CALGARY — Life is good these days for Calgary Flames journeyman defenceman Joel Hanley.
In his first game after the birth of his second child, the 33-year-old's first goal of the season and first career game-winner helped the Flames eke out a 3-2 National Hockey League victory over the San Jose Sharks.
“Baby's healthy and the team won, so it feels great,” said Hanley, who missed the last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break for the birth of his daughter Millie.
On the go-ahead goal at 13:28 of the third period, Hanley took a drop pass from Nazem Kadri and snapped a shot on net. Jonathan Huberdeau, screening in front, dug out the rebound and slid it back to Hanley who ripped a shot past Alexandar Georgiev on his blocker side. He then turned to the roaring home fans pumping his right arm in the air.
“It felt unreal,” said Hanley. “I was just looking at the crowd, just trying to take it all in.”
The goal came with the teams playing four skaters aside.
“I don't know what I was doing out there,” quipped Hanley, who entered the night with just three goals in 220 career NHL games.
Hanley's season has been one of perseverance, not unlike his career.
Born in Keswick, Ont., Hanley played Junior A with Newmarket in the OJHL before heading south and playing four years of NCAA with the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Undrafted, he kicked around in the minors for three seasons after turning pro before making his debut for the Montreal Canadiens against the Flames on March 20, 2016. He also saw NHL time with Arizona and Dallas before Calgary claimed him off waivers from the Stars on March 5, 2024.
Hanley entered this season as Calgary's eighth defenceman and was a scratch for 24 of the club's first 30 games.
“That's what makes someone like Hanley a really important piece to your team. There are going to be times when he may not be in for stretches of games, but he always comes to the rink in the right mindset to make sure his practice is as good as the game,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska.
“He would treat it that way, and because of that, he always kept himself ready. So I have so much time for people like that, because it's not an easy thing to do.
"You think about every day you come to the rink, you see your name not on the board and you know you're going to get bag skated again, but what he did was put himself in a position that when called upon, where he had his opportunity, I feel like he's grabbed hold of it, and he's now such an important piece to our back end, and he's earned everything that he's getting right now, so we're really happy for him.”
Hanley admits it hasn't been easy, but he keeps on grinding.
“The first couple months, I was on the outside, and hadn't played a lot, and then, when I got the opportunity, I just wanted to make the best of it,” Hanley said. “It feels nice to play a little more and help them with whatever I can do.”
Now he's become a fixture in the Flames top-four and on Sunday was lined up beside MacKenzie Weegar.
“To see him have success, he doesn't score a lot of goals, but that one was a really important one for us, obviously,” said Huska. “I like when players, it's just whatever it takes, they're willing to do whatever the team needs at certain times, and right now, we're asking him to play with MacKenzie against some good lines, but also in situations like you saw him in that 4-on-4 tonight.”
The win snapped a three-game winless skid and moves the Flames to within one point of the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Calgary has one game in hand.
“When that happens to a kind of guy like that, it just fires you right up,” said Kadri. “It gives you that extra boost, and it couldn't happen to a better guy. I'm proud of him.”
Calgary now heads out on the road, opening a difficult six-game trip in Washington on Tuesday against the surging Capitals.
“We found a way to get a win tonight,” said Huska. “But the pace that we played at, it has to go way up from what we saw tonight. So does the physical attachment to the game.”
The Flames will also play in Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina and Philadelphia, before wrapping up the trip in Dallas on the eve of the NHL's trade deadline.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2025.
Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press