We’ve all learned quite a lot about the Calgary Flames through their first quarter of games in the 2024-25 regular season.

For one, their goaltending tandem is far better than most analysts predicted it’d be to this point. Second, they’re really struggling to score. And finally, their defensive group has been stronger on the ice than it looks on paper.

Despite entering the season with only two bonafide top-four options on defence, the Flames have allowed a Pacific Division-low 54 goals in 20 games this season. Much of that boils down to the stellar play of both Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar, but there’s no disputing that the Flames’ defenders have collectively exceeded expectations to start the year.

Here’s a brief look at how each of Calgary’s eight NHL defenders has fared through the first six weeks of the 2024-25 campaign.

Andersson continues to lead the Flames in scoring with … 12 points in 20 games. (At this rate, the Flames might sneak into the playoffs without a single 50-point scorer). But even beyond his offence, Andersson has been everything the Flames could’ve possibly hoped he’d be this year. After an up-and-down 2023-24 campaign, Andersson has been an absolute workhorse through the early stages of 2024-25, logging nearly 25 minutes a night while holding his own against the toughest possible competition.

With just one year left after this one on his sweetheart $4.55 million AAV contract, Andersson could be one of the most attractive trade targets in the NHL if he and the Flames are unable to come to terms on a new deal next summer. As it stands, it’s difficult to imagine the Flames wanting to move him while they’re in a playoff spot. He’s played an instrumental role in their success leading up to the quarter mark.

The Flames have plenty of young defenders in their prospect pipeline, including 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh, but it’ll be a challenge for any of them to live up to the standard Andersson has set over his seven full seasons in Calgary. Right now, he’s looking like one of the better defencemen in the league and a shoo-in to play for Team Sweden in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Andersson’s primary partner has flown a little under the radar to kick off his Flames tenure — which, in a sense, is exactly what you want from a 6’6″ shutdown defenceman. Bahl has been extremely steady in the early stages of his time in Calgary and could be in line for a significant raise over his current $1.05 million cap hit before his contract expires in July.

Flames GM Craig Conroy was quick to compare Bahl to Nikita Zadorov when he acquired him from the New Jersey Devils in the Jacob Markstrom trade. But while Bahl might not have the same offensive inclinations as his Russian counterpart, he more than makes up for it with his reliability and steadiness. Zadorov has always been a bit of an adventure at times; Bahl very much has not been anything of the sort. He’s a rock back there.

At 24 years of age, Bahl is the Flames’ youngest NHL defenceman. He certainly doesn’t play like it. Don’t be surprised if the Flames try to lock him down for the rest of his 20s at some point in the next calendar year.

Barrie hasn’t played much this year, but when he has drawn in, he’s been a perfectly competent bottom-pairing offensive defender for this Flames team. Sure, he hasn’t been tested much against top competition, but he’s done a bang-up job with what he’s been given. In fact, Barrie currently leads the Flames in on-ice expected goals percentage through his first nine games.

With Andersson, Daniil Miromanov, and Brayden Pachal all playing well, it’s tough to envision Barrie getting much playing time on the right side in the near future, but he’s managed to slot in now and then as the club’s No. 3 option on the left. Given his results, it seems to be working out reasonably well. Barrie might end up getting shipped off for a late pick before the trade deadline, but he’s pretty much the ideal seventh defenceman for the time being.

It’s hard to tell exactly how the Flames feel about Bean, who they signed to a two-year, $1.75 million AAV contract in unrestricted free agency back in July. The 6’1″ lefty has skated in just four games in the month of November and has been used extremely sparingly all year long, averaging a paltry 14:52 of ice time through his first 11 games as a Flame.

Bean hasn’t exactly struggled since joining his hometown team, but he’s certainly been sheltered pretty heavily. From a usage standpoint, he’s been much closer to, say, Joel Hanley than Bahl or Miromanov. Even considering his draft pedigree (Carolina selected Bean with the No. 13 pick in 2016), it’s clear the Flames don’t really see Bean as a top-four guy.

