During the 2023-24 season, the Calgary Flames went through a ton of changes. They ended up shedding several prominent players during that campaign, including Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin. During all that hubbub, general manager Craig Conroy made a couple pretty savvy moves on the waiver wire, claiming Brayden Pachal from the Vegas Golden Knights in early February and Joel Hanley in early March.

For the past two seasons and change, Pachal and Hanley have provided the Flames with quality minutes. But as the Flames approach the start of the 2026-27 campaign, this duo of reliable veterans seem to be facing a crossroads of sorts as they both enter the final year of their current contracts.

So, where do Hanley and Pachal fit on the Flames blueline?

Hanley is a 35-year-old left shot defender. He had seven points in 68 games last season, and he kinda played with everybody. He was fourth among Flames defenders in five-on-five ice time, and he played over 100 minutes with Pachal, Hunter Brzustewicz, Zayne Parekh and MacKenzie Weegar. After 314 NHL games, it’s abundantly clear that Hanley probably isn’t high-end puck-mover, but he’s versatile, smart, and can adapt how he plays really adeptly. In short: he’s a really effective utility option that can kill penalties.

Meanwhile, Pachal is a 27-year-old right shot defender. He had seven points in 39 games last season, playing primarily with Hanley (and a bit with Jake Bean). Pachal is arguably more physical and defensive-minded than Hanley, but he might be a little bit less versatile. He’s played 177 NHL games so far, and he’s established himself as another effective depth player that can kill penalties and provide a bit of a crash-and bang element.

Last season, Hanley was one of the Flames’ everyday defenders before he was shut down due to injury. Pachal was essentially their seventh defender. These guys are definitely NHL calibre players. But since the end of the season, the Flames have added Jacob Middleton and Simon Nemec, while parting ways with Olli Maatta. A net gain of one everyday defender has essentially nudged Hanley and Pachal each down one slot on the depth chart.

On paper, Hanley feels like the seventh defender and Pachal feels like the eighth – Hanley’s versatility arguably has him slotted ahead of Pachal here.

Both players are entering the final year of their current deals. Hanley carries a $1.75 million cap hit on a contract he signed during the 2025 off-season. Pachal has a $1,187,500 cap hit on a deal he signed in December 2024. On paper, each player seems like somebody that a contending team could be interested in adding around the trade deadline – everybody needs blueline depth for the playoffs. But parking either of them in the AHL would risk (a) losing them on waivers for nothing or (b) depressing their trade value by burying them in the minors.

In our projected opening lineup, we have both Pachal and Hanley as healthy scratches right now. It’s in the Flames’ best interests to lean on younger defenders like Nemec, Parekh and Yan Kuznetsov, and veterans like Middleton, Zach Whitecloud and Kevin Bahl are good partners for those three. But if anybody gets injured or sick, Hanley and Pachal could be helpful, and we expect they’ll both get some games in – even if it’s just here and there. And if the blueline is healthy, it’s not the end of the world if the veteran duo sits in the press box for a bit.

Hanley and Pachal have been good Flames. They were plucked off the waiver wire and thrown onto a pretty depleted blueline in 2023-24 and did a really nice job holding things together. But the Flames have done what rebuilding teams do: they’ve added young talent, and the arrival of that young talent looks to be pushing Hanley and Pachal to the periphery. Here’s hoping they still get opportunities to play here and there, and that it leads to both player finding a nice landing spot before the Mar. 1 trade deadline.

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