In advance of their six game homestand, the Calgary Flames has made a roster move. The club announced on Sunday afternoon that they’ve re-assigned defender Nick DeSimone to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.
DeSimone played eight games, posting four assists. But he’s been a healthy scratch for the past three games and moving him back to the AHL keeps DeSimone’s waiver clock from progressing any further. He’s played eight games (after 10 games a player requires waivers) and been on the NHL roster for 22 days (after 30 games a player requires waivers). If he’s not necessarily going to be playing for the Flames, they might as well keep his waiver clock frozen.
Moving DeSimone to the AHL drops the active roster to 21 players – they’re carrying one extra forward. But they’re playing at home for the next two weeks. Meanwhile, between now and Christmas the Wranglers leave Alberta for a single weekend. Long story short: if the Flames need an extra defender, they can easily call one up from down the hall. In the meantime, DeSimone can play for the Wranglers rather than eat popcorn in the NHL, and being in the AHL helps maintain the organization’s flexibility with his usage for the next while.
Following this move, the Flames have two extra roster spots and $2.287 million in salary cap space under their long-term injury relief ceiling. They have a lot of roster flexibility, if they need to use it.
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