Connor Zary’s next game may well be Friday night when the Calgary Wranglers host the Bakersfield Comets. Zary and fellow veteran Brayden Pachal were placed on waivers Monday, and both went unclaimed. The plan now is to send both players down to the Wranglers, and head coach Ryan Huska says he wants Zary to enjoy the game again and regain his touch. “The player overthinks and complicates things a lot. Sometimes, just getting back to the basics and going and playing will be the best thing for him,” said Huska. Tough on teammates The Flames want Zary and Pachal to play a lot of minutes and be ready for when and if they get called up to the Flames. Defenceman Zach Whitecloud says Monday wasn’t an easy day. Zar (Zary) and Pickles (Pachal) are amazing human beings, great teammates and yeah, it sucks,” he said. “That’s the tough part of the business. We all sign up for this and no one has to feel bad for us.” Need to turn things around It’s been a tough start to the year for the Flames. They’re 0-3 and have been outscored 16-3. Ryan Strome says there’s no time to dwell on the three losses. He says practice Tuesday was a good first step to moving on. “I thought it was a good day,” said Strome. “I mean, I think some guys are pissed off and we had a good practice. There’s only one way through it and that’s to work hard. “No one is feeling bad for us in this league. It’s relentless, and there’s 84 games and you’ve got to be ready to go.” Message Clearly, waiving two veteran players is a message to the rest of the team. Huska says this start is unacceptable. “I don’t want to say a shot across the bow, but we need people to be better,” said the bench boss. “At the end of the day, if you’re comfortable with where you’re at and just happy to be in the NHL and you’re not taking steps, everyone should be feeling a little uneasy. “We’re not where we want to be sitting right now.” The Flames have a chance to right the ship Thursday when the team hosts the Colorado Avalanche.
