TD '09 - Calgary brings back a familiar face

March 04, 2009

My Calgary Flames brought back an old friend from their last Cup run in defenseman Jordan Leopold. Going to Colorado is recent waiver pickup defenseman Lawrence Nycholat, prospect Ryan Wilson (playing in Quad Cities) and a 2^nd-round draft pick.

The deal is great from a Calgary perspective, Leopold played his best hockey in Alberta paired with Robyn Regehr and putting them back together can allow you to pair Adrian Aucoin with Adam Pardy. Leopold is healthy this year and it can be assumed he will be expected to log Top-4 minutes for the Flames and provide them with a point-man on the second power-play unit.

The Avs get a draft pick for the future, a seldom-used defenseman Lawrence Nycholat who is a 6^th-7^th at best on the depth chart and prospect Ryan Wilson who is an under-sized offensive defenseman who finished as a 3^rd team OHL All-star.

One more thing from a Flames perspective is the familiarity factor and Sutter knows what he will get from Leopold. Remember it was a monetary issue when he was traded to Colorado. It had nothing to do with the way he played. Leopold is also a pending UFA so he could be gone after this playoff run.

Posted by Bunz

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