Flames assign Dryden Hunt to the AHL’s Wranglers

In the aftermath of the Calgary Flames’ road game with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, they announced a roster move. Forward Dryden Hunt, who was called up by the team prior to Thursday’s game in Boston, was re-assigned to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers. Hunt was listed as a scratch in Boston but didn’t join the team until after that game, and he was also a scratch against Buffalo.

Due to his call-up and the related travel, Hunt has been idle for awhile and this move, on paper, seems like a way of getting him into game action. Hunt last played on Tuesday for the Wranglers at home against the Bakersfield Condors. The Wranglers play on Sunday afternoon at home against Henderson, while the Flames play a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday at home against Los Angeles and on the road against Vancouver. We would definitely not rule out the Flames bringing Hunt back for the back-to-back to serve as an extra forward – and if that’s the case and he’d continue being an extra, a short-term assignment to the AHL seems like a smart idea.

The Flames called up Hunt on Thursday afternoon after placing Anthony Mantha on the injury reserve list, following Mantha’s lower body injury that he suffered on Tuesday in Montreal. The Flames haven’t provided any hints, as of yet, regarding the duration of Mantha’s absence, and Mantha isn’t even eligible to be activated from the IR until Wednesday.

With Hunt’s assignment to the Wranglers, the Flames are now carrying 22 players on their active roster: two goaltenders, eight defencemen and 12 forwards. They currently have $69.225 million in daily cap commitments, and they can add $22.774 million in full season cap commitments today while remaining cap compliant at the end of the season. They have a gigantic amount of cap flexibility for the remainder of the season (and beyond).

The Flames are back in action on Monday when they host the Kings on Amazon Prime.