Flames claim Golden Knights defenceman off waivers
The Calgary Flames have claimed a defenceman off waivers.
This morning it was announced by the club that they had claimed 24-year-old Brayden Pachal off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights. This comes just days after the team traded forward Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks and rumours continue to swirl around current Flames defenders Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.
Welcome to the #CofRed Brayden!
The #Flames have claimed defenceman Brayden Pachal off of waivers: https://t.co/JBrpmNkBwh pic.twitter.com/ULtNVgfyS3
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) February 4, 2024
Pachal is an undrafted player who initially signed a three-year entry-level with the Golden Knights back in 2019. In 2022, he became the captain of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He was signed to a two-year $1.5 million contract extension by Vegas this past summer. Pachal carries a $775,000 cap hit for this season and the next.
Flames GM Craig Conroy says that the Estevan, Saskatchewan native has a lot of elements to his game that should help a retooling team.
“Brayden is a big, strong right-shot defensive defenceman who increases our teamās physicality and will be an asset to our penalty-kill,” said Conroy in a release from the team. “At 24 years old, he has been the captain of his AHL team and is a character player joining us from a winning program.”
In 17 NHL games this season, Pachal has scored just a single goal. He has not played in the AHL so far this year.
Pachal will join a Flames team that has had some mixed results of late. The team has lost four of its last five games before the All-Star break and is expected to be among the busiest sellers ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Considering where the team is at, the Flames are in a much better position to give a player like Pachal more opportunity and more minutes than a contender like Vegas.
It is unclear if Pachal will be making his Flames debut anytime soon. Calgary’s next game is on Tuesday when they head to Boston to take on the Bruins.
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