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The Daily: Flames Line Shakeup, Maple Leafs Mayhem

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Dillon Dube, Calgary Flames, NHL
Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire

The Calgary Flames’ second loss of the season meant a shakeup in the lines in practice on Monday. But the Flames aren’t the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that’s a good thing right now.

Could the Montreal Canadiens make waves on the NHL trade market? The Philadelphia Flyers could be a fit.

That and more on NHL trade talk, team news and notes in the Flames Daily:

Calgary Flames

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter went with a much different look in practice on Monday, breaking up the Huberdeau line in the hopes of sparking their $84-million man. He joined Nazem Kadri and Andrew Mangiapane, who had formed the best Flames line of the season so far.

It’s a risk, but there’s also no telling whether things start that way in Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. If anyone is going to help elevate the play of Huberdeau, it’s probably Kadri.

Milan Lucic gets a bump up to play with Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli. I’m calling this the third line for now. Dillon Dube‘s spot beside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman is familiar — they were damn good down the stretch and in the playoffs last season.

The fourth line featuring Trevor Lewis and Brett Ritchie could give Calgary Flames fans a first look at Adam Ruzicka. He’s been a healthy scratch through the first seven-game segment.

NHL Trade Talk, News and Notes

Sportsnet: Is it late October or time to panic for the Toronto Maple Leafs? After a bad, bad road trip, Luke Fox writes that’s proof that Kyle Dubas has not built a contender.

Go Phoenix: The city of Tempe will likely put a new arena and arena district for the Arizona Coyotes on the ballot. Yikes. And you think there’s lots of drama in the Calgary Flames quest for a new home.

Montreal Hockey Now: Especially now, the Philadelphia Flyers are the perfect fit on the NHL trade market for the Montreal Canadiens.

National Hockey Now

VGK: William Karlsson has looked like a different player this season for the Vegas Golden Knights, and the original Knight looks like he’s just getting started.

SJS: At the beginning of the season, San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson still believed he was among the elite in the NHL, and he’s been showing it lately.

PGH: A week ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins still had not lost a game in regulation, and looked capable of competing for the Stanley Cup, but as the Calgary Flames found in their win over the Pens, something’s been missing.

DAL: If the hockey world had a one-word summary to describe former Dallas Stars GM Bob Gainey, in bold type, that word would be RESPECT.

NYI: The New York Islanders have seemingly turned it around in short order, winning their last three games following a shaky start to the season, But how?PHI: Sean Couturier underwent another back surgery Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers announced Saturday. Is his career is in jeopardy?

WSH: The Washington Capitals may have beaten the Nashville Predators, but they still suffered a setback in Music City as they saw T.J. Oshie and John Carlson went down with injuries.

BOS: As much as Calgary Flames fans would love to steal him away, the Boston Bruins and star winger David Pastrnak share a mutual desire for Pastrnak to wear the Spoked B for at least another eight seasons after this one.

FLA: The Florida Panthers wanted their top line to shoot the puck more and they have answered in a big way the past two games.

DET: The Detroit Red Wings have seen their depth challenged before they could even hit the 10-game mark of the season, and they’re somehow still afloat.