NHL teams are back in action this weekend, including the Calgary Flames who resume a pivotal part of their season. The team currently stands outside the playoff picture with the Vancouver Canucks being three points ahead, occupying that second wildcard spot in the West.
The Flames have a record of 1-3-1 in their last five games, and one of the biggest storylines has been how much their defence has struggled. The good news is that an important member of that blueline will likely be returning, as Kevin Bahl seems ready to go after being out week-to-week with an injury he sustained back in late January. This couldn’t come at a better time, with the Flames’ blueline needing to be stabilized as they look to get back into the playoff conversation.
Where Bahl slots in
Bahl returning is a huge boost for the blue line, and he’ll slot right back in on the left side with Rasmus Andersson on that top pair.
The defence pairs I’d imagine will look something like this:
Bahl – Andersson
Hanley – Weegar
Bean/Solovyov – Pachal
Miromanov
When Bahl was out, Joel Hanley was elevated to the top pair with Andersson. While he wasn’t bad, it’s not someone who you want in that role for too long. Hanley will now move down alongside MacKenzie Weegar, with whom he has played some of his best hockey.
Jake Bean also had his share of top-four minutes, and he immensely struggled in that role. The Flames would also rotate between Daniil Miromanov and Tyson Barrie as their sixth defenceman. Miromanov was okay, but Barrie was a complete liability defensively and played on the left side as a right-handed player. The team has since placed him on waivers.
Now the Flames have also called up Ilya Solovyov from the Wranglers as they wanted to take another look at him. I’d imagine that he rotates with Bean on the bottom pair. As for Miromanov, he’s the seventh defenceman, and if the team decided to put him in, he’ll likely play alongside Weegar and Hanley would either be scratched or move down to the third pair replacing Bean. The point is now with Bahl’s return, the Flames have their defensive core intact, as Bahl has been the team’s best defensive player and without him, there’s a massive hole that’s very hard to fill with the players the Flames have,
Should the Flames be in the market for another defenceman?
The trade deadline is around the corner, and if the Flames find themselves back in a wildcard spot, management could look for reinforcements. The Flames don’t have a playoff-caliber defence core however, if they manage to “sneak in” once again, more help on the blueline would benefit them.
Whether they settle on a rental (which is unlikely given Craig Conroy’s past comments) or decide on a cheap addition, more help on the left side wouldn’t hurt a team that’s eager to make that final push. After all, their remaining schedule isn’t easy and things could get real ugly real fast.
I don’t think the Flames are going to be too active, but I can see them going after a defenceman who can bolster their blueline depth. I don’t know exactly who that would be, but one name that has floated around has been Carson Soucy, and the fit on paper makes sense assuming he isn’t too expensive. However he’s also a pending UFA, so I guess he would qualify as a rental which again seems highly unlikely to interest this team.
The Flames’ actions will highly depend on how their lineup performs near the deadline and if they believe Bahl is the answer to stabilizing the defence. If anything were to help the Flames in this final push, good health would go a long way, as any more injuries to key players would contribute to the Flames likely missing the dance.
