5 Things - Flames vs. Devils

1. Winds Of Change

The Flames had a day off Sunday.

But off the ice, General Manager Craig Conroy was busy.

Calgary and Vegas completed a late afternoon trade that saw the Flames acquire defenceman Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, plus first and conditional second-round picks from the Golden Knights in exchange for Rasmus Andersson.

Whitecloud, who won a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023, is expected to arrive in Calgary Monday, while Wiebe and the two picks offer a glimpse into the future. The Flames are slated to have multiple first-round selections in both 2026 and 2027 after enjoying that privilege in each of the past two Drafts, too.

It was a major move for Conroy, who along with his management group spent the last days and weeks working to maximize the return on Andersson, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent in the summertime.

"As we were going along, at times different things changed - whether what they were looking for, what we were looking for - but in the end, to be able to get it done with Vegas, they were willing to do it, and do it without a contract," Conroy told Flames TV Sunday afternoon. "That was one thing that was made clear to us … that there wasn’t going to be an extension signed with any of the teams.

"So that definitely changed the way we had to negotiate."

Whitecloud, meanwhile, is signed through the 2027-28 season, and Conroy expects the Manitoba product to help a Flames penalty-kill that already sits among the NHL's best.

And he could make his Calgary debut as soon as this evening, as the Flames' five-game homestand continues against New Jersey. GET TICKETS

"You bring in Zach, really good on the penalty-kill, (played) big minutes with a very good Vegas team," said Conroy. "He’s going to bring the ability to come in here and help, especially on the penalty-kill, he’s going to eat lots of minutes for us.

"We’re excited to have Zach. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win."

Whether Whitecloud makes his Flames debut Monday depends largely on his travel day, but he isn't expected to arrive in time for the team's morning skate.

He joins a Calgary group seeking its third straight win, though, a team he's faced 18 times over the course of his NHL career.

And with the Flames' biggest tranasction in close to two years done and dusted, the next page, the next chapter, begins on Scotiabank Saddledome ice tonight.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Devils begin a four-game, Pacific Division road trip at the Scotiabank Saddledome on the heels of a 4-1 home-ice defeat Saturday at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. Andrei Svechnikov put up a hat-trick for the visitors, with Timo Meier offering the lone reply for New Jersey (24-22-2).

"There's a lot of stuff we have to clean up," Meier told reporters post-game. "It's frustrating. It's really important with this (four-game) road trip coming up and this stretch before the Olympic break to start collecting some points. It's tight but every point matters."

The loss snapped a mini, two-game winning streak for New Jersey, who enter play tonight seven points shy of the final Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Nico Hischier leads the club with 15 goals and 37 points on the season, and he's one of five double-digit goal-getters on the Devils roster.

Luke Hughes is the top point man among defencemen on the team, with 18 of his 26 points coming away from the Garden State.

Former Flame Jacob Markstrom and fellow veteran Jake Allen have split the starts in goal pretty much down the middle (Markstrom has 24 to Allen's 23), with Allen holding the better save percentage at .908 on the campaign.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's contest marks the first of two meetings this season between Calgary and New Jersey, with the return fixture slated for Mar. 12 in Newark.

The Flames swept the two-game set in 2024-25, winning 3-0 on home ice behind a pair of Blake Coleman tallies, before claiming a 5-3 victory at Prudential Center, a game Calgary trailed 3-1 entering the third period before rattling off four unanswered goals.

Did You Know?

Yegor Sharangovich started his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, but tonight, he's slated to play his 200th game as a Flame against his former club.

Originally selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by New Jersey, the Belarusian's career splits are split almost right down the middle, with 205 of his 404 career games taking place in Devils silks before being dealt West in 2023.

He's put up 58 of his 111 goals, and 110 of his 216 career points with Calgary, and comes into tonight's contest with two goals and five points over his last three outings.

4. The New Guys

With Sunday's trade, the Flames added two new defencemen to the fold in Zach Whitecloud and prospect Abram Wiebe, so let's take a moment to dig into each player's hockey journey to date.

Whitecloud, who hails from Brandon, Man., arrives in Calgary after 368 regular-season and 78 post-season appearances with the Golden Knights, who signed the now 29-year-old as a free agent out of Bemidji State.

This season, he's averaged 18:46 of ice-time for Vegas and prior to the trade, led all Golden Knights skaters in total 5-on-5 ice-time.

Our Ty Pilson caught up with Whitecloud Sunday evening, read more HERE.

Wiebe, meanwhile, is part of a North Dakota squad that now includes three Flames prospects. The 22-year-old product of Mission, B.C. wears an 'A' for the Fighting Hawks and over the past season and a half has logged 38 points from the back end.

He was originally selected by Vegas in the seventh round of the 2022 Draft and as a junior with the Chilliwack Chiefs, the 6'3" rearguard was named the BCHL's Top Defenceman in 2023.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Kevin Bahl

Bahl heads into his third career matchup against his former team on the heels of a two-point, first-star performance Saturday against the Islanders.

And he's playing the hits, too. Just ask Connor McDavid or Oliver Moore.

Bahl has upped his truculence, but tonight, he'll also be paired with a new partner for the first time in his Calgary career with the departure of Rasmus Andersson.

He leads all Flames defencemen with a +12 rating entering play this evening.

Devils - Jack Hughes

Hughes saw his four-game point streak draw to a close Saturday against Carolina, but in the month of January, he's collected eight points (all assists) in as many games.

The former No.-1 pick missed more than a month with an injury before Christmas, but still sits third among Devils scoring leaders with 30 points.

He's one of eight New Jersey players set to represent their countries at the upcoming Olympics in Italy.