[FanIn80]

Travis Hamonic

"I've played against Looch for many, many years, when he was in Boston and then in Edmonton, and he is a force," said the Flames' rock-solid rearguard.

"A big guy that moves really well. Quicker than you might think. He's a guy you don't need to be told is on the ice. A guy who gets in on the forecheck and makes a point of finishing his checks.

"And when he does, it hurts.

"Believe me.

"I've been on the end of a couple."

The acquisition of Milan Lucic on Thursday has been met with enthusiasm by onetime foes/new teammates.

"This is someone to count on, 100%," assures Hamonic. "Someone we're thrilled to have. He'll be a presence on the ice but also in our locker-room and in the community.

"It speaks volumes that he wants to come. That's super-important. He wants to be here and we want him here. Knocks off both boxes, for sure."

Brian McGrattan

"We're really close," says Flames' fan-favourite Brian McGrattan, part of the organization's player development umbrella. "I consider him one of my great friends.

"Our families are close. Our kids are kind of in the same age group. This will be a great, fresh start for him. I think he'll have a major impact on a really good team.

"We talk every day. Those talks the last couple of days have been a little different than the last three years.

"This will be great for the city. He's a larger-than-life personality. He's going to be a tremendous fit in the dressing room. He's a big teddy-bear. The guys are going to absolutely love him.

"He's going to be able to just slide in and be Milan Lucic. We have an all-world leader in Gio. You've got Mikael Backlund, Travis Hamonic, older guys who've been around awhile so he doesn't feel he has to step in and be the entire culture.

"But he will be a big help to our leadership group."

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/bria...me/c-308307908


Jarome Iginla

"I was a player who liked the physical side of things, too," the Flames' legend is saying from home base in Boston, reacting to his old team's acquisition of the bruising Stanley Cup-winning left-winger. "I know - everyone does - that he's one of the more intimidating guys in the game.

"Today, there's less of them, the tough guys, which makes him even more intimidating.

"I'm excited, as a Calgary Flames fan and as a friend of his. I had the chance to play with him, we were linemates and we've kept in touch.

"For whatever reasons, it didn't work out in Edmonton. I don't know why. But as a fit in Calgary? A great guy. Good teammate. And they don't have a player like him.

"The Flames are a skilled, fast team and they've got some some gritty guys, too. Is there a more competitive D-man than Gio? You've got Tkachuk. Sam Bennett, who plays hard. Hamonic. Gritty players, but skilled.

"Then you add Looch? That's a big man coming at you. It helps everybody, being able to play their game, to feel comfortable, and not have to worry about certain guys.

"There's still an element of that in the game."

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/jaro...es/c-308307658