The Calgary Flames retained a promising rookie Wednesday evening by inking forward Martin Pospisil to a 2-year, $2 million extension.
Pospisil has quickly become a fan favorite in Calgary for his willingness to throw the body and spirited play at either end of the ice.
The 24-year-old Slovakian paces the Flames in hits (87) despite having played in just 37 games because of an upper-body ailment that kept him out of action from January 20 until last night’s contest against the Boston Bruins.
The former 4th-round selection has been rewarded on offense for his high-energy play with 4 goals and 11 points and began Tuesday’s 4-1 road victory flanking Calgary’s top offensive producer Nazem Kadri (15G, 42P in 50GP) alongside fellow rookie standout Connor Zary.
Later in the game, officials assessed Pospisil a 5-minute major and match penalty for running Bruins captain Brad Marchand. The league announced today he will receive no further punishment.
Pospisil and Zarry figure to contribute to the Flames’ plans long-term, especially given the former’s new extension, but Calgary is not yet out of the playoff hunt in the here and now.
Strong campaigns from Kadri, veteran centerman Blake Coleman (40P, +22 in 50GP), and resurgent netminder Jakob Markstrom (2.55 GAA, .913SV%) have kept Calgary in the hunt for the last wildcard despite having traded Nikita Zadorov earlier in the season and All-Star representative Elias Lindholm over the break.
The Flames are just 3 points adrift of the eighth seed, and a strong showing in Boston could lift their spirits for the second half of an up-and-down year under new coach Ryan Huska.
Calgary will return to action tomorrow night at 7 pm ET to try to run their nascent win streak to three away from home against an equally desperate New Jersey Devils outfit.
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