Did the Calgary Flames get better at the trade deadline?

The trade deadline has come and gone and finally we can move on from all the discussions around the direction of the team, adding players and subtracting players.

Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames have decided to wait until the off-season to make major changes to the team and organization as a whole. They didn’t sell any of their core players like many fans had hoped. They didn’t spend any future assets to make the team better in the short term. Instead, they made very minor changes to the fringes of their roster.

Treliving acquired Dryden Hunt from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Radim Zahorna. And traded Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey to the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Ritchie and Troy Stetcher.

Here are some thoughts on the player they acquired.

Troy Stecher

Stecher is a blue collar, hard working third pairing defenceman who is going to add some depth to the Flames blueline. Stecher has played for the Red Wings, Kings, Coyotes and most notably the Vancouver Canucks where he was a fan favourite.

Stecher is a good skater and has the ability to show flashes of offence. But he is most known for his dedication to the defensive side of the game and his work ethic. One thing Flames fans will come to appreciate about Stecher is how hard he works, his willingness to do what it takes to win, and the fact that he plays like he is 6’3″, 210 pounds when in reality he is only 5’10″, 184 pounds.

He is a legitimate NHL defenceman and is an upgrade on Dennis Gilbert and Michael Stone. Expect to see Stecher playing in the majority of games down the stretch on the Flames third pairing with Nikita Zadorov.

Nick Ritchie

Ritchie is one of those frustrating players who has a ton of talent and ability. He was the tenth overall pick in 2014 NHL draft. He has great size at 6’3″, 236 pounds. Very rarely do you come across someone with the size and talent of Ritchie.

But for some reason he has not been able to put it all together in his NHL career. He is wildly inconsistent. One game you think he looks like someone who could score 25-30 goals in the NHL. The next night he’ll have little to no impact on the game.

Nick has a higher ceiling than his brother Brett. The talent and hands are there for him to be a solid bottom six forward in the NHL. But I would argue Brett has the better work ethic and understands his role on a hockey team more than Nick.

It is going to be interesting to see where he is going to fit in the lineup. I would suggest that he plays left wing on the fourth line replacing Milan Lucic. Lucic is tied for last on the Flames in plus/minus (-12) and has been outscored 35-23 when on the ice at 5-on-5. It’s clear he is the teams worst player and Ritchie would be an upgrade.

It’s also going to be fascinating to see how Ritchie responds to Darryl Sutter’s demanding coaching tactics. Is Ritchie the type of person who will thrive with someone like Sutter, or will he crumble under the intense pressure of the Flames bench boss? Only time will tell.