Vladar will surprisingly get his first start of the 2022-23 season Saturday in the Battle of Alberta for the undefeated Calgary Flames. Vladar enjoyed a decent first season in Calgary last season, posting a .906 SV% while winning 13 of his 19 starts backing up Jacob Markstrom.
Hunt was a healthy scratch for the season opener, but he will replace Vitaly Kravtsov (upper-body), who is not on the road trip. Hunt had six goals and 11 assists (17 points) in 76 games a season ago.
Farabee is three and a half months removed from disk replacement surgery and will be in the opening night lineup vs. New Jersey. Farabee, who had 34 points (17G / 17A) in 63 games last season, will skate on the third line with Noah Cates and Owen Tippett.
The 32-year-old veteran defenseman re-joins the Flames for a seventh straight season after signing a one-year contract with an AAV of $750,000. Throughout his 180 career games with Calgary, the skyscraping defenseman has collected 11 goals, 38 points and 262 blocks while filling out the bottom of the Flames' defensive pairings. He will look to surpass 33 games played for the first time in five seasons in 2022-23.
Tinordi was with the Rangers last season but only appeared in seven NHL games, spending most of the year in the AHL (32 GP). The 30-year-old defenseman will provide some toughness and depth to the Blackhawks' blueline, but he likely won't have a regular role early in the season.
Weegar signs an 8 X $6.25 million contract with the Flames after being acquired in the offseason as part of the Jonathan Huberdeau and Matthew Tkachuk mega deal. The 28-year-old comes off an 8-goal, 44-point breakout season in 2021-22 fueled by a career-high 23:22 average time-on-ice. He was one of 13 defensemen last season to pass 200 shots (203) finishing ninth in plus/minus (+40) across the entire NHL.
In order to make room for Kadri, the Flames are reportedly trading Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens. Kadri is coming off of a career-best 87 points (28G / 59A) in 71 games with the Avalanche. He added 15 points (7G / 8A) in 16 playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche.
Frost set career-highs in games played (55), goals (5) and assists (11) with the Flyers in 2022. The RFA gets a one-year deal and will maintain his RFA status next summer. Frost should be a full-time NHLer in 2022-23.
Frk is an elite shooter that has dominated during his time in the AHL but has only played one full NHL season (2018) since turning pro in 2014. The 28-year-old was second in the AHL in goals (40) and sixth in points (73) in 58 games with Ontario last season. With the Blues, he'll likely start the year in the AHL but should be among the first call-up options.
Kirkland was a third-round pick in 2014 but has yet to make his NHL debut since turning pro in 2017. The 25-year-old, who had 48 points (25G / 23A) in 66 games with Stockton (AHL) last year, will likely report to San Diego (AHL) to start 2022-23.
