The Calgary Flames have nearly 22 minutes a night to replace after Kevin Bahl’s season came to an end. The team announced Sunday that the 26-year-old will undergo surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Bahl averaged a team-leading 21:56 through 16 games and had settled into a top-pair role alongside Simon Nemec.
TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested general manager Craig Conroy could consider a young defenceman or someone on a short-term contract if Calgary looks outside the organization later this season. The Flames are expected to turn to their own depth first. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, the stronger case for a trade is a young player who could still be part of the defence once Bahl returns.
Calgary Can Spread Bahl’s Minutes Around
Joel Hanley stepped into the lineup against Anaheim on Friday, and the Flames recalled Brayden Pachal from the Calgary Wranglers on Sunday. Hanley was projected to skate with Nemec against Philadelphia, with Jake Middleton alongside Zach Whitecloud and Yan Kuznetsov paired with Zayne Parekh. That gives head coach Ryan Huska a starting point as he figures out how to divide Bahl’s workload.
Bahl regularly faced opponents’ top lines, so the harder part is deciding who takes those shifts. Huska called Bahl “our best player at this point in the season,” and losing him changes the job for his partner, too. Calgary can lean on Middleton and Whitecloud for some tougher matchups while giving Nemec and Parekh room to take on more responsibility at a pace that suits them. A few weeks of those pairings should tell Conroy whether he needs another regular or simply more depth.
A Trade Should Fit the Rebuild
Bahl himself is a good example of the kind of player Calgary should look for. He was 23 when Conroy acquired him and a first-round pick from the New Jersey Devils in the Jacob Markstrom trade. He had already played a full NHL season and had room to grow into a bigger role. Calgary later signed him to a six-year deal. That’s a useful benchmark for Conroy. A target’s current place on another team’s depth chart matters less than what he could do with steadier minutes in Calgary.
A young left-shot defenceman with some NHL experience would make sense, particularly if he can handle defensive-zone starts and move the puck cleanly under pressure. A player stuck behind established veterans elsewhere might get a longer look in Calgary. Ideally, he could play alongside Nemec or Parekh now and give Huska another dependable option on the left side when Bahl is healthy.
The price matters as much as the fit. A veteran on an expiring deal could help if the schedule starts to expose Calgary’s depth, provided the acquisition cost is low. A premium pick or prospect should be reserved for a player Conroy projects as a fixture in his top four. The question for Calgary is whether the player it brings in would still earn meaningful minutes with Bahl back in the lineup. That’s the trade worth making during a rebuild.
Next: Suggested Goalie Trade for Oilers Big Swing and Miss by New Analyst [Opinion]
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