The Calgary Flames are in a very unique position, and a very challenging one.
First and foremost, they're lucky: they have three really good defensemen in Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano. Unfortunately, they also have a trio of defensemen in Jyrki Jokipakka, Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland who are more limited in what they can do than the good blueliners.
The challenge for the Flames this season is figuring out how to balance their strong players with their weaker ones in order to maximize their performances.
AT A GLANCE
Here are the six primary Flames defensemen, with even strength stats from last season.