If anything, Bean seems to be playing the role that Jeremie Poirier might be asked to fill within the next year or two. Bean is perfectly fine as a stopgap, but it already feels like he probably won’t stick around beyond the end of his current deal.

The Flames claimed Hanley off waivers from the Dallas Stars in March, and he skated in 10 games with the team to close out the 2023-24 season. But it’s clear that the Flames have since prioritized evaluating what they have in Bahl, Brayden Pachal, and Daniil Miromanov over making space for Hanley, to the extent that the 33-year-old rearguard has skated in just two of the club’s first 20 games in 2024-25.

With Barrie already occupying a seat in the press box on a regular basis, Hanley is redundant even in his redundancy. Even if there’s a chance the Flames could trade him for a late-round pick a few months from now, is that really worth keeping the likes of Yan Kuznetsov, Jeremie Poirier, and Ilya Solovyov in the AHL? If the kids keep pushing for promotions, don’t be surprised if Hanley ends up back on the waiver wire.

After a very difficult start to the 2024-25 campaign, Miromanov has really come into his own over the last few weeks. The 6’4″ righty scored his first goal of the season against Nashville last Friday and followed that up with a game-high 10 shot attempts (!!) in Tuesday’s win over the New York Islanders.

Miromanov’s ice time declined in late October as he struggled to rediscover what made him so effective next to MacKenzie Weegar late in the 2023-24 season, but he’s been back up over 20 minutes in five of his last eight outings. In those five games, the Flames have controlled an eye-popping 62.8 percent of the expected goals with Miromanov on the ice at 5-on-5. Before being victimized by a perfectly-placed Pierre Engvall shot on Tuesday, Miromanov hadn’t been on the ice for a single goal against at any strength since Oct. 26.

He might not match the dictionary definition of a defensive defenceman — not by a long shot — but Miromanov has the talent and drive to make up for his various shortcomings with strong offensive contributions. Even at 27 years of age, Miromanov is still a bit of an unknown entity. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll make the Noah Hanifin deal look a lot more palatable on Calgary’s end.

Pachal is a rugged, no-nonsense third-pairing defender who has firmly established himself as an NHL regular in Calgary after spending the previous three seasons bouncing back and forth between the Vegas Golden Knights and their AHL affiliate in Henderson.

A certain After Burner co-host once compared Pachal to a young Rhett Warrener. Make no mistake: That’s high praise. Pachal may not be the most skilled defender in the Flames’ system, but he’s fearless, a solid skater, and makes very few mistakes. With Pachal on the ice at 5-on-5, the Flames have generated 50 high-danger chances this year to their opponents’ 41.

Pachal only just turned 25 in August and is a pending restricted free agent. Don’t be surprised to see the Flames elect to give the Estevan, Saskatchewan product a multi-year contract extension at some point this season. He’s a rock-solid No. 5 defenceman with plenty of room to grow.

Much like his partner, Weegar has been terrific in November. The 30-year-old Weegar is now up to 11 points in 20 games while averaging more than 23 minutes per night and generally pushing play in the right direction at both ends of the ice. He’s also a fiery competitor who sticks up for his teammates and represents his community in the best ways. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Weegar were to take over as team captain shortly after the Flames move into their new arena.

On a team where nobody is scoring, Weegar is still on pace for his third career 40-point season. He’s taking a ton of shots, defending well, and staying out of the box. His pairing with Miromanov had a tough start to the year but has rebounded nicely over the past few weeks, with Weegar driving the bus for the most part. He collected three assists on Thursday night as the Flames defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 at the Saddledome.

Jonathan Huberdeau, who picked up the other assist on the goal above, remarked after the Rangers game that Weegar deserves to play for Team Canada at the 4 Nations. It’s a crowded field, but Weegar’s versatility and two-way prowess could give him a leg up over other candidates.

The Flames will never replace Matthew Tkachuk, but Weegar has proven to be an extremely valuable piece for them. When he’s at his best, he can go toe-to-toe with any other defenceman in the league. If the Flames do sneak into the playoffs this year, Weegar’s play could be the X-factor for them.