As the new year progresses and the All-Star Break approaches, the Calgary Flames are surging. They have won four in a row, and are currently just two points out of the final wild card spot in the West. They have seven third-period comeback victories, and are looking a lot better than they did starting the season 2-6-1. For the media and fans, it is a nice sight to see after an up-and-down 2022-23 which led to the team missing the playoffs altogether. General manager Brad Treliving as well as most of the team’s coaching staff were subsequently replaced.
Most of the 2022-23 team returned for this current season, but not all. The organization made a handful of in-season and offseason moves, whether they be signings, trades, or waiver wire pickups. Some of the departed have played a lot of games in “Cowtown”, some didn’t, some are still in the NHL, and some aren’t, but each is a part of Flames history regardless. Let’s have a look at how these individuals have fared since parting ways with the Flames, and what they’re up to at the present day.
Trevor Lewis, Forward
First up on our list is 37-year-old Trevor Lewis. A veteran of 933 NHL games and two seasons with the Flames, the Salt Lake City, Utah native was originally a Los Angeles Kings first-round draft pick, 17th overall back in 2006. He suited up for the Kings for parts of 12 seasons and was a part of both the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup-winning teams. Despite prolific junior numbers, he quickly established a role as a checking forward, providing energy from the bottom-six. He has never eclipsed his career-highs of 14 goals and 26 points set back in the 2017-18 season. The Kings didn’t extend his contract for the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 season, and he joined the Winnipeg Jets on a professional tryout contract (PTO). Lewis impressed and earned a job for the year.
After his Jets tenure, he signed with the Flames as a free agent for the 2021-22 campaign and put up six goals and 16 points in 80 games. Treliving extended him on another one-year pact for 2022-23 and he rewarded the organization with nine goals and 20 points in a full 82 contests. The team elected to not re-sign him for this season, and he ended up going back to where it all began; he signed a one-year contract with the Kings. Lewis is still proving effective at his age and mileage, with five goals and eight points in 41 games so far. Many believe 2022-23 will be his last, and if it is the case and with the Kings competitive again this season, here’s hoping for a deep playoff run for the veteran forward to end things off.
Troy Stecher, Defenceman & Nick Ritchie, Forward
Acquired in the first-ever brother-for-brother trade in NHL history, defenceman Troy Stecher and forward Nick Ritchie had short but sweet Flames tenures last season. The pair was sent over from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Connor Mackey and Brett Ritchie last March. The undrafted Stecher had previously suited up for the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings. Ritchie was the tenth overall pick back in 2014 via the Anaheim Ducks and also played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs before reaching the desert. Both men performed admirably in limited roles for the Flames; Ritchie put up four goals and five points in 16 games and Stecher scored three times and added four assists in 20 contests.
Nowadays, the two players are on different pathways. The organization decided to let both walk, likely due to the logjam of defencemen and available NHL-ready forward prospects. The soon-to-be 30-year-old Stecher ended up signing a one-year, $1.1 million contract back with the Coyotes after his time with the Flames ended. At this point in the 2023-24 season, he has one goal and five points in 42 games and a solid plus-7 rating to boot. Ritchie, on the other hand, couldn’t find another home in the NHL after a PTO with the St. Louis Blues. He instead signed with Karpat in the Finnish SM-Liiga, where he has one goal and five points, and a whopping 70 penalty minutes through 10 appearances.
Tyler Toffoli, Forward
Our final departed player of note is last season’s top point producer, Scarborough, Ontario’s Tyler Toffoli. Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, he played the first eight years of his career with them before playing for the Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. The Flames acquired the winger from the Canadiens just about halfway through the 2021-22 season and he fit in immediately with 23 points in the remaining 37 games. He also added five points in 12 playoff matches for the team that year, as the Flames bowed out in the second round courtesy of the rival Edmonton Oilers. The following campaign, Toffoli exploded offensively and led the Flames with career-highs of 34 goals and 73 points in all 82 games.
Toffoli was set to be one of many high-profile free agents on the Flames roster for 2023-24, and being the most desirable he was traded first. He went to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round draft choice. The organization used the pick on U-Mass Amherst forward Aydar Suniev, and Sharaongovich has been a pleasant surprise for the team. Toffoli has played as advertised for the Devils, with 16 goals and 29 points in 43 games as the team fights for a playoff spot in the East. However, the 31-year-old’s bargain $4.25 million deal will be up at season’s end, and he will likely be looking for a raise and term in what could be the last big contract of his career.
Related: Flames’ Sharangovich Proving Doubters Wrong With Hot Streak
All in all, the NHL is a business. Players come and go, and all transactions are calculated by professionals with obvious or underlying intentions. All of these players left some kind of mark on the Flames organization and its fans, whether they spent multiple years or just a cup of coffee with the team.
