Othmann Gets His Extension; Calgary Gets One More Body It Can Count On

The Flames re-signed Brendan Othmann to a one-year, two-way contract extension on Thursday. Routine enough on its face. But the timing tells the real story: Calgary is locking in anyone available right now, because available is not something this roster has in abundance heading into camp.

The injury list running through this group is long. Huberdeau confirmed September 10 he'll miss the start of training camp, no firm return date attached. Jake Bean, Kevin Bahl, Connor Zary, Yan Kuznetsov, Joel Hanley, and Henry Mews are all somewhere on the spectrum between day-to-day and out. That's before accounting for the seven prospects shipped back to their junior clubs Wednesday to trim the camp roster. The front office has been filling gaps where it can — Jake Middleton signed September 16, a PTO forward brought in late August, Alex Nylander on a tryout — and the Othmann extension fits that same pattern. You keep the players you know are going to show up.

None of this is a crisis on its own. Two-way deals and depth signings are normal September business. But the volume of it, stacked against a roster that finished 34-48 last year and went 2-9 away from home down the stretch, makes each move feel less like roster management and more like triage. The big offseason bet was Simon Nemec and a rebuilt blue line. That story is still out there somewhere, waiting. Right now the Flames are just trying to get enough bodies on the ice to run a training camp.