Russell gets a lot of hate, but I think he is a decent top 4 defencemen. Throw me in the group that thinks it is a good idea to re-sign him as long as the term and dollars are relatively low, or trade him if the return is high enough. He is often an undeserved (IMO) whipping boy on here. I don't think he should be in the long-term plans of this organization (3+ years), but if he is, he will be a damn good 5th defencemen on this team.
As for the prospects:
Nakladal is definitely deserving of a decent look. I wouldn't trade Russell away to give him that opportunity. The NHL is a different animal altogether than the AHL, and he will need to prove that he can play well in the NHL, but he is definitely looking great.
Kylington - there may not be a bigger fan of Kylington on here than myself. Can he play in the NHL next year? I think he will get some looks. I think he needs to put on a bit more size and continue working on his defensive game (which has been good in the AHL - he just needs to continue with it and gain further experience). You don't want to rush him and end up 'shultzing' him. Slow and steady wins the race.
Kulak - I thought Kulak became more and more tentative with his time in the NHL the longer he was up. To me, that is a kid that isn't ready to play (kind of like Brodie the year he was kept up). I think he will be a good top-4 defencemen in the long run. He has to earn his spot and retain his spot, however. You don't make room for Kulak at the moment. Kulak has to push people out of his way.
Wotherspoon - solid prospect, but.. just doesn't seem to take that 'next step' to improve, for whatever reason. I don't think at this point I would count on him to be anything other than an injury recall type of player. That is not to say that he won't be able to take that next step - if he does, he can be one of those steady defencemen that you don't have to worry about. It is just a bit frustrating to see him be 'almost ready' for the last couple of seasons, but not take that next step.
Culkin - I really liked him, but he may be on his way to becoming the next John Negrin in this organization. He hasn't been doing all that well on the stats sheet in the ECHL - 7 assists in 24 games - though I don't necessarily want to be one of those 'stat watchers'. I haven't watched a single game. I just figure with all his injuries in the last while, he has lost a lot of development time. Great all around player, but he has to play catch-up in his development.
I am not sure why Andersson is even being discussed - few players come out of the OHL directly into the NHL. He looked really impressive in camp, but he needs to show up in great shape (one of his weaknesses, and one that is being corrected which is great to see) and he needs to really push someone else out.
Russell is a solid #4 guy that you can throw out in any situation and not feel too worried. Is he top-pairing material? No. But you don't move this guy unless you have something better to replace him with. You also don't re-sign him to a long-term deal either. I hope that the offers are too good to pass up, but I don't see why he is a whipping boy on these forums. I don't see why Wideman is a whipping boy either for that matter - or why any of the defencemen have been. In my opinion, every defencemen has been playing at or above expectations for me in the last 20 or so games, though Wideman's goal output has dropped - but he has been relegated to bottom pairing anyways, and is at least contributing offensively.
I do think that in the next couple of seasons, you will start seeing some of the young defensive prospects push their way up onto the team, but in no way should the Flames be making room for them. Let them force it. Lots of prospects look like they are so ready to start contributing - even some that actually start contributing right away - but then start fizzling out.
Nakladal definitely deserves a look. Flames (Brodie aside) have been pretty healthy this season on the back-end. His time will come this season I would imagine, and hopefully that comes from an offer that is too good to refuse for Russell.
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