NHL Rumors: Flames Interested In Canadiens Defenseman

During his most recent 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Calgary Flames are interested in Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot.

32 Thoughts Monday morning news podcast: https://t.co/51nWIvMZVa thank you @GMCcanada and you, the audience
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 24, 2022

He also discussed how the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and St. Louis Blues are, too, but we previously reported this here. Thus, let's focus solely on the Flames in this one.

The Flames are currently in an interesting position in the standings. At this time, they have an 18-12-6 record and are fifth in the Pacific Division. However, they also are just five points behind the third-place Anaheim Ducks with seven games in hand. They trail the second-place Los Angeles Kings, too, but they instead have six games in hand on them. Thus, they not only are still in the playoff hunt but should have very little trouble catching them.

The Flames would benefit from adding Chiarot, as it would give them a very effective defensive defenseman. With that, he seems like a perfect player for head coach Darryl Suter because he plays a very physical game. In 37 games this season, he has a whopping 85 hits. Along with that, he also has scored five goals and recorded three helpers. With the Flames, he would likely fit on either their second or third pair.

As we get closer to the trade deadline, it won't be surprising at all to see many more teams jump into the sweepstakes. Defensemen like Chiarot are very good to have for the postseason. Let's see if Calgary is the lucky team to acquire the highly-coveted rental.