his batch of unrestricted free agents with the intention of bringing youth to the Flames lineup. When asked about the deal, Conroy name dropped the likes of Jeremie Poirier, Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf, along with Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil who have excelled at the NHL level, so at least fans can now be excited about the future arriving in Calgary.
One thing that fans may not have been expecting however was the return of Oliver Kylington, who has been away from the team for the better part of the past 18 months as he deals with personal issues. His return may not be imminent, but on Friday, a video was released of him returning to the ice and it’s safe to say that it’s got fans fired up.
Kylington back on the ice this morning at Max Bell arena. @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/IdWB56NmvD
— Ryan Leslie (@ryanlesliemedia) December 1, 2023
The 26-year-old has been supported by the Flames as he deals with personal issues away from the ice and after returning to North America in the summer, many were excited to see him back on the ice, but unfortunately, that led into him being away from the team once more. During the 2021-22 season, Kylington had a fantastic campaign, tallying a career high nine goals and 31 points. While we may not see him back soon, if the Flames are to trade Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, it makes plenty of sense if he could be one of the players replacing them in the lineup.
OLIVER KYLINGTON. MY GOODNESS. 4-3 🔥🔥🔥 #Flames pic.twitter.com/JpszEc0jmR
— Taranjot Vining (@Str8OuttaCGY) February 2, 2022
Hockey aside however, this is a great sign that a young man who’s been through some struggles may be getting to the end of that, and if he can return to the ice, it will be a major boost for the Flames and their fans, who have seemingly stood by the young man as he’s gone through it all, so it’s fantastic to see him back, whether a return occurs or not.
FWIW: At present, the #Flames have Oliver Kylington and Kevin Rooney on LTIR, retroactive to opening day. Since they've both missed 24+ days and 10+ games, both have served enough time on LTI to be eligible to return at any point.
— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) December 1, 2023