Prior to the trade deadline, GM Brad Treliving did some fairly major surgery to the Flames’ backend. He signed former Canuck Matt Bartkowksi out of the AHL, more or less consigning Jyrki Jokipakka to the pressbox. Then he traded for Michael Stone from the Coyotes, bumping Dennis Wideman to the sidelines.
He did this because it was clear Calgary’s depth options on the blueline weren’t really working. It seemed like any change might be a good one at the time. And then the Flames won 10 in a row. Huzzah! The switch up worked.
Or… not really.