Looking at the Calgary Flames’ current defensive depth chart

Folks, we’re about six weeks away from the 2024 trade deadline and the Calgary Flames are expected by many to be an active participant in the league’s big moves. As we creep closer to the dominoes beginning to topple, we thought we’d use All-Star Week to take a look at what the Flames have, and don’t have, in their system.

Next up: the blueline bunch!

Established NHLers

MacKenzie Weegar (30; right shot) is under contract through 2030-31, with a $6.25 million cap hit and a full no-trade clause. (It becomes a partial no-trade clause in 2027.) He’ll become an unrestricted free agent upon expiry. He has 12 goals and 29 points in 49 NHL games this season.

Rasmus Andersson (27; right shot) is under contract through 2025-26, with a $4.55 million cap hit. (He has no trade protections this season, but a partial no-trade clause begins next season.) He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 7 goals and 28 points in 45 NHL games this season.

Noah Hanifin (27; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $4.95 million cap hit and a partial no-trade clause. He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 8 goals and 25 points in 49 NHL games this season.

Chris Tanev (34; right shot) is under contract through this season, with a $4.5 million cap hit and a partial no-trade clause. He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 1 goal and 9 points in 46 NHL games this season.

Oliver Kylington (26; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $2.5 million cap hit. He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 0 points in 2 NHL games this season.

Dennis Gilbert (27; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $762,500 cap hit. He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 1 goal and 7 points in 31 NHL games this season.

Jordan Oesterle (31; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $925,000 cap hit. He’ll become a UFA upon expiry. He has 2 points in 21 NHL games and 8 points in 12 AHL games this season.

The pipeline

Ilya Solovyov (23; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $828,333 cap hit. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry. He has 2 points in 6 NHL games and 3 goals and 9 points in 31 AHL games this season.

Yan Kuznetsov (21; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $870,000 cap hit. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry. He has 0 points in 1 NHL game and 3 goals and 8 points in 35 AHL games this season.

Jeremie Poirier (21; left shot) is under contract through the 2024-25 season, with a $823,333 cap hit. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry. He has 1 goal and 7 points in 4 AHL games this season.

Mark Pysyk (32; right shot) is under contract through this season, with a $775,000 cap hit. He’ll be a UFA upon expiry. He has 4 points in 27 AHL games this season.

Brady Lyle (24; right shot) is under contract through this season, with a $775,000 cap hit. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry. He has 6 goals and 14 points in 38 AHL games this season.

Colton Poolman (28; left shot) is under contract through this season, with a $775,000 cap hit. He’ll be a UFA upon expiry. He has 2 goals and 3 points in 34 AHL games this season.

Etienne Morin (18; left shot) is with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. The Flames hold his rights through June 1, 2025. He has 9 goals and 36 points through 38 QMJHL games this season.

Axel Hurtig (18; left shot) is with Rögle BK of the J20 Nationell, Sweden’s top major junior league, but has occasionally played for Rögle’s SHL team and (on loan) with Kristianstads IK of Sweden’s third-tier HockeyEttan pro league. The Flames hold his rights through June 1, 2027. He’s under contract with Rögle through this season. He has 3 goals and 7 points in 17 J20 games, 0 points in 2 SHL games, and 1 point in 4 HockeyEttan games this season.

Jake Boltmann (22; right shot) is in his senior year with the University of Notre Dame. The Flames hold his rights through August 15, 2024. He has 1 point in 20 NCAA games this season.

The rundown

First, the positives: Weegar and Andersson are a really good foundation, and if Kylington sticks around, that’s a pretty rock-solid three-quarters of a top four. Ilya Solovyov projects as a really good shutdown defender for the third pairing, as does Yan Kuznetsov, and Jeremie Poirier projects as a good puck-moving defender, as does Etienne Morin. (And Axel Hurtig is a really interesting project, but he’s a long-term bet.)

And that concludes the long-term pieces the Flames have on the blueline, and that leanness is their big challenge. (And an argument for keeping Hanifin.)

If the Flames are going to get some future assets – like picks and prospects – moving some of their pending UFA defenders is the play. But if they do that, man, they need to get some young blueliners back in the process. Their cupboard is very lean.