This leaves a massive hole on the Calgary Flames’ blue-line.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska revealed after Wednesday’s practice that Kevin Bahl, not only the biggest dude on this defence corps but also a fixture on the first pairing, is out week-to-week due to an upper-body injury.
The 24-year-old was hurt Saturday when he was drilled head-first into the boards by Minnesota Wild forward Jakub Lauko.
To the surprise of many, Lauko only received a minor penalty for that dangerous hit.
“(Bahl) has been a big, big piece for the back-end this year,” said Flames rearguard MacKenzie Weegar earlier this week. “He’s one of those guys that’s shown he’s almost irreplaceable for us. He’s a big body with a big reach who is playing shutdown minutes against top lines in the league.
“We’re going to miss him while he’s out. Hopefully, we get him back as quickly as we can.”
Bahl, who stands at 6-foot-6 and tips the scales at 230 pounds, has made a major impression in his first season at the Saddledome.
He’s contributed two goals and a dozen assists, establishing career-highs on his offensive stat-sheet, but his biggest impact has come as a stalwart in his own zone and a nice complement to Rasmus Andersson on the top pairing. (In the two games that he has missed so far, Joel Hanley has been elevated into that spot.)
Bahl has so far averaged 21:18 of icetime per night, third-highest on the Flames behind only Andersson and Weegar. He is also a mainstay on the top penalty-kill unit.
Asked what the Flames would miss the most without No. 7 in the lineup, Huska replied: “The size and reach”
“He’s very good at kind of being in the way,” Huska said of Bahl. “His stick is very good. He disrupts a lot. Sometimes, you think he’s beat but here comes that big, long stick.
“He’s been a very good defender for us and there’s no doubt we’ll miss him when he’s out, but it’s opportunity. Other guys have to raise their level collectively to try to make up for his absence.”