The Calgary Flames got useful mileage out of a pair of waiver-wire pickups, but the blueline picture has changed enough that Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal now look like they’re fighting for thinner ice.
When the Flames were unloading pieces during the 2023-24 season - Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin among them - general manager Craig Conroy found some stopgaps in Brayden Pachal and Joel Hanley. Pachal came from the Vegas Golden Knights in early February, and Hanley arrived in early March. Since then, both have given Calgary steady minutes.
The problem for both veterans is timing. As the Flames head toward the 2026-27 season, each is in the final year of his contract, and the club has added more bodies on the back end.
Calgary brought in Jacob Middleton and Simon Nemec, and Olli Maatta is gone. That leaves Hanley and Pachal sliding down the depth chart.
Hanley, a 35-year-old left shot, put up seven points in 68 games last season and spent time with just about everybody. He ranked fourth among Flames defensemen in five-on-five ice time and logged more than 100 minutes with Pachal, Hunter Brzustewicz, Zayne Parekh and MacKenzie Weegar. After 314 NHL games, he’s not being mistaken for a flashy puck-mover, but his value is obvious: he can play a lot of different ways, he’s smart, and he can handle penalty-killing work.
Pachal brings a different flavor. The 27-year-old right shot also had seven points, doing it in 39 games last season, and he mostly skated with Hanley, with a little bit of Jake Bean mixed in.
He’s more physical and more defense-first than Hanley, though maybe not quite as adaptable. Through 177 NHL games, he’s carved out a role as a depth defender who can kill penalties and add some crash-and-bang.
Last season, Hanley was one of Calgary’s everyday defenders before an injury shut him down. Pachal was basically the seventh defenseman.
Now, with the Flames adding another everyday blueliner, both players look one notch lower. On paper, Hanley appears to be the seventh defender and Pachal the eighth, with Hanley’s versatility giving him the edge.
Their contracts make the situation even more interesting. Hanley carries a $1.75 million cap hit on the deal he signed in the 2025 off-season.
Pachal’s contract, signed in December 2024, carries a $1,187,500 cap hit. Either player could draw interest near the trade deadline, since playoff teams always need depth on the back end.
But sending either one to the AHL would be risky, whether that means losing him on waivers or cutting into his trade value.
For now, both are projected as healthy scratches in Calgary’s opening lineup. The Flames want to lean on younger defensemen like Nemec, Parekh and Yan Kuznetsov, with veterans such as Middleton, Zach Whitecloud and Kevin Bahl serving as the right kind of support around them. Still, injuries and illness have a way of changing the picture fast, and Hanley and Pachal should both get into some games along the way.
That’s the balancing act here. Calgary has two veterans who helped steady a depleted defense in 2023-24, but the roster has moved on around them. Hanley and Pachal may be pushed to the edge, yet they still look useful enough to keep around - and potentially useful enough to interest someone else before the Mar. 1 trade deadline.
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