Defence was supposed to be an area of strength for the Flames in 2017-18. Perhaps, under a new head coach, it still can be.
If there’s one position the Flames seem unlikely to add to, it’s defence. They already have Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, TJ Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Brett Kulak, and Michael Stone. Then, there’s Rasmus Andersson pushing to become a full-time NHLer, and Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington probably aren’t far behind, if at all. That isn’t even accounting for the potential addition of Adam Fox in the near future, all with Matt Bartkowski being the only unrestricted free agent of the group.