The Calgary Flames have announced that defenceman Kevin Bahl will undergo season-ending surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. The NHL club said on Sunday that the 26-year-old blue liner will be placed on injured reserve.
Bahl was hurt during warm-up before Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks. Head coach Ryan Huska said the injury happened in an unusual way. "Warming up. It's kind of a freak thing. You don't hear of that, really ever," Huska said.
Bahl had been playing on Calgary's top defensive pairing alongside Simon Nemec. Huska described him as the team's best player so far this season. "A terrible break for a guy that I would consider our best player up to this point of the season," Huska said before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.
Bahl led the Flames in ice time, averaging just under 22 minutes per game, and regularly faced opposing teams' top lines. He had one goal, one assist and 12 penalty minutes over 16 games this season. The Flames were 7-9-1 at the time of the injury.
Joel Hanley took Bahl's place in the lineup on Friday, and Calgary fell 5-3. In his first game since Oct. 3, Hanley scored the Flames' second goal of the night. On Sunday, Calgary recalled Brayden Pachal from the American Hockey League's Calgary Wranglers.
Assistant captain Zach Whitecloud said the loss would be felt beyond the ice. "You're gutted for the guy and selfishly, you're gutted for the team," Whitecloud said. "Such a big part of this team and plays a lot of minutes."
Bahl, who is from New Westminster, B.C., is a six-foot-six, 230-pound defenceman. Over the wider season he had four goals and 14 assists, with 47 penalty minutes. Huska said opportunities would open up for other players. "This gives opportunity to different people," he said. "Pachal gets called up again. There's going to be opportunities for him moving forward."