"CALGARY - The Calgary Flames made a trade Monday morning to acquire a player already with their farm team.

The Flames sent minor-league blueliner John Negrin to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for forward Akim Aliu.

Aliu has four goals and one assist in 13 games this season playing for the Abbotsford Heat while on loan from the Jets. The Flames obviously like what they saw to keep Aliu long-term.

Aliu was a second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007 but he's yet to make his NHL debut after bouncing around the AHL the past few seasons.

The 6-foot-3, 205-lb. winger was born in Okene, Nigeria, and is just 22. He played with Sudbury and London in the OHL.

Negrin played three games with the Flames during the 2008-09 season straight from the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, but has played with the Heat the past three seasons.

When the Flames acquired 25-year-old blueliner Brian Connolly for centre Brendan Morrison over the weekend, they needed to make some space on the Heat's defence."

CALGARY - The Calgary Flames have hired former NHLer Clint Malarchuk as the club's goaltending coach and named Chris Snow director of video and statistical analysis.

Malarchuk, from Edmonton, spent last season with the Atlanta Thrashers as their a goaltending coach. He played 10 seasons in the NHL with Quebec, Washington and Buffalo from 1981 to 1992.

Malarchuk was also a goaltending coach with Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets during his career. He'll work with Flames starter Miikka Kiprusoff and other netminders in the system.

Flames general manager Jay Feaster said head coach Brent Sutter strongly recommended hiring Malarchuk.

"When we concluded our interview with Clint, I asked Brent what he thought, and without hesitation he said, ‘I think we should offer him a contract right now,'" Feaster said in a statement released by the Flames.

"We had interviewed half a dozen candidates at that point. It was the first time Brent had such an immediate reaction and felt so strongly that we had found the perfect fit both for Brent but, even more importantly, for our goaltenders."

Snow was Director of Hockey Operations for the Minnesota Wild for four seasons. He analyzed team rosters and cap commitments to plan strategy and prepare for contract negotiations and arbitration.

His job with the Flames will be compiling video and statistical data for use by the club. Before he entered the business of hockey, Snow was a Boston Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Globe.

CALGARY - Daymond Langkow has been cleared to resume full-contact practice with the Calgary Flames for the first time in more than a year. The veteran centre suffered a broken bone in his neck after being hit by teammate Ian White's shot on March 21, 2010, in Minnesota. Langkow travelled with the team on its recent four-game road trip. He practised both with the team and skated with the coaching staff after practices and game-day skates, Flames acting GM Jay Feaster said in a release. There's still no timetable for a possible return to the lineup.

"In as much as Daymond has not played in an NHL game in more than a full-calendar year there remains issues relative to getting him ready to return to the lineup such as conditioning, rebuilding muscle mass, readiness for game speed and game timing, et cetera," Feaster said.

There had been fears Langkow's injury would be career-ending. He suffered a setback last summer trying to prepare for training camp.The 34-year-old resumed skating with teammates about two weeks ago.

Not sure what to say....

Sad to see pocketdawes go, but the Thrashers seem like they will be a good team for him.

Not a huge surprise here, any predictions on where he will land?

At least this is something to be happy about:

The NHL is hoping to double down on the success of its Winter Classic by planning a second outdoor game for Jan. 1, 2010, according to multiple league sources.

The back end of the outdoor doubleheader would be hosted by the Flames in Calgary's McMahon Stadium, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The opponent is unknown but figures to be one of the other five Canadian-based franchises.

While there has been no official announcement, the first half of the Winter Classic twin bill likely will be hosted by the Boston Bruins at historic Fenway Park. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are rumored to be the Bruins' opponent.

This will be the league's third outdoor venture on New Year's Day. In 2008, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium. Earlier this year, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings skated at Wrigley Field.