Flames place standout forward on injured reserve

The Flames have placed forward Yegor Sharangovich on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media portal (stick taps to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation). He left Friday’s preseason loss to the Jets in the third period with an undisclosed injury and hasn’t practiced since.

Assuming the IR placement is retroactive to Oct. 4, he’ll miss Wednesday’s season opener in Vancouver but is eligible to return for Calgary’s home opener against the Flyers on Saturday. The team has yet to give him an official injury designation, though, so it’s still uncertain when he’ll be able to make his season debut.

It’s a big loss for Calgary early on. Sharangovich is coming off a career-high 31 goals and 59 points last year, his first in Alberta after he was acquired from the Devils the previous summer in exchange for Tyler Toffoli. He led the Flames in goals and finished second in overall scoring behind Nazem Kadri’s 75 points. The Belarusian can play any forward position but was expected to start the season at right wing next to Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, per their most recent line rushes.

The 26-year-old Sharangovich has played four NHL seasons between the Flames and Devils, who selected him in the fifth round in 2018. Originally slated to be a restricted free agent next summer, he was rewarded with a five-year, $28.75M extension in July to keep him off the 2025 RFA market.

When Sharangovich does make his season debut, he’ll walk right into a top-six role. He averaged 17:19 per game last season, fifth-most among Flames forwards.