The waiver wire had some action today as the Calgary Flames claimed a defenceman from the Vegas Golden Knights: Brayden Pachal. Pachal went undrafted and was signed to an entry-level deal by the Golden Knights in 2019. Before signing that contract, Pachal attended the Flames development camp in the summer of 2018. He made his journey through the AHL, being named captain of the Henderson Silver Knights in January of 2022 along the way.
His NHL debut took place during the end of the 2021–22 season. Last year, Pachal became a Stanley Cup champion despite not meeting the requirements, so the Golden Knights asked for his name to be engraved.
The Pachal claim is intriguing. He does fit the idea of picking up younger players as he is 24 and the Flames have lost Nick DeSimone and Nikita Zadorov during the season, but moreover, the claim could have some trade hints to it.
Rumours surronding Chris Tanev
As the Flames have begun to sell, Chris Tanev is a name that has been all around trade rumours. This makes total sense as Tanev is the type of defender that teams crave. He’s arguably the best defensive defenceman in the league. The traits that helped him receive that title are his willingness to put his body on the line, his defence-first mind, and his overall leadership. Despite playing only 41 playoff games throughout his entire career, he’s the type of defenceman to perform well and push you deeper into the playoffs.
According to Rick Dhaliwal, 10+ teams are interested in the shutdown defenceman. Some of the teams that have been named quite a bit in Tanev rumours have been the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators. All of these teams make some sort of sense.
The Canucks are his former team and the org adores him. Brad Treliving signed him to Calgary and is the current Maple Leafs GM, not to mention that the Leafs also need defensive help this year. The Senators are the most confusing as they sit near the bottom of the league, but they likely want him so they can negotiate an extension without him hitting the open market.
You could pretty easily narrow down those 10+ other teams interested, but at the same time almost every, if not every team looking to make a playoff push could fit and need Chris Tanev in their lineup.
Pat Steinberg reported that it wouldn’t shock him if Tanev was moved in the next 48 hours and while we are past that stretch of 48 hours, there is obviously something brewing to have him report that.
When it comes to the price the Flames are asking for Tanev, it depends on which report you are reading. Once again from Rick Dhaliwal, the Flames want at least a first-round pick in return. With the value Tanev brings and the number of teams supposedly interested, this makes sense.
Another report from Pierre LeBrun suggests that the price is a second-round pick and another asset. This is a more realistic return in my eyes, but once again considering the number of teams interested, someone could throw a first-rounder at the Flames to make their bid stronger.
Connections between the Pachal claim and a Tanev trade
Here’s where it gets interesting. The Pachal claim has a lot more to it than just grabbing a defender off of waivers. If you look at it from a Tanev out, Pachal in perspective, it becomes a little clearer that this may be exactly the Flames’ plan. Claiming Brayden Pachal might be a strong signal that a Tanev trade is on the horizon.
Play style
The first comparison between the two (and the obvious reason to many) is their styles and size. Both come in at 6’2″ and roughly 200lbs, Pachal being just over and Tanev being just under. They are also both right-handed defensive defencemen. When we break down the play styles into a deeper level, there are many similarities.
First off, both of their specialties are shot blocking. What makes them stand out from other defencemen is their willingness to sacrifice their body to shut down play. Then comes their defence-first minds, not engaging in a whole lot of offence, focusing on the next play in the defensive end.
Another similarity is that both of them are penalty kill specialists, posting solid results while playing a lot of minutes. Tanev is first out of all Flames in penalty kill minutes and Pachal comes in at twelfth for the Golden Knights despite suiting up for only 17 games.
Finally, they both provide great leadership. Tanev has been an alternate captain for the Flames for the past two years and served as one for the Canucks in his final four seasons. Pachal captained the Prince Albert Raiders to a WHL championship in 2018–19 and wore an “A” the season prior. As mentioned, he was also the captain of the Henderson Silver Knights.
Another thing that’s not as important as the rest, is that they both seem to not really do anything offensive but also have flashes of maybe there being something more.
What separates the two is that obviously Tanev is the way better player whereas Pachal plays with more physicality. You’re more likely to see Pachal lay out someone than you are to see Tanev do the same. His physicality can get in the way of his games sometimes as Pachal takes a lot of penalties.
Pachal’s contract details
The other thing that sticks out to me is Pachal’s contract. Pachal isn’t expiring at the end of the year, he’s also under contract for next season. This could simply just indicate that the Flames really like what they see in Pachal and want to have him for multiple seasons while filling in holes that are already a part of the roster. I think it could also mean that they view him as a potential replacement for someone leaving via trade soon in Tanev and having those two years left made him more appealing for the fit.
A small thing that adds to this for me at least, is that this move and the recalls of Jakob Pelletier, Kevin Rooney, and Cole Schwindt lock the Flames roster at the 23-player max with more players requiring waivers. The Flames have been a team with a solid number of moves and recalls this season—it seems odd that they put themselves in a position that locks them from some of the flexibility they had.
Is a Tanev trade potentially nearing?
Brayden Pachal is a decent claim by the Calgary Flames. He adds to the idea of bringing in younger players as he is 24 while also bringing a solid play style and leadership. Pachal’s style is similar to Chris Tanev’s and while he won’t fully replace Tanev without significant improvement to his game, there is some smoke that this claim could be the Flames gearing up for a nearing Tanev trade.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
