3 Defenseman: Simon Nemec, Kevin Bahl, Zach Whitecloud
Defensively, the Flames would get lucky if the expansion draft (or potentially two) happened this off-season, as it would allow both Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz to be automatically protected, and with Carson Carels arriving soon, that's three key pieces of the team that would be protected without using one of their spots.
That gives the Flames a few options to protect three players, but the obvious is Simon Nemec, who the team just acquired with significant draft capital, and given that he's a former No. 2 overall pick, the Flames won't be giving up on him. Last year, Nemec posted 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games with the Devils in limited minutes, but in Calgary, he will be given every opportunity to star on the powerplay and at 5v5, so he would be the no-brainer pick here.
Beyond Nemec, the team also have Kevin Bahl locked in as their long-term top LHD, and while he's not spectacular offensively, given what he brings as a leader and as a defensive stalwart, he's an obvious keep given the cheap contract too ($5.35M AAV for five years). The next choice is a harder one, and likely comes down to Yan Kuznetsov, Jake Middleton and Zach Whitecloud, but given the value of the latter as a trade candidate, protecting him and then potentially trading him to a contender at the deadline would be the best move for the Flames here.
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