After a couple of solid signings in Raymond and Hiller, the Flames add their first eyebrow raiser in Dereyk Engelland for 3 years at $2.9M per year. 

Engelland plays both defense and forward, though he mostly acts as a d-man. He’s big, he’s mean, can drop the gloves…and he’s not very good at much else. He averaged a team low 13 minutes of ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, faced lower tier opposition and had some of the worst underlying possession numbers amongst Pens defensemen. Clearly, like Bollig, this is another step in the new regime’s quest to “get bigger and protect the kids”.

Engelland is a 32 year old tough guy and third pairing defender. At best, he’s a way to get the Flames over the cap floor finish line for the next few seasons and a skating harm deterrence. At worst, he’s their next Shane O’Brien.