The Flames claimed defenseman Brayden Pachal off waivers from the Golden Knights on Sunday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Calgary confirmed the news in a media release shortly thereafter.
Pachal, 24, has logged a career-high 17 games played for Vegas this season. His first NHL goal came in an early-season win over the Sharks on Oct. 12.
A minor-league mainstay over the past few seasons in AHL Henderson, Pachal cracked the Golden Knights’ opening night roster in October with season-opening injuries keeping Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud out of the lineup. As injuries continued to affect the Vegas blue line, Pachal slipped down the depth chart behind 23-year-old Kaedan Korczak, who’s recently found a home in the team’s top four alongside Brayden McNabb in the absence of Shea Theodore.
After the Golden Knights claimed 2019 first-round pick Tobias Björnfot off waivers from the Kings in early January, there was even less of a role for Pachal on the NHL roster. As such, he was a healthy scratch in 11 straight games before the All-Star break, last skating in a Jan. 4 contest against the Panthers.
Calgary is likely parting ways with pending UFA blue liner Chris Tanev (and potentially Noah Hanifin) ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, leaving them with a lack of NHL-caliber defenders to take them through the stretch run. Claiming Pachal off waivers is likely made with that foresight in mind. He’ll compete with depth defensemen such as Dennis Gilbert and Jordan Oesterle for bottom-four ice time and should allow the Flames to keep younger prospects like Yan Kuznetsov and Ilya Solovyov developing in the minors.
Pachal’s October goal is his only point this season, averaging 14:37 per game with a -2 rating and 18 shots on goal. Only two full-time Golden Knights – Martinez and Brett Howden – have a worse Corsi share at even strength than Pachal’s 44.2% mark despite a low quality of competition.
Despite the underwhelming possession metrics, the Flames believe he can develop into a defensive contributor down the stretch. GM Craig Conroy said Sunday that Pachal “will be an asset to our penalty kill” and called out his 6-foot-2, 202-pound frame as something to like, via Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson.
Pachal also has a history of occupying leadership roles, serving as Henderson’s captain from 2021-23 and as captain of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in the 2018-19 season. He played in one postseason game last year, Vegas’ series-clinching Game 5 win against the Jets in the first round, on his way toward getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
This is not the Flames’ first run-in with Pachal, who turned pro out of juniors in 2019 after signing an entry-level contract with Vegas as an undrafted free agent. As Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike points out, Pachal attended Flames development and prospect camp in the summer of 2018.
He’s under contract through the 2024-25 season at a $775K cap hit after signing a two-year, $1.55M extension with the Golden Knights in June 2023. His deal is a two-way pact carrying a minimum guaranteed salary of $200K this season, but it converts to a one-way deal next year. Calgary had three open roster spots before making this transaction and nearly $1.5M in projected cap space, so no corresponding transaction is necessary to execute the claim.
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