One of the most appealing -- and vacant -- forward positions in the league will have a new look on Thursday night, as Alex Chiasson gets his chance to skate with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on Calgary’s top line.
That spot was initially held by Kris Versteeg, who turned down a contract in Edmonton partly because of the opportunity to play with Gaudreau and Monahan. Versteeg got his shot, but didn’t have much success -- no goals, just one assist through the first four games -- and was replaced by Chiasson during Tuesday’s 4-3 OT win over the Sabres.
Chiasson, 26, is an interesting candidate. He broke into the NHL with Dallas under current Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan -- scoring six goals and seven points in seven games -- and has, at times, shown offensive promise.
He scored 13 goals and 35 points for the Stars during the ’13-14 campaign, and 11 goals and 26 points for Ottawa two years ago. The Boston University product fell on hard times after that, though -- his offense really dried up for the Sens last season, and he was flipped to Calgary in exchange for d-man Patrick Sieloff.
"I like where he's heading." - Glen Gulutzan on Alex Chiasson acclimatizing to his new team and his early season play pic.twitter.com/h0mrvZHPrg
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 20, 2016
The goal, it would seem, is to find the next Jiri Hudler. The veteran Czech winger enjoyed a terrific year playing with Gaudreau and Monahan in ’14-15, scoring a career-high 31 goals and 76 points.