I had assumed that the Flames were thinking that they were getting another top 4D, but things fell through? I thought that the Hanley deal was on top of that, but maybe that other defencemen was actually Hague?
I am revising my earlier post: Not only is Hanley's deal a great bargain, I am 100% happy he has re-signed here in Calgary. I was afraid this signing would block a spot on the team for one of the kids, but it sets it up nicely for the Flames to rotate a player through while providing the goalies with decent support.
Hanely - Weegar
Bahl - Parekh
Rotation - Pachal/rotation
Bean
Rotation of Bean, Solovyov, Poirier, Kuznetsov and Brzustewicz - and along with Grushnikov if he is ready to see some NHL time as part of his development.
While I think people are too hard on Bean, he is 27 and has been in the league a while now. I am not sure there is a lot more room for him to grow, even if he is just entering his prime as a defencemen. I think he is fine as depth and as the 13th, who gets to rotate-in along with the youth.
Will be curious to see which defencemen stick this year out of camp. My bet (outside of Parekh of course) is Solovyov. I think it is clear that the Flames are looking for more sandpaper and 'harder to play against' type, and Solovyov can definitely really blow guys up, and he is undoubtedly the most physical of the bunch listed.
I think Morin will show nicely in camp as well, and maybe he will get some time up in his first year as a pro. Probably not, but I still remember how good he looked 2 camps ago. These kids can really learn from Hanley, Weegar and even Bahl. It really does make sense as to why they brought Seabrook in - kids are going to need lots of coaching this season.
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