'Excited To Play'

WASHINGTON — Victor Olofsson was one of the first Flames on the ice Monday, as the team took its morning twirl at Capital One Arena ahead of a matchup tonight against the Washington Capitals (5 p.m./Sportsnet West).

He had to break in his new gear, after all!

Olofsson joined the team Sunday morning as the Flames jetted east from Calgary ahead of a five-game road trip that begins tonight in D.C.

It’s been a whirlwind few days for the 30-year-old Swede. Washington is the fourth city he’s stepped foot in since being acquired on Trade Deadline day Friday from the Colorado Avalanche.

“I was gonna get ready to play against Dallas, and woke up from my nap and had a few missed calls, and knew something was going down,” Olofsson explained Monday morning. “Got the news, I was traded here, flew back to Denver that night, and then two nights ago, off (I) went to Calgary, landed pretty late, and then travelled with the team here. 

“So excited to be here and excited to play.”

It’s a new challenge, a new opportunity for Olofsson, who signed a one-year contract with Colorado last year. With Calgary, for these final 20 games of the regular season, Olofsson will slot in - at least to start - into a top-six role with the new-look Flames.

And at Monday’s skate, he had a fellow Swede alongside him to help show him the ropes.

“It's nice having a fellow Swede there, and he's been great so far,” Olofsson said of new linemate Mikael Backlund. "I’m sure if I have any questions and stuff, he’ll be able to answer most of them. So, yeah, it feels pretty good.”

Head Coach Ryan Huska’s group got a boost from newcomers Olli Määtta and Ryan Strome in Saturday’s win over Carolina and tonight, the bench boss figures Olofsson can help provide that same type of vigour.

“It brings some new life, some new energy around the room when you have new people,” Huska said. “And he's a player that I think is looking forward to the opportunity to potentially get a little bit more here. 

“We’re excited to have him in the lineup and see what he can do.”

Olofsson, who has 43 powerplay markers to show for his 116 career goals, even took reps Monday on a man-up unit that featured five forwards. A move, perhaps, to help showcase his lethal shot.

“(I’ve) naturally had a pretty good shot, been able to find it kind of from a young age,” said Olofsson of his release. “Just kind of, been working a lot on it, and try to develop that as much as I can. 

“I think that's one of my better weapons.”

Calgary, too, marks Olofsson’s first career stop in Canada. The veteran of 430 NHL contests spent five full seasons in Buffalo before stints in Vegas and Colorado.

And even though it might take 10 days or so, he’s looking forward to experiencing the C of Red, and what Calgary has to offer.

“I mean, the fans and the Canadian people are obviously great with hockey, and (it’s) always fun playing in Canada,” said Olofsson. “I’m very excited to do that as well.

“We'll be on the road here for a little bit. But definitely when we come back to Calgary, that would be exciting, too, to play the first one.”