It's obvious to any fan of the game that the Flames defense group is substandard, but it's because we are lacking a true #1 and a decent bottom pairing. Giordano is a good #2 for any team, Wideman and Brodie are a great 3/4, and Russell is a solid, but undersized 3rd pairing guy that can handle 2nd pairing minutes.
Here's what we currently need:
1) An elite #1 shutdown/two-way defenseman.
2) A solid skating, intelligent, (physical?) shutdown 3rd pairing defenseman.
How do we get each one?:
1) Draft and develop. There is the off-chance of fleecing another team in desperation mode, but it would likely be for a young player that you still have to develop. There's an outside possibility of Wotherspoon developing into this player.
2) We have at least 3-4 of this player in our prospect pool. Ramage, Sieloff, Kanzig come to mind to fill that spot, and 2 of those players could arrive as soon as mid-season depending on how they develop.
Do we notice a trend here? Develop. This requires patience...
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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