Butler, Russel: We currently have 7 NHL calibre defensemen on the Calgary Flames. The closest guys in the pipeline are Sieloff who has probably lost a year due to his medical issues, and Billins who is undersized and will have to earn a spot in training camp. Given no one has proven they are ready to make the jump, we should keep all of them, especially Russel and Butler who are 26 and 27 respectively. No issues there.
If we do end up drafting Ekblad, and he can make the jump, then I would look to trade Wideman, who is starting to look disinterested, in the offseason. Given the jump in the cap, there will be takers for Wideman. If he was a UFA, he would be the top UFA on the market, so he would probably fetch a pretty decent price.
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