WILD RIDE

The last two weeks have understandably left Nick Shore a trifle discombobulated.
"Kind of crazy, for sure,'' admitted the freshly-minted Calgary Flame. "I've only been in Ottawa for a number of days, haven't really had time to settle in or anything like that.
"And now I'm on the way out.
"So it's definitely been … like I said, crazy."

As recently as Valentine's Day, the 25-year-old centreman found himself changing addresses, dealt from the L.A. Kings - his only NHL home to that point - to Ottawa as part of the swap that put Dion Phaneuf in black and silver.
Then on Tuesday, the Sens turned around and flipped him to the Flames in exchange for a seventh-round draft choice in 2019.
Certainly not even enough time for a guy to take a tour of the Parliament Buildings or a casual Sunday afternoon skate down the Rideau Canal.
As the NHL's trade embargo approached and then disappeared at 1 p.m. MST on Monday, the Flames kicked some tires, explored some avenues and did enough earnest listening to impress a priest in confessional.
In the final analysis, they made two moves: Adding veteran winger Chris Stewart via the waiver wire, and then Shore for depth down the middle.
"We came in with a certain list of wants,'' said GM Brad Treliving. "These were things we were able to do, at prices we felt made sense."
With No.-1 goaltender Mike Smith placed on retroactive IR and a couple of rookies, David Rittich and Jon Gillies, in the crosshairs until his return, some analysts felt the organization might be in the market to add an experienced puck-repeller.
"It's my job to look at every option,'' explained Treliving. "We're hoping Mike will be back and we're confident in the two lads we have here right now.
"In terms of spending what you need to spend to acquire what was either A) available or; B) make a difference, we felt in our situation it was best to stand pat."
The Shore acquisition adds depth to the wheelhouse position. He's not a "pure rental", set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, meaning the Flames do retain his rights.
"Nick,'' critiqued Treliving, "is an interesting guy. He's a guy we've tracked back to his University of Denver days. A big, big part of the Manchester Monarchs winning the Calder Cup a few years back.
"One of the things we were looking for was a right-shot centre who could handle a defensive role. We looked at a bunch of different people and this came in at a price we felt would work.
"We looked at our centre ice, with Monahan, Backlund, Jankowski and I also put Bennett in there. Stajan. Lazar. We wanted to make sure we had ample depth there.
"What Nick is is an excellent penalty killer. He's had offence in his career that hasn't translated right now to the NHL. I there's more talent, skill, ability there than are in the numbers, quite frankly.
"He's still a young player in this league. So we think he can come in and help us.
"Now, roles and times and all that we leave to the coaching staff."
Shore's big brother Drew, of course, had a caffè latte here, spending 13 games decked out in Flames' livery through two seasons between extended stints in Adirondack and then Stockton.
Owing to a six-hour time difference, Ottawa to Switzerland - where Drew is playing for Zurich FC - the conversation about Nick's new landing place was brief.
"I had a chance to speak with him, but only for a sec,'' said Shore the Younger. "He was going to sleep. Obviously, though, I've talked to him before about his time there. He told me it was an unbelievable place to play.
"He didn't call it home for long, obviously, but while he did he thought it was great."
"It's going to be a new experience for me. New team, new teammates, even though I'm familiar with them from my time in L.A.
"You're going to come in, work hard and try to help them win some games.
"I've always played that role, the defensive guy, killed a lot of penalties. You always want to expand on that, of course.
"Obviously I don't know what my role's going to be, but I'm just excited to get started."