Not many expected the Calgary Flames to have gotten off to this hot a start, but the Albertan squad atop the Pacific is looking to keep the good times rolling.
Calgary is canvassing the NHL for a middle-six centre to add to its depth chart following a 4-0-0 start to the campaign, DailyFaceoff's Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday.
"A lot of people were expecting at some point this year, with all the names that were out the door last year, that hey, they might be moving on from guys. It's actually quite the opposite," Seravalli said on Amazon Prime's Coast to Coast.
"There's not usually much trade activity to start the season, but I'm told that GM Craig Conroy has been working the phones in recent days to try and find a centre to add to the Calgary Flames in their middle-six."
According to Seravalli, the Flames are looking for someone that fits their age group and preferably shoots right-handed.
The Flames had something of a fire sale last season, off-loading Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin ahead of the deadline. They also traded Andrew Mangiapane and Jakob Markstrom in the off-season.
Following all those moves, the expectation was that the Flames would be in rebuild mode this season. Instead, they've picked up wins over the Canucks, Flyers, Oilers and Blackhawks in the first week.
"They don't have any interest in tearing things down," Seravalli said. "They'd actually like to beef up and bolster their lineup if at all possible. But it's tough in the beginning of the season."
The Flames' offence has been hot out of the gates, coming into Thursday tied with the fourth-most goals in the NHL at 19 despite only playing four games. That's fewer games than any of the teams above them. They also have the best goal differential in the league at plus-nine.
So far, left-winger Jonathan Huberdeau has led the way with three goals and three assists after struggling to produce points in his first two seasons with the Flames.
Defenceman Rasmus Andersson has also enjoyed a productive year with two goals and four assists, including a three-point game against the Oilers on Sunday to help his team win this year's first iteration of the Battle of Alberta.
Up the middle, Nazem Kadri has two goals and two assists and second-year breakout Martin Pospisil has a goal and four assists.
The 4-0 opening to the season is tied for the best start in Flames franchise history, equalling totals from the 1993-94 and 2009-10 campaigns. They made the playoffs in the former but missed them in the latter.
The Flames will hope to break a franchise record and go for a fifth-straight win to start the season as they visit the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
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