Calgary Flames

Return of Star Wranglers Defenceman Provides Options for Flames on the Blue Line

Published

2 months ago

February 27, 2024

The March 8 NHL trade deadline swiftly approaches.

With that closing of the trade window for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season, general manager of the Calgary Flames Craig Conroy will be forced to pull the trigger on a trade (or trades) moving out one or both of defencemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev or lose either for nothing when they hit the open market on July 1, 2024.

While the rookie exec has difficult decisions to make over the coming days, those tough calls may be a bit easier to make with the return of Calgary’s top defensive prospect, Jeremie Poirier.

A freak accident during the AHL Wranglers fourth game of the season has had the former offensive CHL star out of action for roughly four months.

The sequence began with a turnover of the puck to Sheldon Dries of the Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver’s affiliate. In an attempt to knock the puck loose, Poirier put his arm in the path of Dries’ skate. The result was a bloody mess that required surgery and extensive physiotherapy.

A player who loves to manage the tempo of the game by managing the puck, Poirier had a goal and six assists for seven points in his first four games this season. The season prior, the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec product put up nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points, trailing only Calgary kid Ryker Evans in rookie scoring among defencemen.

The season before that, Jeremie quarterbacked the offence on a Saint John Sea Dogs squad that won the Memorial Cup. A team also featuring fellow Flames prospect Yan Kuznetzov.

Poirier is also known for scoring the first goal in Wranglers history. The Flames moved their affiliate to Calgary during the 2022 offseason.

If the 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-shot defender can pick up where he left off in late October, expect a call-up in the near future. Especially given the vacancies that may open up on the big team by March 8.