Calgary Flames sign Jordan Oesterle to one-year deal ($925,000)

The Calgary Flames have added some defensive depth to their organization. The club announced on Sunday afternoon that they’ve signed free agent blueliner Jordan Oesterle to a one-year, $925,000 deal for the 2023-24 season.

The 31-year-old Oesterle is a left shot blueliner originally from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. He played college hockey at Western Michigan University.

Since leaving college in 2014, Oesterle’s been a pretty consistent presence in the NHL. He’s played 349 NHL games over nine seasons between stints with Edmonton, Chicago, Arizona and Detroit. In that span, he’s amassed 19 goals and 84 points. He spent 2022-23 with the Red Wings, scoring 11 points over 52 games. He played primarily with (in order) Olli Maatta, Jake Walman and Gustav Lindstrom, skating on the left side with Lindstrom and the right with the others.

Is Oesterle an amazing blueliner? Well, he’s a reliable blueliner that can play either side. He was a third-pairing blueliner on a Detroit team that wasn’t very good, and he got virtually no special teams time. If nothing else, he gives the Flames some options on the back end depending on who stays and who goes, and he provides Dennis Gilbert with some competition for the seventh spot on the blueline.

Oesterle’s signing gives the Flames 40 players under contract for the 2023-24 season: four goaltenders, 13 defencemen and 23 forwards.