The Calgary Flames have made a long list of additions to their defense since the calendar turned to 2024, bringing in each of Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov, Kevin Bahl, Joel Hanley, and Brayden Pachal. The litany of defenders will compete for the holes left by Nikita Zadorov, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev. That crowded competition leaves unsigned defenseman Oliver Kylington on the outside looking in, shares Sportsnet’s Eric Francis on the Big Show Podcast. Francis’ sentiment was seconded on Sportsnet 960’s Flames Talk, where host Pat Steinberg agreed he doesn’t think Calgary should add to their logjam.
Kylington has gone unsigned through the first 11 days of free agency, despite being one of the youngest UFA defensemen on the open market. That’s likely thanks to his recent extended absence, returning for 33 games this season after missing all of the 2022-23 season and the first half of this year. He began to bounce back before the end of the year, ultimately totaling eight points as he fought to find his footing in the lineup. This year marked Kylington’s first showing since a career year in 2021-22, when he managed nine goals and 31 points in 73 games – playing through his first full year in the NHL. He earned the spot after fighting his way up form the minor leagues, then out of the team’s seventh-defender role.
At his best, Kylington is a smooth-moving, two-way defender who does well at pushing the puck across the red line. He’s been able to hone that skill to NHL-sharpness, though he still seems to be missing a true breakout season; even despite flashes of potential. Now 27 and two years removed from a full season, Kylington is undeniably hard to gauge. That downfall isn’t helped along by the rumor of a long-term ask, with Steinberg adding that Kylington reportedly had talks of a four-year extension with the Flames at one point.
That would be a hefty extension, and likely ensure Kylington an NHL role – both difficult guarantees for the league’s other 31 teams to provide a defender yet to take advantage of his prime. Kylington is no stranger to having to climb his way up a depth chart on short-term deals, a role he seems much more likely set for next season. He’s totaled 91 points in 192 career AHL games, predominantly coming between 2015 and 2019. That strong minor-league track record will be a great safety net for Kylington, as he shops his lanky NHL resume around the rest of the league – with Calgary’s blue-line seemingly full.