Calgary Flames defenceman Chris Tanev has green light to go on offence

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For a guy who is often described as the Calgary Flames’ best defensive defencemen, it’s not what you necessarily expect to hear about Chris Tanev.

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But when Ryan Huska was asked about his blueliners having a green light to jump up in the rush and help create offence, the Flames head coach had high praise for Tanev.

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“He might be one of our best,” Huska said. “If you really were to watch the guy in the back end and when they pick and choose the time to go, Chris typically chooses the right time to go, all the time.

“That goes to the way he thinks and sees the game. Sometimes you have to ratchet other guys back a little bit because they get so eager to get themselves up that they make the wrong decision to go and they expose us in front of our net or something like that; Chris isn’t one of those guys. Chris understands that it’s almost ‘defend first and then when I have the opportunity to go, I’ll go.’”

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While Tanev’s calling card may be his selfless defensive play deep in the Flames’ own zone, he does contribute on the other end, too. He scored only once and added 12 assists in 65 games last season, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a part of the play in the offensive zone.

This campaign, every Flames defenceman has a green light to jump in the rush and help create offence. They’re all capable of doing so and, in today’s NHL, teams need their defenders pulling double duty.

And while nobody is necessarily expecting Tanev to start putting up the numbers that his teammates on the blueline like Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar manage, Huska is still encouraging him to join the rush when he sees an opportunity.

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When it comes to picking and choosing those opportunities, Tanev’s earned the full trust of his coach and teammates.

“I know Tanny, everybody thinks he’s a true stay-at-home D-man, but he can create a lot of offence up there,” Weegar said. “He’s still got a lot of foot speed and he gets up there in the rush. I truly believe all six guys get up there and have the green light to get up there.

“I think Huska’s been big on that, even in practice, shooting the puck a lot more and getting up in the rush. I think that’s big, in the NHL right now you see a lot more D creating a lot more offence and getting up in the rush.”

So what’s the secret to when Tanev chooses to join the rush or stay home? How has he gotten so smart about it

Experience certainly helps. He’ll be entering his 14th year in the NHL — and fourth with the Flames — when the puck drops on the start of the Flames’ regular-season schedule Oct. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets.

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And Tanev is a student of the game, a guy who Huska said Tuesday spends as much time using the Flames’ team app and watching video as anyone.

“There’s certain times and situations, obviously, score-depending, who you’re on against,” Tanev said. “There’s definitely factors that play into it, but if you’re working with your partner well, let’s say me and Hani are together, one of us should have the opportunity to get up in the play if we can break out clean.

“When you don’t break out clean, it’s tough to jump in because things develop slower and it’s just a lot more clogged up.”

So should we expect to see more of Tanev jumping up in the rush this season? It sounds like we should expect to see all of the Flames defencemen helping out in the offensive end, assuming the opportunity is there. It’s the way NHL teams are playing these days.

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Even if it doesn’t result in a point explosion for Tanev and it’s still his defensive-zone work that earns most of the attention, he’s happy to join the rush if the situation calls for it.

“It’s making the right decisions and getting in the right spot and being able to present yourself for the forwards,” Tanev said. “You may not always get the puck, but just being an option can deter coverage or maybe give them a little more time as they enter the zone.”

Roster trimmed

The Flames trimmed their roster on Tuesday afternoon with six players being assigned to the Calgary Wranglers.

Forwards Clark Bishop and Ben Jones, as well as defenceman Colton Poolman and goalie Oscar Dansk all cleared waivers and were assigned to the Flames’ AHL affiliate. D-men Yan Kuznetsov and Lyle Brady were also sent to the Wranglers.

In addition, the Wranglers signed blueliner Jonathan Aspirot to a standard AHL player contract.

The Flames now have 35 players remaining at training camp, including three goalies, 11 defencemen and 21 forwards.

daustin@postmedia.com

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