Go ahead and call Roman Cervenka an X-factor for the 2012-13 edition of the Calgary Flames.

Just don’t expect the Flames’ brass to share such a reserved outlook for a 27-year-old widely considered one of the best, if not the best, players in the world to toil outside the National Hockey League in 2011/12.

Make no mistake: the game plan calls for Cervenka (pronounced Chervenka) to centre one of the top two lines whenever the puck actually drops on the next NHL season.


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