In this edition of Calgary Flames News & Rumors, Sean Monahan’s season has come to an end as he is set to undergo hip surgery. In other news, Johnny Gaudreau was named the NHL’s second star for the month of March. Meanwhile, Connor Mackey has been recalled from the Stockton Heat. Last but not least, Darryl Sutter had a bit of fun on After Hours Saturday night, saying that Milan Lucic would be his first choice out of his current group of players to come to help out on his ranch.
Monahan Out for the Season
On Saturday morning, Flames general manager Brad Treliving spoke with the media and said that Monahan would miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to a hip injury that will require surgery. The good news is that it is not the same hip that he had surgery on this past offseason, but it is extremely disheartening for the 27-year-old, as this roster appears primed to go on a run this Spring.
According to Treliving, Monahan told medical staff that in recent days he was having issues, and after running some tests they determined surgery was the logical move. With that, his 2021-22 season comes to an end with him having scored just eight goals and 23 points in 65 games. Hopefully, this surgery can get him fully healthy and playing like the Monahan of old, though whether or not that will come with him in a Flames uniform remains to be seen.
Gaudreau Voted Second Star of the Month
After two so-so seasons by his standards, Gaudreau has been one of the NHL’s top forwards all season long. His production right from the get-go in the 2021-22 campaign has been fantastic, but he was able to pick things up even more so in March, registering 11 goals and 26 points in just 16 games. To no one’s surprise, the great month was good enough for him to be named the NHL’s second star of March.
Related: Flames’ Monahan to Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery
On the season as a whole, Gaudreau’s 92 points rank fourth in the NHL. Perhaps even more impressive has been his attention to detail defensively, which is proven by his league-leading plus/minus of plus-48. The 28-year-old has set himself up for a significant pay raise this offseason when he becomes a free agent.
Mackey Recalled From Stockton
During Treliving’s press conference where he let it be known Monahan was out for the season, he also mentioned that the team had recalled Mackey from Stockton. This move gives them some extra depth on the back end, as Oliver Kylington is currently day-to-day with an unspecified injury.
Mackey, who was originally signed as an undrafted college free agent by the Flames in March of 2020, has 36 points in 53 games with Stockton this season. In the 2020-21 campaign, which was his first as a pro, he logged six games at the NHL level, tallying a goal and two assists. While he isn’t particularly young at 25, he remains one of the team’s more promising prospects.
Sutter Picks Lucic to Work on His Ranch
Appearing on After Hours shortly after Saturday night’s game versus the Blues, Sutter got into talking about his ranch and all the work that goes into that type of lifestyle. It was an interesting, behind-the-scenes chat that helped show what the Flames head coach is all about. However, there was some fun to be had at the end, when one fan wrote in asking which player on the roster Sutter would want to work on his ranch.
“I’d probably pick Looch because he’s the biggest, strongest guy,” Sutter said. “I know he can throw stuff around.”
From a pure strength point, this makes plenty of sense, as Lucic remains one of the game’s true heavyweights. From his perspective, however, he would probably much rather take some time off and relax in the offseason as opposed to being a farmhand.
Up Next for the Flames
This past week was a bit of a struggle for the Flames, as they fell in all three games on their schedule and were only able to pick up a single point in what was a shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. They will look to exact revenge over the Kings in a road tilt on Monday night, and will then face two more divisional opponents on Wednesday and Thursday, the first being the Anaheim Ducks and the second the San Jose Sharks. They will then end their week, as well as their four-game road trip, on Saturday night in a tilt against the Seattle Kraken.