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Calgary Flames

Flames primed for one more move ahead of NHL trade deadline

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The NHL trade deadline is down to the wire. And while the Calgary Flames did some work early, most expect at least one more move ahead of Monday’s buzzer.

Landing Tyler Toffoli on Valentine’s Day and scooping Calle Jarnkrok up last week gave the Flames a deeper, more deadly forward group. Adding depth on defence is the only domino that hasn’t dropped.

We know the Calgary Flames were looking at Ben Chiarot ahead of the Toffoli deal. They may have had a conversation or two with former captain Mark Giordano before he was plucked off the NHL trade block by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Many suggested another Swede in Hampus Lindholm, but he was a high-cost option who was scooped up by the Boston Bruins and quickly signed to an eye-popping extension.

Robert Hagg was one of the bargain boys more in line with what the Calgary Flames can afford without disrupting the obvious chemistry on the back end with a top six group as good as any from top to bottom this year. Not overly flashy, but efficient.

In the interest of flexibility in case they want to add salary without dumping any, the Flames waived centre Brad Richardson on Sunday. If Sean Monahan’s hefty salary doesn’t get moved before Monday’s NHL trade deadline, Richardson could be a cap casualty. They could demote him to the AHL until the playoffs and add another defender with the savings.

If Richardson is sent down, the Flames will have just over $1.5M in cap space to make additions.

Here are a half-dozen depth defenders from the TSN Trade Bait list the Flames might consider:

Marc Staal, Detroit Red Wings

Zdeno Chara, New York Islanders

Brett Kulak, Montreal Canadiens

Carson Soucy, Seattle Kraken

Colin Miller, Buffalo Sabres

Justin Braun, Philadelphia Flyers