The Calgary Flames have gotten off to a miserable start to the 2026-27 NHL season.
They opened their season last Thursday against the Seattle Kraken and lost, 6-1.
They then traveled to Vancouver to take on the Canucks on Saturday and lost, 4-1.
Then it was to Seattle for a rematch with the Kraken, and it was another 6-1 margin of defeat for the Flames.
Now on Monday, they’re shaking things up. They won’t play again until Thursday, but that’ll be a brutal matchup against the high-powered Colorado Avalanche.
Calgary knows it has to change things to have any chance of staying afloat this season, and so on Monday, the Flames placed two players on waivers.
One was the former first-round pick Connor Zary, who will gather more headlines because of that pedigree.
The other was defenseman Brayden Pachal.
Both can be claimed by another NHL team in the next 24 hours. Otherwise, they could end up in the AHL.
Why Flames Are Waiving Brayden Pachal
Pachal is a 27-year old defenseman who was never even drafted, so his roster spot was always going to appear flimsier than that of Zary.
The Flames, it turns out, are equal opportunity on the players they give up on, though.
Pachal hasn’t actually played yet this season. He’s been a scratch for each of the Flames’ three games.
At that point, Calgary can view him in one of two ways. They could’ve seen him as a potential spark who could help turn their fortunes around.
Evidently, they’ve gone in the other direction. Pachal may not seem like a potential positive to put into their lineup. Calgary sees him every day in practice and has the best sense of his talent.
The Flames have deemed Pachal not worthy to help a team that has been outscored 16-3 in its first three games.
That’s not a great review of Pachal, and it throws into question what his next career steps may look like.
Brayden Pachal Stats
Pachal played in 39 games with the Flames last season. He had one goal and six assists while going minus-1. He also dished out 89 hits and blocked 40 shots.
The year before, Pachal played in 76 Flames games with three goals, nine assists, 159 hits and 83 blocks.
He had joined the Flames midway through the 2023-24 season and appeared in 33 games for Calgary that season.
Before coming to the Flames, Pachal appeared in parts of three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, for whom he played 29 total games and had one goal and two assists.
The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman just turned 27 in the summer, and he technically has a Stanley Cup in his career from his time in Vegas.
Ironically a native of Saskatchewan like Zary, Pachal is now in limbo while he waits for the waiver wire to play out.
It’ll be up to him now to prove to Calgary, or another team, that he does belong in the NHL.
Why Flames Are Parting Ways With Brayden Pachal