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What will the Flames blue line look like this season?

By Nathan Smith |
Calgary Flames, Mackenzie Weegar
Calgary Flames, Mackenzie Weegar / Leah Hennel/GettyImages
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While the Calgary Flames traded away two of their top defenseman in Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev a year ago, along with losing Oliver Kylington in free agency, this group may be the one this Flames organization are most confident in heading into the 2024/25 season.

With two strong veteran leaders remaining on the blue line, this group certainly has some talent, but with such a logjam of players fighting for limited spots, it should be a competitive battle to see who lands on the opening night roster. Some of those young names certainly deserve spots to begin the season, but with a week until the Flames opening night matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, this is how we would line them up.

Mackenzie Weegar-Daniil Miromanov

After being acquired in the deal for Matthew Tkachuk and Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar has become a star in Calgary in his own right, with his 2023/24 campaign being the best thus far of his career. While playing in all 82 games, Weegar tallied career highs in goals (20), assists (32) and points (52), and after establishing himself as a fan favourite, he will be here to stay on the Flames top pairing for quite some time to come.

Alongside him will be the surprising Daniil Miromanov, who was a key piece of the deal that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights, and in 20 games played after arriving in Calgary, he proved he could be an intriguing piece of the future. In that time, Miromanov scored 3 goals and added 7 points, and while his defensive game could use some improvement, he should play a huge role on the teams powerplay in 2024/25, and with a full year alongside Weegar, he could become a star in the NHL.

Kevin Bahl-Rasmus Andersson

In recent years, Rasmus Andersson has been paired with the offensive minded Noah Hanifin, but in 2024/25 that will no longer be, and instead the Flames will pair him with a towering monster in Kevin Bahl, a player they received in the Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey trade. With Andersson, the team are getting a reliable player on both ends of the ice as well as one of the team's strongest leaders, and even though he will likely be involved in many trade rumours himself this season, he should continue playing at a very high level.

What they are getting in Bahl is a little less certain, but with 103 blocked shots and 151 hits a season ago, it's safe to assume that he's going to bring the physicality that the Flames blue line lost when they traded away Nikita Zadorov. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 230 pounds, Bahl is a monster on the ice, and after finally being given a full-time opportunity in 2023/24, it appears that the 24-year old could become a crucial part of this Flames team this season.

Jake Bean-Brayden Pachal

The battle for the Flames third pairing has been one of the stories to watch this off-season in Calgary, and while Brayden Pachal was likely locked in after his season a year ago, the other spot isn't quite as straight forward. In Pachal, the Flames are getting a defensive specialist, with his performance in 33 games a season ago after being picked up on waivers winning him plenty of fans

In Bean, the Flames get yet another home town kid, and while his future isn't as bright as the young names coming through the organization, he will be a solid piece with offensive upside alongside the defensive minded Pachal. Bean's best season came with Columbus back in 2021/22 when he tallied 7 goals and 25 points in 67 games played, so while he won't put up some big numbers, Bean will be the sixth defenseman on the roster until the team take a look at someone like Jeremie Poirier or Hunter Brzustewicz, depending on how they start in the NHL.

Extra Flames defenseman; Hunter Brzustewicz, Joel Hanley, Ilya Solovyov, Jeremie Poirier, Jarred Tinordi, potentially Tyson Barrie.

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