Calgary Flames Not Only Want to Get a Center But a Defenseman Too
The Calgary Flames made a trade last week as they acquired Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers for Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko. Calgary had been looking for a center, and they still are looking for that age-appropriate center. However, with injuries piling up on defense, Flames GM Craig Conroy could look to add depth on defense ahead of the trade deadline.
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Pat Steinberg joined The Fan 690 Hockey Show to discuss whether Craig Conroy is done upgrading this roster. He was asked if the Flames could dip their toe into the rental market and what area still needs improving the most.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “So when we’re talking about the play of Dustin Wolf, and how it’s continued, and this trade that they just made, and the fact that they’re in a playoff spot, and they continue to be in a playoff spot and playing well enough to maintain that standing. Do you think that Craig Conroy is done here, and if he’s not, what do you think he’s looking to add right now?”
Pat Steinberg: “I don’t think he’s done, and I think it continues to be the same conversation; aside from, like, really small tinkering moves. I don’t think Craig Conroy is going to get himself into the rental market and get himself into the kind of move that is only going to be helping right now.
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I mean, if it’s going to be a small price to help an area, I think they’d be a little bit more okay with that right now than they would have been at the beginning of the season, but definitely not into the big-time rental market.
But one area that I think is still pretty important for this group is another left-side defender and and a guy that can kind of solidify things. Because they’ve right now, Kevin Bahl is hurt. He got hurt on that hit from Jakub Lauko of the Minnesota Wild, and it’s knocked him out with a suspected concussion ever since.
But with Kevin Bahl and Rasmus Andersson, you’ve got a number-one pairing. And prior to the injury, I even think, going into night, they were, I think, number six in terms of five-on-five ice time played together. So they have this pairing all year of Bahl and Andersson. So when Bahl returns, they’ve got that.
But what they haven’t had is a lot of continuity in their next two pairings. MacKenzie Weegar has spent time with Joel Hanley, who was a waiver claim last year, and Daniil Miramonov who was the guy, the NHL player who came back in last year’s (Noah) Hanifin trade. And neither guy has really been able to solidify being a second pairing. They’ve seemed to find their third pairing with Jake Bean and Brayden Pachal is kind of an everyday look, but they’re still looking for that guy to solidify things with Weegar.
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And the problem is, when Weegar plays with Miramonov, he plays his offside on the left, and at least when he plays with Hanley, he plays a strong side on the right. But, and this is no disrespect to Joel Hanley, but Joel Hanley was number eight on the depth chart coming into this season, and was a waiver claim last year. If this team wants to make some inroads in the playoffs and maybe solidify their playoff positioning, can they find another left-side defender that seems to fit the same mold as the trade with Philly?
You know, guys who are in that kind of age range and can be with this team for more than just the rest of the year. But I think even if they can’t find that, they might look for a little depth on defense. And I think a left-shot defenseman would be an area they’re looking for. But if they can find it in that age range and pull off a similar type of deal to bring a guy in that has some team control mid-20s type thing, I think they’d be looking at that more than anything else.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The Calgary Flames are looking to add an age-appropriate center. They continued to be linked to Dylan Cozens. Calgary is in the playoff mix in the West, battling the Vancouver Canucks. Craig Conroy already made one trade to help the offense. However, with one of their top defenseman out of the lineup, he will look to bolster the backend as well. Conroy is rewarding his team for being in this position instead of selling off assets, unlike last season.
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