Pysyk is finally healthy and looking to show the Flames what he can do

The last year and a half have proven to be long and gruelling for the Calgary Flames’ recent free-agent signing, Mark Pysyk.

The 31-year-old, who has suited up for 521 games in his NHL career, was expected to spend the 2022-23 season with the Detroit Red Wings after signing a one-year deal weeks into free agency. However, an Achilles tear shortly after the signing forced him to miss the entire season.

After the long layoff, Pysyk was able to sign a PTO ahead of the 2023-24 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins but was limited to just one preseason game after suffering a lower-body injury. Once recovered, he joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL on another PTO but wound up being released after eight games.

For some, going through the injuries Pysyk has gone through can be demoralizing enough to walk away from the game. However, that never crossed the veteran defenceman’s mind, as he always believed he would get back to being the player he was in prior years.

“I was always confident that I would come back,” Pysyk said to Daily Hive. “Obviously, I had a few setbacks here and there, but I had good trainers in Detroit that helped me out. Good trainers in Pittsburgh this year for training camp, too.”

Immediately after signing a one-year deal with the Flames earlier this week, Pysyk was placed on waivers with the intent of being assigned to the Calgary Wranglers. On Wednesday, he was able to practice for the first time with his new team and didn’t look out of place whatsoever. A recent eight-game stint with the Penguins in the AHL is to thank for that.

“I’m definitely feeling good now. The body’s 100%,” Pysyk said. “First few games [in Wilkes-Barre] I wasn’t quite where I was expecting myself to be, but once I got to games three, four, five, I started feeling more and more like myself.”

That is exactly what the Flames organization will want to hear, as it signed Pysyk with the intent of having more depth on the back end. While he hopes to get back to the NHL in the future, it is clear that being healthy and returning to the ice, regardless of what league he is in, has him in good spirits.

“The main thing is staying healthy, and we’ll see from there,” Pysyk said. “Obviously we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but for now I’m just trying to do the right things down here and see where it goes.”

Pysyk will get one more day of practice in with his new teammates before making his Wranglers debut on Friday versus the Manitoba Moose.

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