Some off-day thoughts as the Calgary Flames prepare for Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils:
1) I think Bob Hartley would be smart to keep the Sam Bennett - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik trio together for an extended period of time.
In ~125 minutes together at full-strength they've been positive in possession relative to the team without them on the ice. They've also generated a 54% share of scoring chances and 62% share of goals.
All three players are capable at contributing at both ends of the ice and it gives the Flames a unit that can hold their head above water against top competition and that frees up Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and co. in the process.
2) Despite missing 12 games due to injury Frolik still ranks 4th on the Flames in 5 v 5 scoring chances and leads the team in 5 v 5 scoring chances per game with 2.25.
Frolik may not be the flashiest player but his full-strength production has been very good over the last few years and he's arguably the best defensive forward on the team.
His presence was certainly missed.
3) The Ottawa Senators finally appear to have given up on Jared Cowen (rightfully so) and are prepared to move him elsewhere.
Apparently the Flames are interested.
One thing I have consistently heard in the last couple of weeks is Jared Cowen and Calgary.
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) January 17, 2016Yep. They're interested. Whether they can get a deal done is another story. https://t.co/U8mIWQVODd
— AJ Jakubec (@AJonSports) January 17, 2016Cowen has been an anchor to the Senators for years in terms of possession and scoring chances and is certainly not a guy I'd be targeting.
I don't know what the Senators want in return for Cowen but unless the Flames can rid themselves of a bad contract (a la Deryk Engelland) I don't think a Cowen trade makes any sense for the Flames.
It'll be interesting to see if anything comes of these rumors.
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